All those people crashing though a storefront, because they hit the gas instead of the brake. Never happen with a stick. Love the feeling of control and connection with the drivetrain, also there is the ability to downshift before the hill, not waiting for the shift. My last Toyota was a CVT that failed at 90 k miles, never again!
Question of the Week: What's your favorite thing about driving a manual?
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I like the feel of solid positive control. I drove friend's Prius for about 12miles once and had the impression I was little more than a passenger. Not even the throttle felt like it was connected to anything.
However, Toyota manual transmissions are excellent. I learned to drive on a 40 HP VW bug and the gearbox felt like it was a box of rubber bands. First Toyota i bought was a 1600 Corolla with a 2 speed automatic. When I finally got to drive a friend's Toyota Pickup a few years later I knew right away that my next Toyota would be a stick.
However, Toyota manual transmissions are excellent. I learned to drive on a 40 HP VW bug and the gearbox felt like it was a box of rubber bands. First Toyota i bought was a 1600 Corolla with a 2 speed automatic. When I finally got to drive a friend's Toyota Pickup a few years later I knew right away that my next Toyota would be a stick.
A few years back some non-American thrives tried to hijack an armored truck. They got a couple of hundred feet before discovering it was a manual and none of them knew how to drive it.
1992 Corolla, 1.8L bored and stroked to 1.9, with Silvertop head running ITBs megasquirt ECU, 6speed
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I have a 95 Rolla Wagon with a 1.8L Auto with only 66K on the clock, just waiting for my new shop to be built then I will start swapping in my Stroked 1.8L, now 1.9L with Silvertop 20V head back with a Japanese imported 6 speed manual with a Blacktop lightened flywheel. Also running a self tuned Megasquirt ECU.
I miss driving my stick and now with "new" knees I can keep driving one! Driven a stick for most of my life, pushing 65 now, once a hot rodder, always one!
GO Stick Shift!
Later wd
I miss driving my stick and now with "new" knees I can keep driving one! Driven a stick for most of my life, pushing 65 now, once a hot rodder, always one!
GO Stick Shift!
Later wd
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130 Posts
[
Wow that's not a common occurence. Everything I read says the Toyota CVT's are bulletproof unless maybe you got one of the early ones?
Terrible time for lovers of manuals. I like cheap cars with sticks. It can be slow car drive fast and a blast. I’m looking for a new one and I feel stuck. 2023 rollas no longer offer the 6 speed. The new civic hatch does but it’s now a 40 thousand dollar civic. A tiny 1.5 turbo with a mediocre shifter. Not good as the si’s or r’s. Heck , not even Active rev matching. The Corolla had it?? Jeesh. 40 g’s. Get outta here. Too bad I don’t like the look of the Elantra N. seems to get lots of praise. That could have been an option.
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I agree completely! Except for rush-hour city driving, Stick Is The Way. It does make/keep you a more attentive driver; and there's a feeling of being "at one" with the car when driving a hilly and/or windy road where you need to upshift and downshift frequently and at the right times.I can see being in a congested city wanting an automatic. But anywhere Else … Stick 100%. It’s a completely different experience. Involving!!! Every time you get in your car it feels like an experience. Even if it’s a slow car. I think it makes you a better driver too. Where it’s easy to become lazy in an Auto. Stick you’re always paying attention. Seeking a perfect shift , planning ahead, not rolling backwards or popping the clutch when close to someone. It’s a mindset. Involved driving. And when you’re shifting perfect it’s like Rewarding. Maybe I’m weird lol. Oh. And I’m pretty sure chicks dig it . “ a sign your good with your hands”
Knowing how to read the tach to time shifts, knowing that exact spot on the pedal arc where the clutch engages, picking the exact gear out of 4 -- or 5 -- for a specific situation; these and others moments like these make driving really enjoyable.
My first car was a '74 Corolla SR5 with 1600cc hemi engine. It had no bottom-end torque whatsoever, so I had to wind it up to 2500-3000rpm (where the torque kicked in) in 2nd and 3rd gear just to accelerate in traffic. But that car was a joy, with fat tires that gripped and responded well to braking. It was awesome to drive on winding country roads; the gearshift was crisp and precise.
For long-distance trips I added a driving light and homebuilt air dam (to keep the front end solidly on the road). The small engine, 5th-gear overdrive, and air dam helped me get 35mpg highway mileage at 65+mph (fantastic for a carbureted, pre-catalytic converter engine). I discovered the car's 95mph top-end speed on a long, desert straightway on I-70 in western Colorado. I drove that puppy all over the country for nearly 12 years before it rusted out. sigh
With the 2020 rolla . I never looked at the tach. Went by sound. A benefit of the NA Vs the whispering turbo. Ha
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I choose sport or economy mode. Short shift for economy, or redline it for sport. I just luke choosing my shift point. Oh and manual will outlast any auto. If in rear wheel drive clutch swaps easy and cheap, fwd pain and expensive
Same here!
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I live out in the country, so get plenty of opportunities to shift w/o using the clutch.....don't know the term for that.....but it's all in the ears !!
I got to drive a water truck around a job site a few times when I was an intern. We were building about 4 miles of road to a natural gas well pad. It was a proper truck I guess, 10 speed, turbo diesel, Jake brake, air brakes all of it. Awesome experience! I gained a lot of respect for the people who do that every day on real roads in traffic and whatnot.
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Before I retired back a dozen years or so, I used work for the NBC Tampa tv station as their sat truck engineer. '94 Intl 4700 w/ a DT408. She could fly at about 82.....but also had a "granny gear" for 1st.....couldn't stall it out....crept along @ 2mph idling.
I took my 3 sons as teenagers out into the country & learned them the stick shift !
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I remember those "granny" gears. My brother had a 1974 F250 with a Granny gear, you could dump the clutch with a full load of dirt and it would just crawl along without a drop in rpm. No way could you stall that thing.
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That's the thing now, most manuals offered now are mostly enthusiast cars. Cheap ones with manuals are HTF on most dealer lots. That Elantra N is a good alternative to a GR Corolla or CTR, since most of those are selling over sticker and out of budget for most folks.
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Your knees thank you. Haha!
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Yeah, that's fair.
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