Auto or Manual?

Finally found a very helpful and great site for all the knowledge to learn about my soon to be new car. I just have the question, Automatic or Manual? All my life of driving (almost ten years now), I have always driven a manual, but lately I have been occasionally driving a Suburu SVX that is a automatic and not to compare it with my everyday driver a 93 honda del sol si but that SVX is so much luxury to drive not having to shift gears to gain good speed. So I ask is there that much of a difference between automatic and manual on a 3000GT SL? Pro's and Con's? Oh, and sorry if this has already been a topic discussed, but as far back in your forum I went I couldn't fing this answer. Thanks for any opinions. :)

1.manual is lighter,so better on gas.
2.manual is great for sports cars,shift down comming out of turn or to accelerate fast for passing.
3.auto ,great for city drivers
4. auto, no effort to drive ,point a to point b very ordinary..
5.auto.good for hilly areas
hope that helps

well i drive a 5sspeed sl so im going to tell you this there is a big diference especially from the launch the sl is a breeze to shift a drive fast, if your a good driver and can do some decent clutch work you can get that sl to run 6.8 or so 0-60 so i would definetly opt for the manual

Unless you have alot of city driving, definantly a manual. I don't feel like I am really driving with an auto, I zone out and am not as aware of my speed, rpms, etc. Manual is so much more fun, offers more driver control for hills, snow, turns, acceleration...etc. If it were up to me, manual all the way, unless you do tons of city driving. that's the only b!tch of it.

i agree totally :grinno:

performance wise on the FWD N/A cars, the manual is gonna get you better acceleration but the automatic is gonna get you a better top speed because of gearing. Thats another question i have, wouldnt the automatic have better gas mileage on highway driving because the rpms are lower in 4th then the manuals in 5th?

Thanks so much for the opinions. Another question though, isn't a manual cheaper and cheaper to maintain as with most other vehicles? I want to make sure I bring my baby home with as much knowledge as I can get for her. :jump3:

When they first come out of production and are sold at the dealership I believe manuals are cheaper. I don't know about cheaper to maintain...I would think they'd be about the same.

Hotshot...I'm not sure about the rpms in 5th vs. auto 4th, if you are sure they are lower, then yes the auto would save gas cruising on highway...but daily driving through the city, the manual is better on gas because of the option of lower shifting. So you are correct...thank the car gods vr4s got a 6th gear...

When they first come out of production and are sold at the dealership I believe manuals are cheaper. I don't know about cheaper to maintain...I would think they'd be about the same.

Hotshot...I'm not sure about the rpms in 5th vs. auto 4th, if you are sure they are lower, then yes the auto would save gas cruising on highway...but daily driving through the city, the manual is better on gas because of the option of lower shifting. So you are correct...thank the car gods vr4s got a 6th gear...


yea, i know my atx 4th gear rpm levels are alomst exactly the same as my buddies' 1st gen vr-4s 5th gear rpm level at cruising level. If it wasn't for the TTs, i'd definitely want an MTX.

Okay, my doubts have pretty much been squashed, I should have just followed my first instincts, thanks again everybody. I have made the final descision, 98 or 99 black 3000GT SL manual.


Just can't wait now!