[Yoshoobaroo]

Originally Posted by StE92ve

I don't know Martin Padgett but this is what he says about the auto in the GR86:
https://www.motorauthority.com/news/...ew-photos-info


"I’m better with the automatic—everyone and anyone would be, and should be—as I slap it sideways into its manual-shift mode, and point and shoot through corners. The brakes help calm the few ripples in the 86’s eager demeanor; they’re not particularly numb or sharp, but they brush off speed efficiently and settle the car into long sweepers.
The automatic doesn’t like to let the engine reach full bore, and when you try to hit redline it rings and dings and denies the shift. Still, it’s best kept in manual mode and flipped through the gear range with paddles,
Buy the automatic if you intend to drive the GR86 mostly on open roads, if only for the safety gear it gets that manual cars do not (automatic emergency braking, for starters). It’s fine, but switching back into a Premium car with the 6-speed manual and 215/40R18 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires reveals the car Toyota engineers want everyone to track, every weekend. It has the extra grip that encourages deep and late braking. That builds confidence, and though my feet still klutz it up once or twice, the training wheels eventually bring me to a smooth-shifting, single-lap Monticello blitz before it’s all done. It’s really good as an automatic; as a manual, the GR86 is the senior-year achievement test that places you in graduate school (Supra, and higher)."

What a weird take. Picking a transmission has nothing to do with where you plan on driving it. Street or track doesn’t matter. Get the auto if you want the auto, get the manual if you want the manual. It’s that simple.