Manual vs. Auto

[littlecarlove]

I was thinking of getting one with auto.
I can drive a standard, in fact every car I’ve own was a standard.
Oops. Just lied - I had a 1967 Mercury Monterey in college that was
an auto. Anyway, I haven’t had one in a long time and I’m tired of
working both hands and feet driving.
I haven’t done a test drive yet - going tomorrow. I might not get a
chance to test drive both transmissions since they are so scarce. Those
of you that have driven both - what did you think? Which did you
choose to buy?

Oh, my driving habits are on the boring side too, but I still want to be able
to pull out in traffic of course. I guess I’m asking is the auto too sluggish
in your opinion?

Hays

[boxerboy]

I have driven a A/T sedan and I own a M/T hatch. I found the auto was pretty good , we had four people in the car and 3 of us were over 220lbs. I was surprised that it was that strong. I prefer a manual trans in a small car, just me. Shifting is automatic for me. Most of the time I don't even know I shiftings threw the gears.

[TrancosRt]

Same a s boxerboy, I test drove an AT sedan, but bought a MT hatch. It was no beast by no means, but it drove just as fine (actually it had a little more of a "pull" than my 01 Chevy Prizm, an old Corolla basically).
I personally like MT better, and like boxerboy, shifting is automatic for me, specially now that I'm used to the Yaris Accelerator and clutch.

[littlecarlove]

Thanks for the input. I’m glad to know you both gave a thumbs up to
the auto even though you both bought manuals. I hope I get the
chance to drive them both, that’s probably the only way I’ll be able
to choose.

Hays

[tds12]

I test drove an auto and manual HB. Bought the manual. I thought the auto did alot of shifting. It was smooth and should be fine. I like to drive a manual especially in a small car.

Auto plus $750.
Manual never needs maintenance. Never.
Auto? Toyota should be fine.

[Driver]

:thumbsup: Adding my two cents, I didn't drive an auto but went immediately for the stick shift. I've always felt the with a stick I drive the car, with automatic I'm merely a steerer. Besides automatics don't get the same mpg's that a stick does. :thumbup:

[stuffy]

i own a manual, but drive the auto regularly (work part-time with rental company).

although i prefer the manual and find it a bit peppier, the auto is fun to drive as well and has some surprising pick-up.
i guess it just comes down to personal preference.

[07WYarisRS]

While I would rather have a manual, I actuall prefer the auto for where and how I drive.

I do a lot of highways and stop and go traffic at border crossings and Buffalo traffic and the auto just makes it much more enjoyable.
Nothing is worse or harder on a clutch then stop and go traffic and long highway trips a manual is preety much the same as an auto driving in top gear for hours on end... So in my case there is not benifit from an manual trans.
I have driven both and the Auto was better suited for intown/city driving.

[Violin]

I like driving a manual better but I spend too much time in traffic. I hate having to hold the clutch down for extended periods.

The auto has plenty of pickup. The Yaris is extremely light so pickup is good, even with a smallish engine and an automatic tranny.

[tekmoe]

i've never owned an automatic and i live in dallas where traffic is heavy all the time. i take the back roads and don't have to worry about holding down the clutch! :thumbup:

[doodoo]

I'm not sure about the automatic, but the manual isn't very exciting. It feels regulated, but maybe its the variable valve timing that takes away the excitement. Also, the electric throttle is slow to respond making the manual kinda boring. Wish I had just got a corolla automatic

[Katana]

Ι like my manual transmission.

[stuffy]

Nothing is worse or harder on a clutch then stop and go traffic

you dont' have to stop and go in heavy traffic, just back off a good distance from the bumper of the guy in front of you and coast in low gear.
i drive through toronto traffic all the time on the 401 and 403 and i hardly ever have to use my brakes,

also, by giving space in front of you, it allows for merging cars to get on the highway without causing cars to stop and therefore causing the accordion-effect which causes everybody to have to constantly apply their brakes.

[SimmZ]

I own an auto Echo and the tranny is acting very well!

[07WYarisRS]

you dont' have to stop and go in heavy traffic, just back off a good distance from the bumper of the guy in front of you and coast in low gear.
i drive through toronto traffic all the time on the 401 and 403 and i hardly ever have to use my brakes,

also, by giving space in front of you, it allows for merging cars to get on the highway without causing cars to stop and therefore causing the accordion-effect which causes everybody to have to constantly apply their brakes.

You clearly have never driven in HEAVY traffic
I'm not talking about highway stop and go traffic, I'm talking about sitting at the border crossing like the Rainbow and peace bridge into Canada and US. Where you can often have to sit in one place for 3-10 minutes before moving ahead 8 feet then another 3-4 minutes. Same with US tolls.
On an average week day it take 30 minutes to an hour to move 1/4 mile or less. often i shut the car off until they move up, start the car move up 8 feet and shut it off again
On the 401-403 I can avaerage 20-30kph on my bike while everyone is almost at a crawl, you can't do that in Atlanta or LA or even downtown NY.
I've driven the 401-403 for 15 years and have NEVER seen traffic like at the customs/borders or in the Major US cities.

[stuffy]

I'm not talking about highway stop and go traffic, I'm talking about sitting at the border crossing like the Rainbow and peace bridge into Canada and US. Where you can often have to sit in one place for 3-10 minutes before moving ahead 8 feet then another 3-4 minutes. Same with US tolls.


well if you are sitting in one place for 3-4 minutes, then the issue of working over the clutch makes no sense, because as you say, you just shut the engine off (or you could put it in neutral)

the 401 is the busiest highway in n.america, if you dont' believe me, look into it.
the traffic is comparable to either l.a., new jersey, new york, take your pick, i've driven in all three.

the excuse that you can't drive like this in heavy traffic is just complete b.s. because i do it all the time.

[foober]

I have a manual. But I live in the country. So manual is fine. BUt if I lived in a city I'd definetly go with an auto. What with the constant stop and go traffic. And the worst. Traffic jams. I've been in a traffic jam in L.A. and seattle for hours and I wish I'd had an automatic.

[punch]

well if you are sitting in one place for 3-4 minutes, then the issue of working over the clutch makes no sense, because as you say, you just shut the engine off (or you could put it in neutral)

the 401 is the busiest highway in n.america, if you dont' believe me, look into it.
the traffic is comparable to either l.a., new jersey, new york, take your pick, i've driven in all three.

the excuse that you can't drive like this in heavy traffic is just complete b.s. because i do it all the time.


no offense, but i have tried to drive like you stated, and guess what happens when you leave more then a 2 car gap, a car pulls in front of you, using your theory, you would then go into coast, and another car would pull in front, etc... it must take you a long time to travel from a - b??

[ECHOKnight2000]

I wish I had a manual and I'm still learning but I have an auto and sometimes the car is surprisingly peppy, and sometimes being an auto shines through...gas mileage is comparable to the manual so I don't think its much different, especially in cars now a days when autos have come a long way. Plus you can dick around in a manual which uses more fuel but I guess that's why its fun (to play not to waste gas). I guess just look at the long term and see if you would like to drive manual or auto and it depends on where you live.:thumbsup:

[stuffy]

no offense, but i have tried to drive like you stated, and guess what happens when you leave more then a 2 car gap, a car pulls in front of you, using your theory, you would then go into coast, and another car would pull in front, etc... it must take you a long time to travel from a - b??

so in stop and go traffic you can get to your destination quickly????
what's your secret? riding the guy's bumper in front of you?

i stay in the slow lane and keep a 4 to 10 car length open in front of me, sure cars enter and exit the lane in front of me, it has no effect, i keep a constant speed and am not repeatedly putting on the brakes or shifting gears. occasionally, i coast to a stop when things are jammed up in front.

it works really well in heavy traffic, if everyone drove like this, things would move much quicker.

[07WYarisRS]

well if you are sitting in one place for 3-4 minutes, then the issue of working over the clutch makes no sense, because as you say, you just shut the engine off (or you could put it in neutral)

the 401 is the busiest highway in n.america, if you dont' believe me, look into it.
the traffic is comparable to either l.a., new jersey, new york, take your pick, i've driven in all three.

the excuse that you can't drive like this in heavy traffic is just complete b.s. because i do it all the time.

Well I don't know how old you are but I have been driving the 401 on a weekly basis for 16 years from Niagara strait through to NorthBay/Parrysound and I would rather drive that every day then drive in Atlanta for a day again. Rush hour on the 401 you can creep along at a snails pace and seldom need to stop and go just like you said. Hwy 69 on long weekends is just as bad as the 401. I've seen it take 4 hours to go from Honey Harbour to Barrie.

Go ahead and split hairs to justify your manual being so much better then any automatic.

My point is sitting in dead stopped traffic moving 8 feet at a time or less like I do everyday is harder on a clutch then driving in a town or city with free flowing traffic. I've seen MANY people pushing cars to the side at customs because of burnt up clutches and out of fuel because the wait is so long. Climbing up the steep bridges like the peice bridge a couple feet at a time for over an hour is not easy on a clutch. Tonight the sabers play at the HSBC and the traffic was crazy. The guy ahead of me was in a sunfire (standard) and like me traffic going up the steep bridge was moving at about 4-8 feet every 30 seconds. it is impossible to crawl along at any speed, and you can't hang back to give you a bit of room because 10 people will try to jam into your spot. It took me 35 minutes to cross the bridge alone another 10 to get through customs and the toll...
Find a moderate hill like the skyway or peace bridge and practice stop and go moving 4 feet at a time every 3-4 minutes and tell me that its not hard on a clutch.

[stuffy]

Go ahead and split hairs to justify your manual being so much better then any automatic

i didnt' say the manual was better than auto, read my first posts on this subject. it's my preference, that's it.
i don't buy the argument that driving a manual in traffic is as much a pain as people make out.

your example of a steep climb in traffic would pose a problem in the circumstance of arriving at an international border crossing, or even a busy toll booth. but i bet most people dont' encounter these things as often as you do 07wyarisrs.

[SimmZ]

Other important fact about auto-vs-stick... whatever which one you choose, it doesn't make more the Yaris to be a performance car!

If I ever change the Echo for a Yaris, it will remain auto.

[vodkalush]

which came first the chicken or the egg?


no more needs to be said on this or this thread.

[Pars]

You clearly have never driven in HEAVY traffic
I'm not talking about highway stop and go traffic, I'm talking about sitting at the border crossing like the Rainbow and peace bridge into Canada and US. Where you can often have to sit in one place for 3-10 minutes before moving ahead 8 feet then another 3-4 minutes. Same with US tolls.
On an average week day it take 30 minutes to an hour to move 1/4 mile or less. often i shut the car off until they move up, start the car move up 8 feet and shut it off again
On the 401-403 I can avaerage 20-30kph on my bike while everyone is almost at a crawl, you can't do that in Atlanta or LA or even downtown NY.
I've driven the 401-403 for 15 years and have NEVER seen traffic like at the customs/borders or in the Major US cities.

That's only kind of traffic jam that would drive me batty. And, I'm somewhat of a pro since I'm on the road about 10hr/day.

My old 98 Civic Hatchback was actually very good in those type of traffic in-which you're completely stopped. The Civic's clutch take-up was amazing (at the time, I never thought it was amazing, but now that I'm driving the 07 Yaris, it's definitely amazing in comparison). Also, the Civic had enough low-end grunt to easily get going without using the accelerator. I hate the fact that the Yaris's drive-by-wire accelerator isn't linear and seems to have a mind of it's own. It's also stupid, since it can't quickly compute a blip for rev matching. I mean, if you're going down on the clutch while blipping the gas, the electronic brain for the accelerator should get out of retarded mode and push some gas into the engine ASAP.

One thing I do like about the manual Yaris, which might be the case for the Automatic, is that you can drive aggressively at above average speeds, while negotiating through traffic and still get good fuel economy without seriously working the engine. :thumbsup:

[bugnuts]

I test drove a manual liftback first, and I thought it was pretty damn quick for what it had under the hood, So when it came time to order one I just went for the five-speed without even getting a test drive first, Now I would not go back to a manual for nothing, You can manipulate the power range in a manual so much more, Plus it's cheaper and lighter than the auto.