Are manuals still desirable?

[Golfboy666GTI 68]

Do you think manuals still desirable as a daily driver?

And do you think these days a manual holds a premium price wise?

 

[MD13 492]

Easy to find an auto and I think they're boring to drive - just my opinion. So for me yes more desirable and given fewer numbers higher price comparatively.

[lord_jagganath 421]

I'd take a manual as a daily in a place where the daily commute does not involve inching through traffic, unless you do enjoy left leg calisthenics. 

as for premium, willing buyer permits.

[Eagle 1660]

+1 on traffic but a motorcycle owns them both in that regard while still being manual.

I generally put a premium on manual but it comes down to the specific car in question in regards to how much.

 

[kulgan 1042]

Absolutely. I'd rather a manual over an auto any day.

I plan to have a 6 speed E38 sometime in the near future.

[Olaf 3309]

as a daily?  Hell, if you're driving in traffic, I have to be honest.  I'll take the auto these days, they've gotten much better.  Going for a "real drive" - and if I ever get an M3 or 911, yes a manual for sure.  But how often to I get to drive purely for the enjoyment?  Mostly (and I mean pretty much all the time) I'm driving to get somewhere, like work, or back home, or driving the family around, or on holiday.

I started to entertain the idea of auto a little over 20 years ago, living in one of the largest cities in the world.  Traffic like you've never seen.  I had a Golf GTi manual.  My boss had just bought an e30 325e auto.  It was clear that for the conditions we usually drove in, the auto was far superior.  When we got into the mountains, the manual was the go - but that was about 5% of my time behind the wheel.  Thankfully autos have improved these days.

Being real for a moment, most of my driving is commuting in traffic, so I confess I actually prefer the auto. And yes, I got my license around cars with non-synchro 1st gear, mastered double de-clutching and heel-and-toe downshifts before I was 16... consider myself a dyed-in-the-wool manual driver.

Next car I buy will be the first time I select auto by preference.  Perhaps I'm getting old!

[Allanw 1071]

I'm currently daily-ing my 1972 Beetle manual

It's a little awkward when it's cold, because there is a slight flat spot, but my morning commute is no issue - I usually only see 5 to 8 cars at 530AM 10 kms, in 15 minutes.

Home is more trouble: it takes about 7 minutes longer than the mornings... right across town, and then same distance into the countryside

The only autobox we currently have, is sitting on a trolley with a four cylinder attached, making way for 2 more cylinders and a 6 speed manual, with 4WD... not a BMW though. It was a 6 speed auto with 2.0 4cylinder, and did really well, but not for me!

 

I think Ron is right - a good setup makes all the difference. On average, it's the Euro cars that have nice trans movements, and clutches.

[Herbmiester 922]

As a daily driver I have to wonder, as a fun car definitely the manual. That said having driven a few different manual and auto cars recently I would say that a good DSG/twin clutch auto vs manual is a difficult decision for me. My buddies DSG in his Audi is pretty impressive. The 911 (996) with the Tiptronic was not as good as a manual but after a day in it I got used to it and it would change when I wanted it to change and the shifts were reasonably quick. The Twin Clutch box's in a 2008+ GTR are borderline brutal, no way I could shift that fast. The 8 speed auto in the VW Amarok was fantastic, even off road it was absolutely the business, with a narrow power band the multiple ratios made it better than the manual in my opinion. The ZF 6 speed in my XR6 turbo  was pretty good, under hard braking it would chop down as aggressively as I would have in a manual and would bounce off the limiter until I said it could could change. . As cars get older though the choice for manual is easier, The 5 speed ZF Auto in my 330ci upshifts crisply enough but it won't hold a gear when in manual mode, too many revs and it will upshift , e36 autos have ok ratios but the changes are slow. All of this means nothing though because if you want a manual that's what you should get, its still the purists  option.  

[KwS 2421]

having to deal with Wellington rush hour traffic on SH2 each day, i would never go back to having a manual daily. Nope.

[M3AN 4016]

I hate autos on the open road. Until they put technology in that detects upcoming corners and preemptively selects the correct gear they're a menace.

But around town with Auckland's traffic? My next DD will be an auto.

 

[Golfboy666GTI 68]

20 hours ago, Eagle said:

+1 on traffic but a motorcycle owns them both in that regard while still being manual.

I generally put a premium on manual but it comes down to the specific car in question in regards to how much.

 

Lets say an E90 320i Motorsport? Is a manual worth more than an auto?

 

[Eagle 1660]

58 minutes ago, Golfboy666GTI said:

Lets say an E90 320i Motorsport? Is a manual worth more than an auto?

 

For me yes but ive never been a fan of under powered cars packing an auto box.     

[Olaf 3309]

1 hour ago, Golfboy666GTI said:

Lets say an E90 320i Motorsport? Is a manual worth more than an auto?

 

Hey, surely that's a trick question.  

Everyone around this parish knows that anything powered by the N42 4 cyl Valvetronic motor is to be avoided like syphilis.   Whether it's auto or manual, considerations of the N42 in a 1 or 3 series are largely academic!  

Should we engage in considerations of which transmission is best in the context of a car featuring a motive unit likely to consign it to the workshop while quietly emptying one's wallet? 

 

/rant.  nothing to see here, move along. 

[KwS 2421]

34 minutes ago, 3pedals said:

Did SH2 from the airport to Carterton last Thursday in rush hour in an auto Corolla, would have been just as easy in a decent manual, you Welly-ites must be going soft ?

Does it once, thinks he's an expert 

[Golfboy666GTI 68]

9 minutes ago, Olaf said:

Hey, surely that's a trick question.  

Everyone around this parish knows that anything powered by the N42 4 cyl Valvetronic motor is to be avoided like syphilis.   Whether it's auto or manual, considerations of the N42 in a 1 or 3 series are largely academic!  

Should we engage in considerations of which transmission is best in the context of a car featuring a motive unit likely to consign it to the workshop while quietly emptying one's wallet? 

 

/rant.  nothing to see here, move along. 

Wasn't the N42 in E46's?

N46B20 are in E90's. 115Kw.

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2956]

Old auto transmissions were rubbish, 3 speeds, changed up and down at random, sucked loads of power from the engine and gas from your tank. Manuals were cheaper to buy and simpler to maintain, so manuals were preferred.

Modern Euro autos now have 7, 8, 9, speeds and with all the electrics change soo much better, and due to the extra gears are more economical. The new car market, for premium Euros anyways, is 99% auto, with only the die-hard enthusiast in a sports model looking for a manual over the DCT.

In terms of the change over point for market preferrence, hard to put a date on it. Also new v used would make a difference.

E30 / E36 / E46 the market preference would have to be for the auto, due to the not so good autos in those cars, and the more enthusiast market.

For an E90 I would say it would be about as long as it is broad, the same number of buyers would want a manual as an auto. For an F3x 3 Series, definately a strong auto bias, this may change as the cars get older and cheaper and appeal to different buyer.

[Young Thrash Driver 1020]

^Neither of them are worth any more than the enormous puddle of oil under them

 

I basically only drive on the open road so auto has always been the least attractive option for me

[BreakMyWindow 1874]

I like my manual. The only gripes are I have is that it's hard to engage second after a cold start and It will bunny hop in 1st if crawling along at idle too.. Nothing a bit of throttle map tweaking can't fix.

[Olaf 3309]

1 hour ago, Golfboy666GTI said:

Wasn't the N42 in E46's?

N46B20 are in E90's. 115Kw.

I stand corrected.  Blush.   

[KwS 2421]

Ill also say, dual clutch is great fun for playing around with but terrible in start stop traffic (having to slip and engage/disengage clutch over and over).

There should always be an option for a manual IMO, but the way things are going (hybrid, really good autos etc) the manual is on borrowed time.

[hybrid 1043]

Depends where you live really.

EG I couldnt think of anything worse than dailying a manual on my drive to work. 50% is sitting in a que.
The new car has a very trick auto box which works the same as a DSG but without the maintenance problems. 6 speed, blips down shifts, holds gears, shifts as quick as a double clutch gear box and 0 transistion between gears, light weight torqure converer with and 100% lock most of the time so there is no slip going on. Modern autos are amazing.

I love driving my e30 manual on the weekends ... its a great sole pleaser when I need the thrill back

 

[aja540i 1906]

Also depends on the car, my e36 318is is good fun as a manual, would be total sh1te as an auto, the M5 with smg is farking glorious,  I would probably be scared of it as a manual, and it wouldnt be as fast. The e39 540i was good as an auto (while it was working) and is really good as a manual,  though not much fun in traffic!

[aja540i 1906]

I guess I'm just being realistic about my abilities, in a 500hp car with a 7 speed gearbox, if I want to go fast I accept that the smg box does a better job of swapping cogs than I can, and if I don't want to go fast it might as well be in automatic mode. There is no situation I can see that would be improved by having a true manual box in that car. And trust me, you can have fun in a 318is if you want to!

[Neal 540]

7 hours ago, 3pedals said:

Only good bit was the Rimutaka hill and it would have been better on a motorbike in summer.

 

Ruined by the PC brigade, Did you notice the double yellow lines  bridge to bridge ? Cops hiding in trees during  summer. Pinging  any biker that dares to overtake the car traveling at 30 kph with half a km of traffic held behind it.

[Neal 540]

On the manual subject a period car needs to be manual to typify the experience. I'd hate a auto or SMG version in my 60s Mini's. Wouldn't get the best out of the limited power in one of them. The other wouldn't  seem right with LSD, straight cut cr box and drop gears and the mechanical raucous that will go on.