Worried about Buying a Manual

[switchlanez]

Originally Posted by YaX

The folks who have always driven automatics can't comprehend this. They think there's some misguided elitist motivation for saying the manual is superior to the automatic. Bullshit. It's completely justified elitism.

[Spaceywilly]

Originally Posted by YaX

Except, while you "learn" on your car, you're destroying it.

Might want to consider buying a beater, first.

I learned on my car and it still has the original clutch at 135,000 miles. I let a few friends learn on it as well. It's not 1975, you can stall a car now without damaging it. As long as you have somebody who knows what they're doing teaching you you won't destroy anything. It's really not hard to do, I know people who know absolutely nothing about cars who drive manual because that's what they learned on.

[5hairpins]

Unless you will be driving in stop and go traffic every day, get the manual. If you do drive stop and go every day, go do 1000 left leg presses every day until the car comes out and get the manual.

I hate driving automatics now because I get bored. With a manual, you stay in tune with the car, knowing how fast you are going just by the position of your shift hand and the rev of the engine.

In many ways it is like learning to ride a bike. Knowing how much force to press on the petal and when to release your foot from the ground to get rolling without losing your balance. Once you get it, you will never forget it.

[swift996]

Originally Posted by karbon

I was going to get an automatic, but with everyone here attesting to how easy and little time it takes to pick up driving a manual, I'm on the fence! Three reasons I want(ed) an auto: 1) I've only driven automatics. 2) Living in LA, I figured an automatic would be more practical. 3) If most reviews can be trusted, the auto is pretty good in this car.

What should I do??

A Prius is more "practical"

I've never owned an automatic. I use to live outside of DC where the traffic was terrible, it does get annoying at times but everytime I have a rental car, I can't wait to get home and back into a manual.

[Mango22]

You can manually pick your nose with your finger and experience the full engaging affect of the act or you can blow your nose into a tissue and it automatically comes out. So, the question is... do you like picking your nose or not. Those who blow their nose have no concept of the experience they are missing out on.

[cmspooner]

Originally Posted by Mango22

You can manually pick your nose with your finger and experience the full engaging affect of the act or you can blow your nose into a tissue and it automatically comes out. So, the question is... do you like picking your nose or not. Those who blow their nose have no concept of the experience they are missing out on.

Personally, I prefer the control and precision I get from picking my nose manually

[random]

Originally Posted by Mango22

You can manually pick your nose with your finger and experience the full engaging affect of the act or you can blow your nose into a tissue and it automatically comes out. So, the question is... do you like picking your nose or not. Those who blow their nose have no concept of the experience they are missing out on.

I hope this wasn't a serious analogy, because it was terrible!

Here's an attempt at a better one: driving a manual transmission is a lot like preparing and cooking your own food, while driving an automatic transmission is a lot like nuking a frozen meal in the microwave. You get better at cooking your own food with a little practice, it tends to taste better than microwaved, frozen meals and you enjoy the whole process as well.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by 5hairpins

...In many ways it is like learning to ride a bike. Knowing how much force to press on the petal and when to release your foot from the ground to get rolling without losing your balance. Once you get it, you will never forget it.

Very true.

For the OP, I've driven manuals in everything from Ford farm tractors to Ferraris, with stops between in motorcycles, ATVs, 10 ton dump trucks, and even a few regular old automobiles. I have no problem driving a manual, but in the end, it doesn't really excite me.

I'm getting an automatic in my FR-S because, well, I just prefer it. With the paddle shifters and rev matching I can duplicate 99.9% of the "excitment" of a manual with the option to not having to do it all the time. (And yes, I've driven the FR-S, in manual mode, using the paddle shifters, and was perfectly satisfied with it).

It really is a personal prefence in the end, with a little "how do I intend to use the car" thrown in for good measure. If this was 1985, I would not buy this car with an automatic, but its not. Technology really has caught up.

This debate goes on with every type of enthusiast circle. In aviation, its nose-gear vs tail-dragger. In computers it's iOS vs Windows vs Linux. Interesting thing is in all these discussions folks on both sides of the fences always end up accomplishing the same thing, and everybody always thinks they are right.

[Lighting Red]

Originally Posted by Snoopyalien24

Why was this car released in auto anyways.. I feel it shoulda stayed only in manual like the S2k and other cars

P-R-O-F-I-T

They can sell automatics as far as I am concerned (like I have that kind of clout anyways..). The more BRZs Subaru can sell, the more they can pump back into RWD platform development. The money for HI-PO versions have to come from somewhere. Let them eat cake, and drive automatics!

[Allch Chcar]

Originally Posted by swift996

A Prius is more "practical"

^This.

OP, you worry too much. It'll be fine. You still have the test drive before you commit anyway.

[Subie]

From what I've seen online, the automatic is VERY good, being a similar unit to the one found in the IS-F. However, I noticed that as with other automatics, even if the actual shift times are very good, there seems to be about the same amount of input lag that you see with other cars when manually shifting.

Take

video for example. Whenever the driver operates the paddles, there is an appreciable delay before the transmission actually shifts. The shifts are very quick, but there is still that level of abstraction away from the driver that you don't get with a manual transmission. The manual transmission is the superior choice, even for a novice (as long as he is willing to learn), and allows the driver to be much more connected to the car.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by Spaceywilly

As long as you have somebody who knows what they're doing teaching you you won't destroy anything.

This is the hardest part IMO. I can count on one hand how many folks I know who drive stick, of them I would trust only or two to properly teach someone. Frankly my opinion has always been that if you can conceptualize and visualize what's going on mechanically when shifting/clutching, you will be able to learn the basics. Beyond the basics it's all practice; for that you need someone who knows what they're doing to impart some of their knowledge unto you.

I say this as someone who has driven automatic his whole life and only had a small amount of time driving stick collectively across several cars.

[Subie]

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

This is the hardest part IMO. I can count on one hand how many folks I know who drive stick, of them I would trust only or two to properly teach someone. Frankly my opinion has always been that if you can conceptualize and visualize what's going on mechanically when shifting/clutching, you will be able to learn the basics. Beyond the basics it's all practice; for that you need someone who knows what they're doing to impart some of their knowledge unto you.

I taught myself. The internet is a wonderful resource.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by Subie

I taught myself.

Exactly. All you don't get is feedback on your technique from a live, breathing person. You get plenty of feedback from the car, but a person can help point things out quicker than you might figure them out. Combine that with the wealth of information available on the internet and no one should have trouble driving stick if they understand simple mechanics and a few concepts.