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Curious Why it Seems so Many People Want a Manual Trans?

VoltageDrop

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They are more reliable when things go south on you. And I have tons of wheeling experience 15+ years and always feel nervous wheeling with an auto. A manual wont piss 12 qts of hydraulic fluid on the trail and tell me to walk. Worst case the shifter breaks off and I pull the linkage apart to jam a manual into a gear and just limp home. I drove out of trails with no clutch pedal and with no shifter and with no oil in the case. Autos cant do that.
In 20+ years off-road I've never had an auto leave me stranded but I've had clutches pack with mud and slave cylinders die on my manuals.

What about the clutch? And clutch master? And clutch slave? And release (throw out) bearing? Clutch job on a 4wd isn't cheap. Just sayin'. I get the point, but "it depends" also applies.
Yup.

All the smug people that think their choices are better and smarter are funny. To me getting a couple dozen more HP at the expense of a manual seems pretty silly. Or getting a bigger screen at the expense of the higher trim package, what's that $2,000 for 1.75" more screen per side? I'll reiterate what several said already: most of the smug people that say they're not buying a manual probably can't drive one. Their only way to be "cool" is to slam down the gas pedal and hang on. Reminds me of how I used to lose the sport bike guys on GSXR 750s in the mountains....on my BMW boxer R80! A manual requires higher ability from the driver, and they get more out of their vehicle. Simply put.
There's so much irony in this post. It's typically the manual guys being smug. Who cares. My Bronco, my choice!

I prefer manual cars but off-road I want a modern automatic. I will rig up paddle shifters if I decide I need more gear control. However, I do think the manual 2.3L base 2-door Bronco is the greatest value in the automotive world!:cool:
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Imissmy1996bronco

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I drove them both last weekend. The 2.7 is a powerhouse but Iā€™m way past the days of needing to get anywhere that fast. If I couldnā€™t get a manual, Iā€™d do the 2.7 for sure. Butā€¦ā€¦. 2.3 with a 7 speed paddle canā€™t be passed up at this point for me.
thatā€™s fair. My current truck is pretty spry with the 2.7, which makes me want to go that way, but Iā€™m not too sure about the 10 speed (mine has the 6r80)

I guess I'm getting rusty on things, but my 4runner that I had 20 years ago had a stick, and another for putting it into 4WD lo/high. When in 4Low, in first gear, it was like a crawler, would only go about 5 mph. Wouldn't the Bronco be like that, even if they didn't gear the 1st so low? I mean, in 4Low, it's going to be like a 1 MPH gear!
One of my last Broncos was manual and was similar. Itā€™s less about situations in 4 low, but just the convenience of having a granny low gear, including having a gear I can go super slow with in traffic. The crawler on the new 7sp redlines at about 8mph in 4 lo, and 25 in 4 or 2 hi. (This truck will be my only vehicle).
 

Dads_bronze_bronco

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My biggest problem with the manual so far is the push button start. I am so used to key start on all my older manual vehicles, and push button start on my son's Mustang, and wife's Audi Q3, that I forget to push the clutch pedal in on the Bronco :ROFLMAO:
 

HCGxKaLiBeR

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I love shifting myself. But I also love the convenient of automatic.
All my cars have paddle shifters. Semi automatic mode most of the time.
Hopefully there is an aftermarket option for my Bronco later on.
 

Butzy

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Okay, getting irritated with this thread......if you arenā€™t getting better mpgs in a manual, you need to learn how to drive one. People tend to be gullible and believe what the dashboard says their mileage is. Every time I check mine on my f150, it comes up at least 2 mpgs less than dashboard claims. Manuals come naturally to some people. They like being able to control the shift points after driving automatics that can't seem to figure out what gear they're supposed to be in. Automatic transmissions are awesome for lazy or handicapped people. I enjoy being lazy in my f150 and the manual would have been painful to drive when I busted up my foot but......I decide when to change gears.......
 

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kodiakisland

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Gcardieri

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The manual Bronco will be so much fun to drive, on road and off. Definitely more of a technical challenge while wheeling, but totally worth it. I had a chance to do a quick test drive on a manual Badlands last week and it felt great in the 20 minutes I had behind the wheel. Iā€™m super looking forward to spending many hours driving mine and becoming completely one with my machine. Itā€™ll be like the movie Avatar and becoming comfortable with your dragon. šŸ¤£šŸ¤£šŸ˜‚

Reading this forum you would think a lot more people are ordering a manual; my dealer told me I was only the 2nd out of 50 orders. Why donā€™t you auto buyers just Uber it for Gods sake?!
 

De Brus

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Okay, getting irritated with this thread......if you arenā€™t getting better mpgs in a manual, you need to learn how to drive one. People tend to be gullible and believe what the dashboard says their mileage is. Every time I check mine on my f150, it comes up at least 2 mpgs less than dashboard claims. Manuals come naturally to some people. They like being able to control the shift points after driving automatics that can't seem to figure out what gear they're supposed to be in. Automatic transmissions are awesome for lazy or handicapped people. I enjoy being lazy in my f150 and the manual would have been painful to drive when I busted up my foot but......I decide when to change gears.......
Talk about irritating. You just insinuated that all auto buyers on this forum are lazy or handicapped šŸ˜‚
 

HPNQ420

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Just like people looking for gas mileage in the Bronco, people buying it for a manual are looking at the wrong vehicle. Go buy a Mustang or something!

/s
My past three trucks
1988 XJ 5 speed
1996 Bronco Sport 5 speed
2005 Xterra Off Road 6 speed

All brilliant, why not a 2021 Bronco 6 speed + crawler?
 

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Tricky Dick

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Talk about irritating. You just insinuated that all auto buyers on this forum are lazy or handicapped šŸ˜‚
So which are you? šŸ˜„
 

djp

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Curious why a manual is so important. I know, some people like stick shift trans, but why in a Bronco? Do you get a stick in all of your other cars and trucks? Not trying to start a stick vs auto debate (but a good discussion is fine), but I've seen so many comments about a manual I'm wonder what folks reasoning is.

Part of my question is that for almost ever there has been a perception that a manual is better off road. However, this perception is almost entirely folks who have little off road experience. Experience shows that an auto has many advantages over a stick off road. So, what the heck, why do so many folks want a stick Bronco?
... Cuz you can control the shift.
If you've never had a manual you would not know. But having eyes and know the slope of the road ahead of you is far more knowledge that the computer can have. If you are used to pressing the pedal harder than an automatic will suffice, but if you like keeping your gas foot near constant and gearing to match then a manual is for you.

Think of bicycling. You most efficient use of power is a cadence(rpm) of ~80. Think of that is your power band. If you can keep your bicycle in the correct gear and keep a cadence of 80 your are cruisin'. The same goes for a car. An automatic on a flat highway is the MOST efficient, yet once you get into the mountains and have the "UPs and DOWNs" your foot starts to press the gas harder to "get" that gear you want. But if you're in a manual you can see what is ahead and keep your vehicle in the optimal rpm (cadence) range.

The icing on the cake is that driving becomes enjoyable, it's slightly challenging, engaging and fun. It's not a boring "push and go".

But alas if you know, you know. Some folks like that auto and others enjoy the deep pleasure of a manual.

No judgement here, just experience from a guy that's been 3 pedaling or left hand squeezing for the past 32 years.
 

jaspercasidino

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My past three trucks
1988 XJ 5 speed
1996 Bronco Sport 5 speed
2005 Xterra Off Road 6 speed

All brilliant, why not a 2021 Bronco 6 speed + crawler?
All my trucks and SUVs have been auto (Bronco included). All my cars have been manual. šŸ¤·ā€ā™‚ļø ;)
 

VoltageDrop

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If any of you manual folks are getting automatic climate control then I need to point out how superior my manual HVAC is. I can constantly fiddle with my red-blue dial to set the blend door exactly where I want it while you are at the mercy of a computer rounding to the nearest degree, you lazy and disconnected driver!
 

HPNQ420

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All my trucks and SUVs have been auto (Bronco included). All my cars have been manual. šŸ¤·ā€ā™‚ļø ;)
Neither my wife nor I have ever owned an automaticā€¦cars have included a ā€˜79 Chevette, ā€˜79 Scirocco, ā€˜04 Contour SVT, ā€˜13 TDI and theā€™17 Alltrack. We just prefer to shift for ourselves.
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