Quote:
Originally Posted by Efthreeoh
Quote:
Originally Posted by wtwo3
I appreciate the input. The point of me asking the question is not to get a definitive yes/no answer (yes, I know, I set up a poll and asked a yes/no question), but to gain perspective that I currently don't have. 100% understand those are other people's perspectives, but they're better than no perspective at all outside of the handful of times I've driven a manual car.
I think the fact that I'm asking the question to begin with means I'm willing to commit to a lifestyle change. If I wasn't then I'd have literally no reason to create this post.
But to answer your questions:
- Automatics being faster is a combination of the car and the driver doing the shifting. As a novice, I'd fully expect an equivalent auto to easily outperform me rowing my own gears. That being said, it's a VERY small con for me if at all. After a certain point incremental increases in speed just don't matter anymore, else I'd have ended up in a Tesla by now.
- I'm not really worried about heavy traffic since I don't experience that on a normal basis, but gaining perspective for people who have is valuable input for me.
- Being fully engaged with the act of driving sounds amazing. Do I want to be fully engaged 100% of the time? It's very hard for me to answer that... inclination is to say yes, but again this is where gaining people's perspective comes into play (i.e. do you sometimes get tired of it, or is it something which makes you look forward to it every time you sit in the car)
- Shifting a "manumatic" is nowhere near the same as a true manual.
I'm not 100% relying on an online forum to help answer this for me.. I'm being proactive (at least I think I am). I just set up a rental for an Evo X for a few days next week to see how I like driving it around my hood for some additional perspective. I'll report back how it makes me feel.
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I never tire of having full manual control of gear selection. |
Agreed. I find it more tiring to drive an automatic in traffic. Holding down the brake takes more effort, and the car always trying to move forward in stop and go traffic gets annoying. The spousal Volvo has a button to stop the creep, it's pretty nice.
I've lived in Dallas, Orange County and Austin, all have bad traffic and I've never once regretted having nothing but manuals.