kenji4861

I have been driving an auto all my life.

Yesterday, I got to drive a manual for the whole day for the first time..

I found it VERY annoying that I had to keep my attention to the RPM or the sound of the engine to see when I should shift to next gear.

I haven't purchased a TSX yet, but this made me want to get an Auto TSX.

Any auto drivers experience this? Would I eventually just get use to manual and start loving it?

stuckthrotle

ive driven both.While auto is easier in heavy traffic once youve been driving manual for a while you dont think about shifting.I bought the auto sometimes i regret not getting the six speed but the sportshift works well and im allway glad i have the auto when traffic is bad which is most of the time.

pandimus

Yeah dont worry about it at all. It becomes second nature to know when to shift. Matter fact you dont even realize you are doing it. If you are single and can buy one, get a manual. My wife is the only reason i am buying an auto.

brett

I've been driving stick for over 25 years, so its second nature to me. Even if traffic it doesn't bother me. I know there are some really good automatics out there, but for me there is no substitute for being able to control the exact gear I want to be in at the exact time.

poltergeist

Might I suggest a nice Buick!!!!

In all seriousness, the advantage to a M/T car is the fact that you have to be "in tune" with the car.

If you want to talk on your phone and sip your latte while you're driving, than the auto is probably better for you.

fdl

I dont need to keep attention to RPM and engine noise. You did because you are a noob MT driver. In time you would get better at it and wouldnt have to think about it.

But honestly, if staying alert to what the car is doing (speed, rpm, etc) was VERY annoying for you, an auto might not be a bad idea.

TSX 'R' US

but...but...but...that's the fun part...

Yeah, once you've driven it for a while you'll know when to shift, etc.

mg7726

you're just a n00b - it's gets better as you spend time with the stick and clutch. i've been driving manual for 14 years...this is my first auto.

i feel like a n00b too

AlterZgo

Not at all. After a short time, you get used to the sound of the engine revs and never have to look at the tach - unless you're actually speeding and trying to redline each gear.

What I do find annoying is how with most automatics, they always shift at inopportune times when you're in the middle of a turn. The lag btw the time you shift and when the transmission actually shifts is also very annoying in an automatic. With a manual, you have none of these issues.

NeoChaser

TSX is my first manual car as well..


well... after a while... all the u said will just go numb...

tsxhondatuner

tsx is my third car, neva had an auto. weird.

rivvin

My first car was auto, second was stick. When I started out, I was like you...had to pay attention to everything. Very annoying. Now, some years later, I don't even think about it. I just do it. My TSX is auto though. I have my reasons why I got auto...but I find that when I'm driving it, it's painfully boring sometimes!

Proo

Me too. It's been about a year and I still find I pay attention, but it's half conscious... how to describe... I feel it and sometimes try to think about it, but it all just seems a natural part of driving now and I miss it when it's not there.

Three things I can think of that are slightly a problem still...
1. I feel a bit self-conscious when I have passengers because I know that even in a seasoned manual driver's car, it is likely to be more jerky than an automatic unless they are being particularly slow and smooth. Maybe part of it is that it's just more noticeable when I sit in other people's manual cars because I know what's going on.
2. Also, it is harder to eat, drink, hold things, tie shoelaces, etc since you are missing a hand.
3. Traffic jams are that much more annoying, especially up a hill (or valley).

daniel1113

Shifting will definitely become second nature after a few weeks to a month of driving. It took me about 2 weeks to get the hang of it, and now, about 3 years later, I can drive a manual and do the same things that anyone driving an auto can do, like talk on the phone, eat, shuffle cards... I wouldn't recommend doing these activities, but it isn't any more difficult than in an automatic.

rekor

I can do all that in a manual

no joke

just takes some practice

it's like second nature now

biker

brett

If they don't like it, let them walk.

aascsm

blackjackman

you'll get over it

poltergeist

More power to ya! I'd rather drive my car.

ClutchPerformer

You know.... IMHO, the fact that the MT forces you to pay more attention to driving is a GOOD thing.

fdl's right, though. You only really have to pay attention if you're a n00b. Once you're used to it (especially with YOUR car), you don't have to pay attention unless you want to.

Brooks

I have driven a MT since I was 18, I am now 24. All my cars have been MT. It becomes second nature after just a short time using MT. In my TSX I usually swtich gears around 3-4k. The TSX has one of the smoothest reving engines and gearbox I have been in and driven. The TSX in 6MT is a blast to drive.

rekor

yeah, I usually don't drive, I just park somewhere (like a Lexus dealer, 4 star restaurant, Sak's Fifth Ave, etc.) and sip on a latte and pretend to talk on the phone, all the while trying to look important in my Versace suit that's made in China

LionTsX

I think Proo is onto something with the passengers issue - are most of MT drivers single, while married folk go for the AT? That may be oversimplifying it a bit, but it may affect the results of this poll. I'm on track to buy a 2004 TSX by the end of the year, and I never drove a stick, but because I will probably be driving my family around most of the time, I feel less inclined to start experimenting with the MT on my new vehicle.

I know you "get used to it", but for a n00b stick driver who commutes to work 20 miles each way in busy traffic, AT may be the way to go. Chalk it up to one of the sacrifices of married life.

dom

IMO. If you are the only person driving the car, the MT is a must regardless of traffic conditions or being a NooB with a MT. If other people are driving the car and they either don't drive an MT or don't want to learn then AT is the way to go. But we all have our own priorities and needs. If your more comfortable with the AT or don't feel like clutching 30 miles in stop and go traffic then get the AT, believe me its enjoyable as well.

gfxdave99

Are you a man or are you a mouse?

blackjackman

MT is fun and you feel you're in control of the car - but you'll appreciate AT when you get a sprained left ankle or something

jlukja

He is THIS mouse

dom

Nice

gfxdave99

I was thinking more along the lines of

Selanne_2001

Well my first car was a civic and it was an auto. I only got the auto because it was my first car and my parents bought it for me. So with the typical parents nag, i got an auto. However, after learnin' how to drive a MT car with my firend's beater a few times, I knew when i was gettin' the TSX, it had to be a MT. So when I finally got my tsx in MT, i admit i was a lil nervous and drove like a noob. Everytime at an intersection i would get scared that i'll stall or make an ass outta myself, constantly payin' attention fo the rev carefully and things like that. (I have to drive over 20km each way to school everyday)But after 2 weeks or so, you'll start gettin' used to it and wouldn't be an nervous. I've had my tsx for a month and a lil bit more now and i don't pay attention to my rev no more when i shift unless i was waitin' for the vtec to kick in, hehe. But sometimes when i get someone else sittin' in my car i would tense up and maybe drive a lil worse than i normally would?? I think that'll be gone as time passes by. Like most of these guys said tho, therez nothing better having total control over you car and the MT is the only way to do it. I've been in/driven an AT car with the tiptronic control but that is no where near MT.

Brain640

If you do get the manual transmittion, you will get spoiled. The whole mechanism of the shift gate the the progression of the clutch is so much better than the other manuals i have driven (mazda 6, eclipes, honda accord 6-speed, honda civic, camero, maxima 6-speed, and the big ones, C5 corvette and '98 M3). So if you get a manual, this is the one to get (TL and S2000 have the same set up pretty much) but you won't want to drive any others.

ric

By now you get the drift that those who prefer mt's pursue that with the devotion of cult membership....... mt driving is an art, a craft, and for many, a very great pleasure. It is also, like single-malt scotch, something that is a slowly acquired taste for some, an innate and perhaps genetic choice for others. Still others prefer something else entirely......

If you have learned on a mt car, at driving is quite simple and straightforward. If you learned to drive on an at, mt driving is always something of a mystery when you start. Give it some time. Try it in different road conditions.

I learned to drive both at the outset. Some of my most favorite memories are of whipping an early version of the Toyota Celica mt around the Talahina Skyline drive, of doing controlled drifts on back roads in Louisiana in a Saab mt - neither events really easily possible in an at. On the other hand the silky at of my father's late 60's Mercedes was its own form of delight.

There are posts all over this site by avowed at and mt participants, including the still-running poll of who has which. Cases can be made for either at or mt; the preponderance of posts on this site will tell you that you loose some crispness of power control in a car not exactly possessed with excess torque. However, if you commute in bumper/bumper rush hour traffic, at may be your best choice.

Whatever decision you make, drive both the at and mt and own your decision.............

fyi, I have an at - mandated by my company, as it is subsidize by my firm - but I still drive via the tach to some degree - instinct or habit - and I have fun, from time to time, with the ss feature. Is it the same as mt? nope. Conversely, driving through downtown Philly during rushour, bumper/bumper, horns blaring - am glad to just inch along with at at my behest.

GeorgeTSX

I have always driven an auto trans. For me personally, I think shifting gears is a complete and utter waste of time that is better spent concentrating on the road and enjoying the ride. Especially considing how good the auto transmissions on cars like the TSX are these days. It was a different story with cars when I started driving 22 years ago. The auto trans on the cars I drove back then were pretty crappy. If I owned a sports car for weekend fun driving, that would be a different story. But for a car like the TSX, that I drive each day to work in traffic, and is my only car, AT is the way to go. I understand there are those people who have always driven a MT and like it, and that's fine. But for the MT folk who think they are somehow superior because they manually shift gears in their car and look down on those who don't... Those people need to get a life. Really.

I don't manually wash my clothes, I don't manually wash my dishes, I don't manually open my garage door, I don't manually even program a VCR ( I have a TIVO :-) and I don't manually shift gears in my car.

So in my opinion, if you like driving an Auto Trans and that's what you are used to, then I say go with a AT TSX. You'll love it. Then if you get the desire to manually shift gears, throw it into Sports Shift mode.

ClutchPerformer

Those are bad analogies. Try listing things that you LIKE doing, and see how many of them are manual vs. auto.

For example, who would want an automatic..... fishing machine?! No one, right? The pleasure in fishing comes from catching the fish yourself.

poltergeist

I don't manually wash my clothes, I don't manually wash my dishes, I don't manually open my garage door, I don't manually even program a VCR ( I have a TIVO :-) and I don't manually shift gears in my car.

I guess you consider your TSX an appliance. I don't.

Maybe soon you'll be able to get auto-accelerating, auto-steering & auto-braking. Both of my vehicles are M/T, and I have no problem driving in SoCal traffic.

poltergeist

I guess you consider your TSX an appliance. I don't.

Maybe someday soon you'll be able to get auto-accelerating, auto-steering and auto-braking too.

Whiskers

I can't wait for that, really....Sleeping on my way to work!!!!