- First Name
- Eric
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2020
- Threads
- 14
- Messages
- 1,414
- Reaction score
- 3,953
- Location
- Fidalgo Island, WA
- Vehicle(s)
- 23, 69 Bronco
- Your Bronco Model
- Base
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.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.
Yup.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.
There's so much irony in this post. It's typically the manual guys being smug. Who cares. My Bronco, my choice!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.
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!
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