Manual transmissions

My 2c

Yes I know efficiency etc etc but this boils down to the fact that the majority of drivers want a cheap clean efficient machine to get around.

We who are enthusiast or those who love driving for the experience of it are a minority group, even smaller now that DSG and fart noises came along.
 
GOOD autos with paddleshift is just better than manual. Whether it's more enjoyable, or the reliability of it, is another topic, but they are better. The also add around R50k to the purchase price.

The shitty autos in the older cars or cheaper cars are just terrible, and I would rather just get a manual.
 
This is just another reason I love my bike, manual and sequential. Nothing beats downshifting and blipping the throttle all the way from 6th to 2nd just in time to take the corner and then wide open . Puts a smile on my face every single day.
 
I only owned manual transmission cars my whole life. The car I drive now does not have the option of a manual transmission, so an auto box it had to be. Now, I can fully understand why autos are so popular. It is much nicer to drive, especially in peak traffic to work and back, but I must admit. I would not hesitate to swap this car for the same car in a manual transmission. Manual transmission cars are faster and use less fuel. This is true for all the same cars that comes in manual and auto (manufacturers figures)
I love to drive my auto car, BUT, yes its a very big but. I just hate it when I step on the throttle and it downshifts 2 gears. In most situations 1 gear or even nothing would have provided adequate acceleration for the situation, but every time you kick down it goes in ''racing mode''. You can step on the throttle less hard then it won't downshift, but then there is poor acceleration.
I also like to get to top gear as soon as possible. Driving downhill on a lazy Sunday with a manual transmission it is so easy, but with an auto you do need to reach a minimum speed before it changes gear.
Then, I have only a 5 speed auto box. Perhaps if it was one of the latest 8 speed auto boxes it would have worked better for me.
If you like driving and do not just use a car to go from point A to point B, then a manual is so much nicer.
But, that is just me.
 
I am Old School and thus Manual all the way, but it would seem to me that clutches on new cars aren't as durable as they use to be.

That being said, I am myself contemplating an auto for my next... Why? Traffic.

And since bench-seats does not exist as an option anymore, having the Mrs under the arm is more convenient in an auto.

Currently I am still on a manual, though.
 
Sinbad said:
Only lessons you can offer are in drivel.
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Okay in all honesty, the speeding up and then braking heavily thing which you guys seem to do in heavy traffic is counter productive and it creates a chain reaction that slows traffic down more.
If you give yourself a bit of a following distance and just sit back and relax and crawl along at a constant speed the traffic will flow better.
You don't have to press in the clutch all the time, you don't have to brake all the time, just relax.
 
rietrot said:
Manuals is just better for anyone driving more than 15min a day on their regular commute. If it's more stressing or there is a big difference in feul economy, you probably don't know how to drive.
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You obviously don't commute on the N2 into Cape Town. Reason why I traded my manual for an auto after getting stuck twice in traffic for 3 hours in one week.

As for fuel efficiency, modern auto's are surprisingly better than in the past. I average 17km/l for 1.5 mixed driving. I can also switch on the cruise control which makes my 700km getaways feels like a trip around the block.
 
rietrot said:
Okay in all honesty, the speeding up and then braking heavily thing which you guys seem to do in heavy traffic is counter productive and it creates a chain reaction that slows traffic down more.
If you give yourself a bit of a following distance and just sit back and relax and crawl along at a constant speed the traffic will flow better.
You don't have to press in the clutch all the time, you don't have to brake all the time, just relax.
Click to expand...
Good luck doing that in a gridlock, when you're moving 5 meters at a time every 30-60 seconds. And that's without a taxi cutting into the tiny gap you've created.

You can advocate for a manual as much as you want, but don't peddle bullschit about scenarios that don't exist in the real world...
 
Moneywaster said:
Then, I have only a 5 speed auto box. Perhaps if it was one of the latest 8 speed auto boxes it would have worked better for me.
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You're comparing what sounds like a terribad auto to a good manual. Most autos from the US or Japan are just plain bad, and do all sorts of stupid things and to top it off do them slowly.
 
Moneywaster said:
I only owned manual transmission cars my whole life. The car I drive now does not have the option of a manual transmission, so an auto box it had to be. Now, I can fully understand why autos are so popular. It is much nicer to drive, especially in peak traffic to work and back, but I must admit. I would not hesitate to swap this car for the same car in a manual transmission. Manual transmission cars are faster and use less fuel. This is true for all the same cars that comes in manual and auto (manufacturers figures)
I love to drive my auto car, BUT, yes its a very big but. I just hate it when I step on the throttle and it downshifts 2 gears. In most situations 1 gear or even nothing would have provided adequate acceleration for the situation, but every time you kick down it goes in ''racing mode''. You can step on the throttle less hard then it won't downshift, but then there is poor acceleration.
I also like to get to top gear as soon as possible. Driving downhill on a lazy Sunday with a manual transmission it is so easy, but with an auto you do need to reach a minimum speed before it changes gear.
Then, I have only a 5 speed auto box. Perhaps if it was one of the latest 8 speed auto boxes it would have worked better for me.
If you like driving and do not just use a car to go from point A to point B, then a manual is so much nicer.
But, that is just me.
Click to expand...
You might want to go test drive a new(ish) dsg, that would solve most (if not all) of the issues you have with that auto.
 
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