What to do, what to do..

[phillies5582]

You are like me. I had never driven manual regularly in my life. I learned on my dad's truck when i was 16, and drove a few manual cars here and there since. But I knew for this I wanted a manual. It gives you such a better connection to the car, as well as better control. And simply enough its more fun.

I was nervous with it at first, and I did have some expected trouble with it. A few over revs and some stalls, but nothing major. After about 300 miles I figured out where the sweet spot was in the clutch. Now its been 2 weeks and I'm nearly at 1000 miles and it feels comfortable.

I can see why some get a AT. Depending on your commute and how you want to drive it, it can make better sense to get that. And with the paddle shifters these days there is some more driver connection and control. But it'll never be as much control as you can get with a MT.

I'd say you should get the MT. I think long term and looking back at it you'll find you made a good decision. For me I wanted to drive a MT for the experience before I'm old and my back hurts too much to climb into a sports car, and my knees hurt too much to work a clutch...

[Slartibartfast]

My two cents.

If you get the auto, you will love it! It's a GREAT automatic. But... You'll always have that feeling of what if I had got the manual.

If you get the manual, you will hate it! (for the first few weeks) Then you will suddenly see the light.
Suddenly, you'll start feeling like you're part of the machine. A participant, not a passenger. The foot ballet with the three pedals is what I enjoy best. You don't need to start learning heel-toe right off the bat. But when you're ready, it's an absolute joy.

You will NEVER regret getting the manual.

[kthxbai]

I recently just bought a manual whiteout. I'm a girl who has driven a 1996 Mustang A/T for the last 13 years. My fiance drives a manual tC and he started teaching me how to drive a manual for the "just in case" situations that occur in life about 4 years ago. The first few times it is going to be nerve wrecking, but the set up on the FR-S is pretty user friendly. Although I did not drive a manual as a DD, the first time I drove the FR-S home from the dealership it was almost as if the car just tells you what it needs you to do.

So, if you have a chance to practice in a manual, do so if it will help your confidence. If not, jumping into the manual FR-S will not be a bad idea. The only way you could destroy your clutch on the first day home is if your try to launch at a light and do it so wrong that your clutch just disintegrates. As long as you respect the car & keep in mind the simple rules of driving a manual, a little clutch burn here and there is not the end of the world. Worse case scenario the A/T is something to be reckoned with and replacing the clutched is not that expensive.

[Hoosier91]

Thanks for the responses guys(and gals), I do think Im leaning towards the manual. I live in South Bend, Indiana which is not an extremely big city but there is still a good amount of traffic in a lot of areas that I drive. Im pretty confident that I can learn to drive a mt pretty easily but I am kind of worried about driving in traffic for the first couple weeks. But it is something that needs to be learned and this seems like a good car to start with. The fact that you can set it up to show you when to shift up/down is very intriguing to me.

[bdbx18]

Manual? Never ever again. Even if I have a shorter commute in my near future. Now if you live and breath cars and you only drive for the pleasure of it, then yeah. But all else, getting somewhere, multi-tasking you know eating, drinking, taking calls, relaxing, talking with your passenger e.g., the AT is perfect. In the old days, autoboxes have 3-speed where you won't extract good performance since it is spaced so far apart unless you have oodles of torque. Today, we have twice that, 6-speed so that's no longer an issue. Moreover, you can play with the paddle shifters if you want more control around the curves and flick it to D if you have to do the traffic grind. That's what I do with my old SMG except it jerks you to death in D mode. Today, I had a drink in my hand and I realize I was in manual mode on my AT going around a corner and about to hit 4k on my yet unbroken in BRZ. The center console cupholder is only reachable with my left hand but I can't reach it fast enough. So I nudged the shifter back to D and all is good. If it's a stick, there won't be a hand on the wheel.

[JoeBoxer]

The auto is excellent, in sport mode it almost reminds me of a DSG. Sometimes i do wish i got the manual but still love the car. You can't really go wrong either way they are both great transmissions. The auto is capable of holding some power too there are a couple turbo auto's and they have been doing fine.

[#87]

If you don't take the time to actually learn to drive a manual properly you will be faster in an auto. I have manual and I am sure if I were timed around a track I would be faster in an auto, but in time that will change.

Honestly if the auto actually holds power reliably I'd consider trading for an auto and putting FI on it.

But the manual will always be more fun IMO ^_^

[rikdrt1]

Originally Posted by Asphalt~86

I have driven a manual for a rather long time and purchased my FR-S as an AT. Mostly I settled because there wasn't a car in sight for a while but I also bought it because for the time being it just suits me more.

You will be fine purchasing this as a MT and in all honestly you will achieve the best driving experience in the MT if you are looking for the real sports car feel.

I love my AT. You honestly can do vastly more things with the way the AT is set up in the Toyobaru than any other AT I have driven. This isn't a Civic or Sentra we are talking. The shifting when using the paddles is unbelievably timely and you can really get a sporty feel dropping into sport/M.

AT works for me because I am driving through rural/city on a basic non-stop basis while taking phone calls (District Manager Sales) so honestly having to shift and stop and go traffic is just annoying. Get the MT. Don't doubt yourself. Get the AT and Trade up on a later model MT if you want, but if I personally had the freedom I would have gone MT.

TL;DR: MT. From an AT owner.

agree with Asphalt - just do it in AT -- it wasnt until my car had over 1000 miles that i finally figured out all the cool things this AT does - and driving agressively up the mountains even my 6MT friends couldnt beleive it. this isnt a camry auto, -- its alot of fun - enjoy the car and dont worry about trying to learn or worry about being nervous --
also, for me the traffic that i may be driving in - made a big decision -but i was glad i did.
i basically left a 6MT on the floor and walked away from it just to find the AT! enjoy either way

[cantaloupe]

Definitely get the manual if you are going with this car. I've driven manual twice before I drove my car off the lot. I'll be honest, it was pretty nerve wrecking driving a new car off the lot and not having much experience with the manual. I have stalled plenty of times, but in the end I am glad I got the manual.