What's with the manual trans hype?

[rugbysecondrow]

Manuals are more fun for me. I don't commute, I work 5 min from my house, and most of my driving is local. That said, there is a visceral feeling of connectedness I get when driving a manual. The vibrations through the stick, controlling when, or when not, to shift. There is some semblance of "operating" the car vs. riding in it. An active vs passive role. I prefer doing more than just steering. I like the simplicity of a manual. It might be my ADD, but I like that it keeps me engaged.

If you are stUck in I-95 traffic, on the beltway into DC...it might not be more fun. It might detract from the fun, and I get it (been there), but for my driving, I think a manual is more fun and will enhance my enjoyment of the Bronco.

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[LostInArizona]

I prefer a manual in a sports car for the control. And although I have owned and/or driven several 4x4s with manual, at this point in my life I prefer an automatic for off-roading because I would rather focus on the obstacle than what gear I'm in or whatever, pretty obvious reasons imo.

Other than personal preference, a lot of the "hype" is just old thinking based on old technology. Automatics these days especially fords new 10 speed and others like it are SO much better than the old 4 speeds that used to be in everything. They keep power in the power band better, they shift faster, they experience far less drivetrain power loss. They really just can't be compared.

Coming from an sti that is only available in a 6 speed, I will surely miss driving a manual on the street when I get my Bronco (2.7), but I won't think twice about it when I'm wheelin.

 

[Wilbur's son]

So far I haven't seen any BS about one type driver being better than the other, or one transmission being better than the other. All the discussion I've seen here has been very civil and mostly stating peoples wants and desires.

I don't care what you drive, how you drive, or anything else. I don't see any one thing better than the other. That's why there are so many choices.

A manual is just second nature to me. I started driving tractors and a one ton manual on the farm by the time I was 10. I've had 3 speeds, tree and floor, 4speeds, 5speeds, 6 speeds in cars and trucks. I rode motorcycles since the late 80s, all manual. My wife grew up on manuals as well and drives them well. It's just a comfort.

No hype.

Learned on a 3 on the tree as well. Then for my high school summer job, drove a water truck at the local golf course to water trees. Shifting a split axle took it to another level.

 

[MtnRanger]

Manuals are more fun for me. I don't commute, I work 5 min from my house, and most of my driving is local. That said, there is a visceral feeling of connectedness I get when driving a manual. The vibrations through the stick, controlling when, or when not, to shift. There is some semblance of "operating" the car vs. riding in it. An active vs passive role. I prefer doing more than just steering. I like the simplicity of a manual. It might be my ADD, but I like that it keeps me engaged.

If you are stUck in I-95 traffic, on the beltway into DC...it might not be more fun. It might detract from the fun, and I get it (been there), but for my driving, I think a manual is more fun and will enhance my enjoyment of the Bronco.

It depends on the manual. I had a suzuki sx4 manual and it was engaging similar to a VW GTI and Mini Cooper etc. I rented a manual toyota yaris and Opel crossland x manual in europe and they were terrible. I could go from 1 to 2 or 1 to 3 or 1 to 4 and it didn't make much of a difference. They weren't jerky or torquey. Felt like the manual shifter at an arcade in a mall. The sx4 was on the other end of the spectrum. 95% good shift isn't good enough. You either get lurched forward or the engine lugs if you don't shift at the perfect time (with short clutch engagement time). I really want a manual but I want to test drive the broncos manual before pulling the trigger.

 

[rugbysecondrow]

It depends on the manual. I had a suzuki sx4 manual and it was engaging similar to a VW GTI and Mini Cooper etc. I rented a manual toyota yaris and Opel crossland x manual in europe and they were terrible. I could go from 1 to 2 or 1 to 3 or 1 to 4 and it didn't make much of a difference. They weren't jerky or torquey. Felt like the manual shifter at an arcade in a mall. The sx4 was on the other end of the spectrum. 95% good shift isn't good enough. You either get lurched forward or the engine lugs if you don't shift at the perfect time (with short clutch engagement time). I really want a manual but I want to test drive the broncos manual before pulling the trigger.

Your point is valid, but the same can be said with the automatic too.

I just think all of this (transmission, engine choice etc etc) is all a leap of faith at this point. I've already pulled the trigger and ordered my Bronco. If it drives terribly, I won't finalize the deal.

 

[Brongo]

For me there's several reasons.

1- Cheaper
2- Haven't owned a stick in years and since this will be my "fun" vehicle and doesn't have to be my daily driver, I'd prefer a stick.
3- In 5 years it'll be my current 11 year olds first car. With a manual he can't text and drive and most of his idiot friends won't be able to drive his car.

Just some of my reasoning.

#3 is seriously the the most brilliant reason ever.

 

[Thechief86]

Automatic transmissions are boring, and complicated to repair. As long as the hard parts in a manual hold up, the only common failure is the clutch, which I can usually replace in a weekend for $300 or less.

I simply do not buy vehicles with automatic transmissions. I have an old Subaru with an automatic, but it was given to me as an alternative to the scrapyard. It is boring, slow, and lame, so the car got a lift kit and some all-terrain tires, and now gets abused offroad in an effort to make it less boring.

 

[ScrunchFace]

No real hype with them. Just a few loud guys justifying their existence

 

[Ryuk]

Just a bunch of people proclaiming their gender in another Trans thread.
BORING

 

[RBF 1401]

No real hype with them. Just a few loud guys justifying their existence

And loud gals, too.

I don't need to justify my existence, but after driving for 40 years I know that I am a better driver when I'm not bored.

Twisty roads, bad weather, and shifting gears keep me focused on driving.

 

[Deleted member 13702]

Lol, why do people buying the automatic care so much about my decision to buy a manual? I think that question might be slightly more relevant.

If you have to ask why I want a manual, then we already know it’s because a manual isn’t for you in the first place. You don’t have to justify your decision to buy an auto based on my decision to get a manual.

My answer to the OP is simple. Sometimes we do things without seeking others approval, and don’t care about other opinions on the subject.

If you don’t want the manual, great, but it doesn’t make my decision to get a manual a mistake, or some misplaced misogyny about driving a stick. It just means I wanted a manual.

 

[ReimundKrohn]

Once I learned that Ford was offering a manual transmission with the new Generation Bronco, it wasn’t a question of which transmission I would buy.

I haven’t personally owned a vehicle in decades. I drive a company car, a benefit of my profession which does have a drawback: I don’t get to choose what I drive. Currently, it’s a 2016 Rav-4. Previously, it’s been a 2014 Nissan Rogue, a 2012 Toyota Sequoia, a 2008 Cadillac Escalade, a 2006 Dodge Caravan (and a bunch of earlier model Caravan’s before that.... going back to ‘92) but many moons ago, as a young driver looking to buy my first vehicle with my own earnings, I bought a wreck of a 1988-1987 Volkswagen Jetta with a stick shift. That Jetta was actually two Jetta’s, cleverly welded together from two different salvages. I spent more on bodywork than I did on the car to make her mint; and learned to drive manual transmission with the help of friends and family. I confess I was a slow learner; but I got lots of practice. I worked two jobs to pay the bills; courier driver by day and pizza delivery guy by night. 16 hours a day behind the wheel 6 days a week, stop and go traffic. I put over 200,000 km on that car before she was written off. I loved that car. I loved driving her.

There is nothing; absolutely nothing like driving a vehicle you are truly in control of. The connection is almost....intimate. Spiritual. I taught my younger son to drive a manual (bought a Gen 1 Rav-4 for that purpose); and his first car was an Acura EL in manual. It was something we could share...

My Bronco, for me, is about more than daily driving. Perhaps it is a little bit of recapturing my youth; or the spirit of it, anyway. It is throwing off the shackles of domesticity and embracing the freedom of doing something just because it is what you want to do; practicality be damned. In 2021, isn’t that what we all need?

Freedom.

 

[DieselSmack]

Honestly I just love rowing my own gears and I truly believe this will one of the last new SUVs to offer a manual. Every car is an automatic, just so damn boring to me.

Might as-well enjoy it while I can

 

[MaverickMan]

Lol, why do people buying the automatic care so much about my decision to buy a manual? I think that question might be slightly more relevant.

If you have to ask why I want a manual, then we already know it’s because a manual isn’t you in the first place. You don’t have to justify your decision to buy an auto based on my decision to get a manual.

My answer to the OP is simple. Sometimes we do things without seeking others approval, and don’t care about other opinions on the subject.

If you don’t want the manual, great, but it doesn’t make my decision to get a manual a mistake, or some misplaced misogyny about driving a stick. It just means I wanted a manual.

Yeah the auto people have got this around backwards. When you open the build and price on the trims a manual is available it is the included transmission. To get an auto you have to opt into it. The standard is called standard for a reason. Its the only transmission on the bronco worth the money, because you dont pay extra for it.

 

[TheAaronPerry]

“What’s with the manual trans hype?”

Boomers thinking being able to drive a manual equates to some manly superpower.

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