To Drive a stick or cruise an Auto?

[MrFRsLa]

So what do you guys think? I live in LA so man, do I want an Auto. But IDK living near the Hollywood Hills it would be mighty fun to jam around with a nice six speed manual.

P.S. Boss told me I have teach her son to drive stick when he gets his! LOL

Would love to hear what you guys think!

[ichitaka05]

MT can be nightmare in the traffic jam... AT is still fun to drive. It's all up to u, test drive MT & AT. If you're willing to go back & forth pushing in & out of clutch pedal for over an hr, go for MT. If not, go AT

[Sasquachulator]

Depends on how heavy traffic can be. Where i live traffic is nowhere near as bad as traffic can be so MT isnt a chore.

[2fast4you]

You want a stick. I lived in L.A. for 10 years, and still commute back and forth from Las Vegas, and I've never owned an auto. For me, it's easier to drive a manual on the 405 and 101/134/170 as I can control my speed through gearing rather than riding the brakes. Also... Laurel Canyon, Decker Canyon, Mulholland Drive, Sepulveda pass, PCH, and Kanan Dume are far more enjoyable when you row your own gears.

[SUB-FT86]

I personally love the kind of auto that comes with this car because some times I run into traffic so I use D mode but when the roads are clear I use M mode.

[MrFRsLa]

Originally Posted by 2fast4you

You want a stick. I lived in L.A. for 10 years, and still commute back and forth from Las Vegas, and I've never owned an auto. For me, it's easier to drive a manual on the 405 and 101/134/170 as I can control my speed through gearing rather than riding the brakes. Also... Laurel Canyon, Decker Canyon, Mulholland Drive, Sepulveda pass, PCH, and Kanan Dume are far more enjoyable when you row your own gears.

Now this guy know me well! I live 2 mins from Mulholland so I kinda consider it a slap in the face not to have a manual. I will have the first Raven Manual one that rolls off the truck!

[naticedog04]

For those of u who dont know... U dont have to push on the clutch to shift up or into neutral... Push the gas while the car is in "x" gear then wait for less than a sec and throw the shifter in neutral.. If u have a manual car go out and try it... Im sure it works with every car... (civic, rsx, eclipse) those are the only cars ive done it on... Doing a complete upshift without the clutch is a little stiff and hard on the tranny.. But a shift into neutral is smooth as can be... Stop and go traffic can be a pain in the ass in any car... But i hate pushing on the gas and waiting for my car to move or stepping on the gas and waitig for my cars computer to decide what gear it should be in... Driving stick is not as hard as automatic drivers make it out to be... For those people considering to buy this car with an automatic; they're missing out on the whole point of this car

[Turbowned]

Don't be a sissy - work that left leg!

I sit in Boston traffic all the time; it's a small price to pay for the enjoyment of rowing gears through the twisties, in the mountains, and on the track!

[SUB-FT86]

Originally Posted by naticedog04

For those of u who dont know... U dont have to push on the clutch to shift up or into neutral... Push the gas while the car is in "x" gear then wait for less than a sec and throw the shifter in neutral.. If u have a manual car go out and try it... Im sure it works with every car... (civic, rsx, eclipse) those are the only cars ive done it on... Doing a complete upshift without the clutch is a little stiff and hard on the tranny.. But a shift into neutral is smooth as can be... Stop and go traffic can be a pain in the ass in any car... But i hate pushing on the gas and waiting for my car to move or stepping on the gas and waitig for my cars computer to decide what gear it should be in... Driving stick is not as hard as automatic drivers make it out to be... For those people considering to buy this car with an automatic; they're missing out on the whole point of this car

The car manufacturer makes it with both tranny's so in other words the manufacturer is missing out on the whole point of this car. This car isn't a S2000.

[naticedog04]

Originally Posted by SUB-FT86

The car manufacturer makes it with both tranny's so in other words the manufacturer is missing out on the whole point of this car. This car isn't a S2000.

Please dont put words in my mouth... But i wouldnt purchase an automatic car for myself.

If ur asking my opinion of why the manufacturer made the automatic option available; i would say its to expand their sales market and Maybe do some research on paddle shifters??? Thats just my opinion though

This car is about the "feel" of driving... It is hard to "feel" anything in stop and go traffic... Just dont be scared to get a manual tranny cause uve never done it before...(unless there is physical implications)

Let me know if u would like more of my opinions 🍺

[Dark]

Originally Posted by naticedog04

For those of u who dont know... U dont have to push on the clutch to shift up or into neutral... Push the gas while the car is in "x" gear then wait for less than a sec and throw the shifter in neutral.. If u have a manual car go out and try it... Im sure it works with every car... (civic, rsx, eclipse) those are the only cars ive done it on... Doing a complete upshift without the clutch is a little stiff and hard on the tranny.. But a shift into neutral is smooth as can be... Stop and go traffic can be a pain in the ass in any car... But i hate pushing on the gas and waiting for my car to move or stepping on the gas and waitig for my cars computer to decide what gear it should be in... Driving stick is not as hard as automatic drivers make it out to be... For those people considering to buy this car with an automatic; they're missing out on the whole point of this car

Yeah, it should works. I always clutchless shift when I ride on my bike.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by ichitaka05

MT can be nightmare in the traffic jam... AT is still fun to drive. It's all up to u, test drive MT & AT. If you're willing to go back & forth pushing in & out of clutch pedal for over an hr, go for MT. If not, go AT

I agree. I drove my MK1 MR2 in DC traffic 100 miles commuting every day for years and never had an issue with it having a clutch.

That said, I'm getting the Auto on the FR-S. Why? In a word, personal choice. I would have never regretted getting the MT and if it hadn't had the AT I would have still gotten the car. I was also completely undecided until I had an opportunity to drive it.

I just liked the way the auto worked with the paddle shifters so (since this will be a DD and not a track car for me) I get what I consider the best of both worlds. Also, I am going to allow others to drive the car in the family, and while they all can drive a MT (I made sure of that), I don't want them driving mine!

I verified my left leg doesn't care and fortunately for me I've reached an age where I just don't care what others think of my choices.

[Lonewolf]

Whereas I was initially considering the auto, now I am starting to have second thoughts about it.

Though the final gearing is 4.10 in both MT and AT, the gear ratios are spaced for fuel economy in the AT (hence the 4 mpg difference) and some reviewers have remarked that it is not nearly as engaging or quick as the MT.

My wife can't (and won't learn to drive stick) so I am in a bit of quandary. I guess it will come down to the test drive.

[lookitschloe]

I don't really think of driving a manual as driving a manual anymore. It's just driving to me. I have done my fair share of driving far and in traffic everyday to get to work and home. In my opinion, driving in traffic or not in traffic isn't the point; it is how I want to have more control and feel for the car. I think you're making the right choice. Although, I do remember dating someone in the Hollywood Hills, and there are buttloads of traffic there which only matters because it's, erm, hilly. I'm not great at driving stick so that may not matter to you. I do not know when I will ever have the confidence to go all the way north on La Cienega right before it hits Sunset; steepest street hill I've ever come across (not counting neighborhood streets), and there is always a healthy amount of cars there.

Also, I know you only mentioned the traffic, but in the subject of LA and cars, I always think of parallel parking. For me, parking in a manual is different from parking in an auto because I can't turn around when I'm in my manual. So in essence I had to already be a good parallel parker to be able to park using stick. I think that's something else to consider: parallel parking, and doing it fast due to traffic behind you. And THEN there's my problem of not being able to parallel park without at least 2 car lengths between two cars on a hill... (ok that was a bit of an exaggeration... 1.5. but maybe I should just learn how to drive properly...)