Transmission Difference

[Sigs]

I'm a prospective Yaris buyer, coming from driving a Pontiac G8 and Jeep Liberty that are absolutely murdering me in fuel costs. Up until now I've been a strictly automatic driver but know how to drive stick.

My question as of now is how do the transmissions match up? I've heard some say that acceleration is dreadful in the automatic and that a standard is the way to go, while others don't seem to see an issue. Given my rural area the "Used" market is full of automatics 3 door LBs, only one 5 door LB (auto tranny), and just a handful of 5 speeds listed for 150 miles in my price range. I'm not above buying into a 3 door, but for convenience sake when I'm hauling friends around, a 5 door seems so much more practical.

Thanks in advance to everyone here. Looking through your gallery and reading your opinions on the car has sold me on it. :) Now it's just a matter of finding the right one for me.

[auxmike]

Looking at new or used?
I have the auto Yaris for almost 3 years now and I'm fine with it.
Before this I only had 5 speeds. I deal with lots of hills and stop go traffic, so the clutchclutchclutch thing is not missed to much.
I DID start off wanting the 5 speed, but all I found was one "bare bones" red H/B out of 3 lots searched. I wanted mine loaded with all the power goodies, and they had plenty of those with A/Ts only, so I settled since my old car was dead and I could'nt borrow my mom's '06 Corolla forever...
BTW, those old Corollas are pretty nice!:w00t:

[3dr5speedblk]

Yeah I think they make more autos!! Had a hard time finding my Blk 2010 3 door with a 5 speed with the PWR PKG wanted PWR windows and locks!
They had lots of base 5speeds cheap!! Closeout price 2010s like 12 grand!
Anyway I like my 5speed Glad I got it!!
Its just nice to drop it down a gear and GO!! Would do it again in a minute!:thumbsup:

[SpaceShot]

I have the 3dr 5spd and I certainly prefer the performance of it to the automatic. But I was specifically looking for the bare bones model and coming from the Jeep or Pontiac that might be not be suitable for you.

I have very little stop and go driving so the manual is good for my commute, but I did suffer a severe muscle tear in my left leg from a mountain bike spill, and had to borrow a truck for a week because I couldn't drive the Yaris properly.

As for the utility of the 3dr, I added a class 1 hitch and hitch basket after I bought it. I carry 3 bicycles, my canoe, or a pair of large coolers without any trouble.