Is a stick shift better than an automatic?

Question

I will be purchasing a vehicle soon and I don't know if I should get a stick shift or or an automatic. I don't know how to drive a stick but I've heard that it's not too difficult to learn. Quite a few people have told me that it's better to get a stick but I don't really know the pros and cons...

Someone made a good point about driving conditions being an important factor. For the next year I would be mostly driving on roads with lots of stopping and starting. When I return to school however, I will be driving on highways more often.

Answer 1

Well, they both have thier drawbacks and benifits.
An automatic is;
1: easier to drive
2: requires less service and maintenence
3: uses more fuel
4: is slower and gives less power
5: easier to drive on hills that require stops.

A stick shift is;
1: more fun
2; more efficient, gets better milage
3: requires periodic maintenence, clutches do wear out after a while. Also, hydraulic clutches are prone to needing clutch master cyl. and slave cyl. replaced sometimes.
4: harder to start on a hill
5: prone to rolling away if you ever park on a hill and you either forget to set the parking brake, or it fails to hold the car.
6: can be started by pushing in the event the battery fails to start the car.

Answer 2

Depends on the person, in my younger years I used to love driving a stick, Now that I am older and have had 2 knee surgeries I just can take sticks anymore. I find an automatic to be more relaxing when I drive simply because I have that much less to worry about. However I loved the ability to control the power with a stick. if your doing the majority of your driving in town you may find a stick shift annoying. especially if you have to deal with 10 billion stop lights. if your on the highway most of the time I would say go with a stick. again it's all personal choice, Take a lot of time test driving and see what you like. some dealer ships offer a 72 hour test drive so your positive that’s the car your looking for. see if any of the dealers in your area offer that. Good luck and happy hunting.

Answer 3

When I was younger, I had to have a stick shift. I liked winding up the gears and spinning the tires. Besides that, the autos weren't that efficient back then. Today, the automatics have overdrive and lock up torque converters in them. If you have to drive in traffic a lot, you'll learn to appreciate the automatic transmission. I don't want to be bothered with having to shift the gears myself anymore. Just put it in drive and hit the gas and go.

If you like to talk on the cell phone while you are driving, (which is not a good idea) you will prefer the auto. It is hard to steer and shift gears while one hand is stuck to your head with the phone.

It all comes down to personal choice. Which do you prefer? Since you don't know how to drive a stick, you may wind up burning out a clutch or breaking some other drive line part while you are learning. Good luck with the one that you choose.

Answer 4

It depends on the model year. An expert driver with a stick shift can exceed the mileage that would be obtained from an older car with an automatic. An expert driver with a stick shift can get very close to, and maybe even exceed but I doubt it, the mileage of an automatic transmission car built in the last few years. An inexpert driver or an expert who is not carefully focusing on mileage will never exceed the mileage of an automatic. Automatic transmissions don't daydream.

Answer 5

You have lots of good answers so far, but I wanted to throw some things in here.

You dont state your typical driving conditions, which in my mind would have a great deal to do with my transmission choice.

If you deal with lots of stop and go traffic, I would go with the automatic hands down. If you are mainly highway driving, I would go with the manual transmission.

I prefer a manual transmission myself, due to the extra measure of control and fuel mileage that is available.

Also, if you incorrectly use the clutch/transmission to slow your car down, it will cause expensive wear to those parts of your vehicle. (It is my opinion that I would rather use the brakes to slow the car, which are much cheaper to replace than a clutch/transmission) I do understand what the other poster was saying, and when in gear its much easier to maintain a set speed, and hopefully they didnt mean use the gears to slow the car down.

Ultimately you should go with what you feel comfortable driving, because that will be the safest thing for you and everyone else on the road.

Answer 6

stick shift gives you faster response to get out into traffic,also better gas mileage,but also a little more work in stop and go traffic, automatic is a little slower response, but you dont have to keep pushing in a clutch and shifting

Answer 7

i recommend you find a friend that drives stick and practice on his car. i bet he will be defensive about it at first. all stickies are. but once you do and actually get the hang of it, you will become addicted to it. you will get used to the stop-and-go traffic and uphill stops and will barely think about them. but it will be a pain at first. no pain no gain eh? its just like walking, i dont complain about having to place one foot in front of the other anymore, just get used to it. the hard (and VERY fun) work you put into learning stick will pay for itself handsomely.

Answer 8

Sticks are definitely more fun to drive. And they help save your brakes because the gears hold back your car by themselves, allowing you to break less and not as hard.

Answer 9

When a automatic cars breaks down, its harder to fix. When a stick breaks is easier to fix and stick is fast than a automatic car.

Answer 10

sports car or fun to drive car has to be manual no exceptions......traffic, hills or multiple drivers automatic...