What do you drive - MT or AT?

[KRAZYK]

Originally Posted by eriktherod

MT here. I learned on my previous Si and the FR-S is only even better. I like the man and machine bond of the MT. I'm pretty sure I'd feel the same sense of command on the AT, as it is a very good one, but I figure I'll keep doing MT while I'm young and live in an area with relatively decent traffic.

Now, I've gotten pretty good at multi-tasking while having to shift, even with a lady in the car. However, yes I'm going to say it, road head can still be difficult (or should I say awkward) with the divider and your hand on the shifter. Guess you just gotta drop it into a high gear and say fuck it. I did have an amusing conversation with a girl about this and she said "just tell her to do it for you during.." Now, if I could find a girl that talented who could perform and shift on call, I might just have to go ring shopping.

See the difference between AT and MT drivers?

AT get to hold their girls hand in the car
MT get road head

Nuff said.

[SportInjected]

M/T here, but only because i'm cheap, and $25k was already over my budget.

[SuperDave]

after about 4 years of paying 250 dollars or more for gas according to the epa, the auto becomes cheaper...

[Auto-Hauss]

MT all the way.

[sho220]

Originally Posted by SuperDave

after about 4 years of paying 250 dollars or more for gas according to the epa, the auto becomes cheaper...

Can't tell if that's sarcasm or not...if not, I'll gladly spring for the additional 250 bucks a year...

[yormaX]

Canada Scion FRS MSRP.

MT ($25,990.00)

AT ($27,170.00)

Yeah....

[Laurie]

I went for the Automatic Toyota 86 simply because out here in the Middle East - that means a spec level more in line with the Subaru BRZ - it has HID headlights, Push Button entry / start, Dual Zone AC, etc etc. Had I gone with the manual, it's more like the Scion FRS except it's lacking cruise control as well. For a daily driver those extras were important... things I would use every day... having a manual so I can do better drifts with it on the other hand - is something I can only do in very quiet areas where it's safe to do so. Weighing up the pros and cons, the Auto was winning.... But I was still a bit apprehensive, because I've always been a manual purist... 3 of the cars in my signature are stick shifts.

But then I got invited to Yas Marina for our launch event and was able to drive an Automatic one in person. Was actually surprised at how responsive the auto box is in manual / sport mode. Down shifts are very aggressive, it won't up-shift on you even if you red-line it, and it also won't kick down a gear when it feels like it. The 3 biggest things I hate about the automatics are not an issue with this car.

So that sealed the deal for me - and I went with the Auto box.

I gotta say - I don't regret it at all. I still have the 3 manual cars that are in my signature - the MX5 included - so I can still take the manuals out when I feel like it. For a daily driver, having the 86 in sport mode is a lot of fun - and traffic is much less stressful.

Interestingly - on the race track is actually where I was quite glad to have the auto box... Anyone who's taken delivery of theirs already will know that they really make their power in quite a narrow area of the RPM range, which means if you really want to push the car hard, you'll be working that gearbox a LOT. I think having the paddles means I still get to decide what gear I'm in, but at the same time it's effortless and both hands are on the wheel.

In contrast, the MX5 feels like it's got a wider torque range and isn't such a problem if you're not in the right gear.

The stripped out car with the manual box that we get here is a great purist drivers car... but the auto box with more bells and whistles is much better suited as a daily driver and grand-tourer.

[Laurie]

Originally Posted by nix

AT = land barge

This is a Land Barge



This is a great little sports car with a paddle shifter set up...




Trust me, the only thing they have in common is the colour

[belavia]

Oh, I enjoy those old autosport videos very much too. For me, however, from a driver's standpoint, if I go to the track I prefer to make the shifting as least disruptive to the driving experience as possible. There's a large portion of the population that romanticize the past (manual shifting F1 cars, Group B cars, "that's when drivers were really good"). In my opinion, reality is that those cars are gone for a reason - evolution has left them obsolete. The drivers are gone because they have retired, but most would not have stood a chance against modern drivers either (just some anecdotal evidence - in a recent episode of F1 Legends, Hakkinen is quoted as saying only a third or so of F1 drivers in the 90s took the professions seriously, as opposed to 100% today).

Now I digress. Anyhow, I understand for some if is the other way around, and shifting is a large part of the driving experience. That's terrific.

I don't feel very smart for getting into these posts. I usually refrain for the very reason that everyone has their own preference and there is really no point beating a dead horse to death.

Everyone's entitled to an opinion. Inevitably, what happens, is that people make silly comments like "an auto is a land barge", or something along those lines, and the discussion deteriorates.

Originally Posted by _hollywood

This right here marks the death of motorsports, i can see maybe a dogbox transmission where you use a clutch for first and then bang the rest, but we are talking about a 25k 200hp toyota/subaru...not a 15 million dollar f1 car that gets a new engine after every race....

I am building an auto supra so i get the whole shifting quicker thing but not for this car, watch the old best motoring vids, they are not shifting into D4 and sliding all around, no, they are doing crazy footwork, smashing gears and having fun, thats what this car is about.

[Oriental Life]

AT, because its the best, smart, adaptive, performance AT I've ever had.

And don't tell me how to live my life :-)

[HotLeopardMama]

AT for me and love it. Just wanna drive and didn't want to hafta re-learn how to drive a stick. I don't regret it at all and I LOVE my FR-S.

[Ricepuddin]

Originally Posted by belavia

AT. MT is fun, and all, but it is a 20th century technology. I like to track and do autocross. Having a strong karting background, I left foot brake.

MT will not let you LFB for the turns, and you will lose time moving feet. I know, we are talking tenths of seconds, but this is one of the reasons the F1 drivers who RFB have been slower (read: Rubens).

Shifting is a tertiary act to driving. Taking out shifting, I can move more focus and concentration to identifying the line, measuring the grip, feeling the slip, threshold braking, etc.

I love manual, but I love going fast too, and AT, at least this particular one, makes this possible.

In manuals we have heel-toe shifting. Same concept, more pedals

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[nix]

To me the difference is less about shifting response than the relationship between throttle body, flywheel and clutch. I dont like the off throttle characteristics of an AT box and losing manual control over engine and wheel speed as well as the ability to clutch limits a lot of driving techniques.

[KRAZYK]

Originally Posted by Laurie

I went for the Automatic Toyota 86 simply because out here in the Middle East - that means a spec level more in line with the Subaru BRZ - it has HID headlights, Push Button entry / start, Dual Zone AC, etc etc. Had I gone with the manual, it's more like the Scion FRS except it's lacking cruise control as well. For a daily driver those extras were important... things I would use every day... having a manual so I can do better drifts with it on the other hand - is something I can only do in very quiet areas where it's safe to do so. Weighing up the pros and cons, the Auto was winning.... But I was still a bit apprehensive, because I've always been a manual purist... 3 of the cars in my signature are stick shifts.

But then I got invited to Yas Marina for our launch event and was able to drive an Automatic one in person. Was actually surprised at how responsive the auto box is in manual / sport mode. Down shifts are very aggressive, it won't up-shift on you even if you red-line it, and it also won't kick down a gear when it feels like it. The 3 biggest things I hate about the automatics are not an issue with this car.

So that sealed the deal for me - and I went with the Auto box.

I gotta say - I don't regret it at all. I still have the 3 manual cars that are in my signature - the MX5 included - so I can still take the manuals out when I feel like it. For a daily driver, having the 86 in sport mode is a lot of fun - and traffic is much less stressful.

Interestingly - on the race track is actually where I was quite glad to have the auto box... Anyone who's taken delivery of theirs already will know that they really make their power in quite a narrow area of the RPM range, which means if you really want to push the car hard, you'll be working that gearbox a LOT. I think having the paddles means I still get to decide what gear I'm in, but at the same time it's effortless and both hands are on the wheel.

In contrast, the MX5 feels like it's got a wider torque range and isn't such a problem if you're not in the right gear.

The stripped out car with the manual box that we get here is a great purist drivers car... but the auto box with more bells and whistles is much better suited as a daily driver and grand-tourer.

I wonder why they would have equiped the MT so poorly compared to the AT in your region? Is that for ALL Toyota 86s?
Looking at the options that came on the AT - I might have done the same thing - but here the MT and AT are equiped the same.