Quote:
Originally Posted by LLYNCES
It's interesting to see all the replies on here. I don't see how buying an AT contributes to the death of manual transmissions, if anything it's the death of having to deal with a third pedal that might be something to worry about.
That being said, AT's 20 years down the line will be able to fully replicate shifting WITH the performance (even exceeding) the performance of a manual transmissions.You still will have full control over your car (shifting) but without having to deal with an extra pedal to do so.
This car (AT) from my experience shifts extremely well in manual mode. My paddle shifts are blazing fast, and the only way an MT driver is getting full control and performance out of this car is if they know how to shift quickly and properly (as with any MT) That's sort of why I went with the AT to begin with after test driving both; I'm just bad at using the clutch and know because of my crappy clutch use that I'd likely be paying for another one down the line, and it would be aggravating to have to deal with in traffic (to me) and I would be getting more performance out of the AT because I can barely drive MT.
With the AT I can literally just chill in traffic while eating and not have to worry about the clutch. Some people don't have this problem as it comes naturally to them, but to me there is just so much #(+# going on in traffic the last thing I want to worry about is my clutch and stalling....also rolling back on hills is annoying when somebody is right on your ass.
I do get quite a bit of crap from people for getting the AT though, I wont lie. It is a bit slower. I get some good gas mileage though which is nice and ripping around corners feels amazing in this car. Toyota/Suburu did a good job with the AT version of this car - they could have done a bit more (dual clutch) but I enjoy my AT. I probably will throw a turbo or supercharger in at some point.
Also I was wondering with the MT (I never tested this) when downshifting does the car still make that amazing noise the AT produces? When downshifting this car sounds absolutely amazing and gets tons of looks.
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The idea of AT purchases killing MTs in the future comes from the basic concept of supply and demand. If nobody knows how to or sees the benefit in driving a manual anymore, then the companies will not bother making them. Now, this isn't something that is going to happen over night... or anytime in the very near future. However, there has been a very significant decline in them, particularly in the last 10 years or so.
I suppose the counterpoint to your worry about inexperience/lack of manual ability, which you are certainly entitled to and is a reasonable factor in not buying one, is that you can never get better at something you don't try. I recommend asking someone with a MT FR-S/BRZ if they will try to teach you in it a bit, or just go to a dealer and say you want to test drive one. I was very rusty at driving stick, and had never been any good at it (so it wasn't something that came completely naturally), when I bought my FR-S. This car has by far the best transmission out of any MT car I have ever driven. It is very forgiving, easy to engage, and honestly difficult to stall. I think it's a great car to learn and get the feel for driving manual with.
And yes, it definitely sounds amazing on down shifts.
I can't wait to put a Tomei 60s exhaust on it, so it can really clear its throat!