I'm a three-pedal guy. Yep, I prefer the additional involvement, work and skill that driving a true manual transmission car requires. For folks like me with 95 octane in their veins, it's just more fun keeping the engine on song on a deserted winding road and clicking off smooth, rev-matched downshifts all by using your own brain and limbs.
That said, dealing with the almost nightly, soul-crushing slog seen above is more than enough to challenge one's allegiance to a DIY tranny. Thankfully, the Kizashi is blessed with a light-effort, progressive clutch and a slick gearshift that make it ideal for urban warriors who still get a kick out of driving a stick.
John DiPietro, Automotive Editor @ 18, 895 miles
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felonious_monk says:
12:37 PM, 02/18/11
I test drove a GTS again last weekend and it really is a wonderful car. I really ought to just buy one already, but I'm digging not having a car payment. I'll wait 'til my Mirage finally dies and I'm forced into the expenditure-- because I sure as hell ain't gonna commute in my Jeep if I don't have to.
blueguydotcom says:
12:42 PM, 02/18/11
Never minded a manual in stop n go - even in LA. I find I'm just bored as hell in an automatic.
northsparrow says:
01:38 PM, 02/18/11
The manual will keep you awake and engaged in heavy traffic. It should greatly decrease the chances of bumping into the back of someone else's car.
ed124c says:
02:59 PM, 02/18/11
My semtiments exactly, especially the "bored as hell" comment. I came to that realization when my buddy bought a new '02 SHO with an automatic and he let me drive it for a few hours. Boring as hell. I couldn't wait to get back into my '91 SH0 and my beloved stick and clutch. I haven't bought an automatic since 1978.
tigerbangs54 says:
06:21 PM, 02/18/11
Ah, but I am old and feeble, and my left leg is in a brace: the CVT works just fine for me, and , if I want to keep the engine on the boil, I have the quasi-manual shifter for that. One thing that I have noticed is that, because it can can react so quickly to calls to the engine room that they gear the transmission WAY LOW when just tooling around town: under 1500RPM except when accelerating. It seems as if the engine is on the verge of lugging at times, but the slightest pressure on the accelerator causes the transmission to change ratios, and the car takes off in a hurry. You may like the manual better, and I get that, but the CVT is pretty amazing in its own right
The other cool thing about the CVT is that it adjusts ratios in such small increments on the highway that you never feel a kick-down, as you would with a conventional transmission. With the cruise control on, I can see the tachometer rise and fall a couple of hundred RPM when the car is climbing a hill, but you would never know it without looking at the tach
chunky_azian says:
11:11 PM, 02/18/11
Like other posters, I'd much rather drive a good manual than a bad auto in LA. A typical automatics with torque converters have this nasty habit of not giving immediate power when I first step on the go pedal. Then it gives too much power, necessitating a tap on the brake then back on the power. When I had to rent an auto while my own car was in the body shop, I was so frustrated with that brake, gas, brake, gas, brake, gas dance, rather than a precise control of speed with one pedal, I tried to destroy the car's transmission.
OTOH, I once rented a Civic Hybrid and I had no qualms with that CVT's behavior. It provided immediate throttle response like a manual, engine braked like a manual. As much as I prefer a manual, I would drive a CVT if it isn't friction based.
northsparrow says:
08:50 AM, 02/19/11
tigerbangs54,
Sorry to hear that you are "old and feeble" . It should go without saying that people with health issues ought to be accommodated with enabling devices like automatic transmissions . I switched to a manual after driving automatics exclusively for almost 20 years. I hope I never have to give up the control, focus and engagement that a manual provides. The 1 finger 1 foot driving style which is almost encouraged by automatics is an accident waiting to happen.