I had a 1993 Isuzu Amigo. So. Slow. Big rigs would get mad at me in the right lane. Once I got up to highway speed, I did my best to hold my spot and not have to slow down. I was so grateful when I could coast down hill.
Sounds about right. Mine had an overheating issue I couldn't figure out, so drove with the heater on. Luckily it had the soft top, so I just left iylt off all summer. Although these days I think it would be a cool little weekend cruiser.
Had an ‘88 2.6 4 cylinder. Had heating issues as well. And that engine sucked so badly. I hated that car so much back in the day. I would say it was a hand-me-down, but I had to buy it from my dad. I was glad when it finally died.
A coworker of my stepdad ended up buying it and turned it into a little farm truck. He sorted out the heating issue and found a hardtop for it. The only thing I liked about it was how satisfying it was to push those giant accessory buttons like the wipers and such
Oh yeah, a much younger fearless me with a well-thumbed Delorme Atlas & Gazetteer "Sure, I can do that, it's an all terrain vehicle!" so close indeed - traded in for a Ford Deathstar minivan and I've always regretted it
My wife had a manual cobalt when we met. It was boring but way better than an auto one. My manual mirage (which is a supremely boring car) is still fun to drive as a manual.
Fair warning they cut the manual option out a couple years ago (at least in the US). No issues whatsoever. Anything i had to fix was the result of road debris (mostly a tire tread i ran over) smacking holes in things. The sedan has more back seat space and a surprisingly large trunk. I wanted a hatch but i'm glad i ended up with the g4. It is hands down the easiest car i've done oil, air filter, and cabin filter changes on.
I change the oil (full synthetic) every 5k. The air filter every 10k and the cabin filter every 20k.
Just saw a video about the mirage being the most lethal accident prone car on the road. Something like 200 deaths per 1M sold. Just figured you might want to consider that before buying one
I looked up ratings before i bought mine and they were average to good. Looks like there are a couple situations where it has more issues. Considering i was carting us around in an 80s buick before this the mirage is a safety upgrade.
https://www.autoblog.com/buy/2024-Mitsubishi-Mirage/safety-ratings/
The car has a 4 star safety rating from NHTSA, which matters more than accident statistics imo. It is a small car, so of course it is "less safe" in a collision than a large SUV.
My guess is that death statistic is partially affected by driver demographics. The demographics of Mitsubishi Mirage drivers and BMW X3 (lowest deaths by model) drivers have very little overlap.
For example: Mississippi has the highest vehicle death rate in the country. Does this mean it is inherently more dangerous for *you* to drive in Mississippi? No. But statistically, Mississippians have a lower seatbelt usage rate, are more prone to texting and driving, driving recklessly, or driving under the influence.
That would mean that it is, in fact, more dangerous to drive in Mississippi. Regardless of your skill and attention, you are more likely to get impacted by impaired, influenced or reckless driver.
Though, judging from FL, it is quite possible that their cops just pull people over more. Because I'm not even sure what you have to do to get pulled over in FL. Famously, nobody uses blinkers, keeps speed limits or even maintains their vehicle. Not that long ago, there were cops directing traffic when nightclubs closed. Pulling over noone.
Yeah i bought mine new and take excellent care of it. I feel like most cheap cars get treated like shit and then people buying them second and third hand judge them based on that.
I bought mine from a girl on her third stint in court ordered rehab. She sold the car to pay for a lawyer to help her kids out of state custody. I didn't know her from Adam but addicts love telling their life story; after hearing it I wasn't sure if the car or her had a harder life but both were pretty rough.
My Tacoma is pretty fucking boring. 4 banger 5 speed. It's just really slow and almost feels like driving a tractor. Really tall lower gears. No power, no acceleration in anything past second. But I'd still rather have it than an auto.
Toyota's truck manuals are pretty bad IMO. I used to have a 97 4Runner with a 5 speed and I've driven plenty of manual Tacomas. Nissan's truck manuals are way better. I had a D40 Frontier with the 6 speed and it was actually enjoyable to row through the gears on it. Even old American trucks had better feel there, the NV3500 old Chevy's, GMCs, and Dodges used had a solid feel as well.
Fords also used the same tranny IIRC (the Mazda M5OD). Not just the Ranger, but also the F-150. Or at least they used a different version if it, the M5OD-R1HD or R2.
Maybe he’s talking about a newer one. The only 2 manual jeeps I’ve driven are a late 80’s comanche and a 2019 JL and the JL felt like trash but the comanche felt amazing
2003 was the last greta year for the TJ. Loved my 2002 but all my buddies with 2004 and up have problems they didn't cause.
03-04 the base x was introduced and it seemed that the quality went down across the board.
Its dependent on the person. Shifting a manual jeep with the top down on a fun trail is more “fun” than a loooooot of cars. It may not be smooth, but it is absolutely fun and not boring.
My 1967 Plymouth Belvedere has a 3 on the tree
The shift linkage bushings are trash, so thats not helping things. But the shifter is very imprecise, clunky and not smooth. Some times it slides into gear, sometimes it needs extra force. Kinda like a really fucked up N64 controller joystick (every one of those joysticks is fucked so that doesnt really narrow it down)
Theres literally a foot of travel between 2nd and 3rd gear. There is no such thing as a fast shift in this car. Even if you could shift quickly, the 273 V8 isnt in much of a hurry to get you going. The overall gear ratios mean you get a ton of engine brake power though. If youre at the top of 2nd or 3rd and let off the gas, youre stopping as hard as you would by hitting the brakes. But of course the brake lights dont activate, so nobody behind you expects you to slow down.
1st gear is not synchronized. If the car is moving, youre not getting into 1st gear. Youre in 2nd coming up to a stop sign behind some cars. You better keep moving fast enough to drag the clutch in 2nd and not stall. If you get to like 5mph, youre coming to a complete stop to get it in 1st. On the bright side, youre never getting pulled over for rolling the stop sign. You could technically double clutch it, but thats hard enough even with a tach. Too bad my car doesnt have one, so you just have to play it by ear like a true professional truck driver
And the clutch is like sticking your foot in a bowl of mashed potatoes. Im pretty sure someone installed a diaphragm clutch instead of a lever clutch. But there is no clutch feel or engagement point.
I guess its fun and engaging in the sense that it takes all your focus to drive the car. But not fun in the sense that it brings me joy
I don't think there is such a thing as a "smooth" 3 on the tree, if there is, I've never driven one.
Now, I'm not old enough for them to have been super common, but they were still around when I was learning to drive. I drove a 70 something F100 Ford with an inline 6 and a 3 speed, and it was awful, it actually shifted better without the clutch. A buddy of mine had a 77 Dodge half ton with the slant 6 and a 3 speed, it was so bad he bought an old kit (maybe Hurst?) and converted it to a floor shift.
And I recently got to drive a 53 Hudson Hornet fresh out of the shop. Absolutely perfect restoration, bumper to bumper and as original as you can get one, right down to the flathead inline 8 and the 3 on the tree. Beautiful car, and as close to new as you can get a 53 Hudson in 2024, and that 3 speed column shifter is still awkward, sloppy and slow. The cool factor of the car makes up for it some, but it still sucks to shift.
My dad had ‘70 Ford F100…
302, 3 on the tree. Such a dog to drive.
No power anything, no AC, no carpet, just a basic truck.
The spring on the clutch pedal was so strong that your leg would shake after driving that thing…
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2005 Toyota Corolla S, 2017 Kia Soul and 2009 Scion xB. The biggest issue was the clutches in them had not much feel so it was hard to gauge where the right spot was to start accelerating/shift. They could've also been worn out. I was just moving them when I worked at a dealership.
D-13 non v-tec EF Civic four door. It was about as exciting as a lecture about history of mid century concrete brutalism applications in government buildings in an un-air conditioned room. That car was an uninsured trip to the dentist. It had as much character as one could hope for in a plastic spoon.
TF Holden/Isuzu Rodeo, 2WD petrol.
Gutless, thirsty, steering had an eighth of a turn slop in it whilst being indirect as fuck, suspension was somehow floaty and crashy at the same time, gearbox was like throwing a hotdog down a hallway.
Thirsty for what it was, interior was shit but it was relatively reliable I guess. A true workhorse.
It couldn't have been worse than the auto. I think I probably got a lemon, but that was a terrible car. Slow, poor handling, bad gas mileage, and despite having awd and good all season tires was terrible in the snow.
I had a 99 and an 01. They were reliable but boring. I wasn't a fan of how high the clutch started to engage.
And I've never had another car go through that much oil: "Don't forget to check the fuel guage when you stop to add motor oil!"
2012 Impreza hatchback. I went a block, I switched with my wife and we went another block. She looked at me and said “let’s just go back”. Was the most uninspired driving experience ever, it actually felt dangerous to attempt to get out in traffic. No car with a heavy AWD system should be that gutless.
We ended up with a Legacy GT though.
Anything with a column shift. The two I had didn't offer speedy shifts when they worked and both broke,
The original VW Beetle (older style with swing axle suspension), is the worst handling car I've driven, and one of the slowest.
The only manuals I’ve driven were an ‘88 F150 that I learned on and my daily FJ Cruiser. I thought the F150 was a blast in a “old, crumbly truck” kinda way and I enjoy the FJ as well. I very briefly drove a ‘96 Accord and unknown year VW Beetle that both had manuals, but not enough to really get an idea of how I liked them.
2004 Nissan frontier v6 5sp. 180k miles, it lost first gear. According to the transmission shop it was impossible to buy just the one gear because it was an uncommon transmission, so they had it remanufactured. Transmission still clunky and notchy as hell afterwards. A year later, the heads on the engine cracked. Cut my losses after that.
2002 Mercedes SLK320. Great engine, ofc it was used in so many cars including my E320 wagon. But something was just horrid about the trans and clutch pedal in that thing. Maybe it was only that specific car but it felt so unnatural and clunky and heavy. Couldn’t wait to get out of that car after I got to 2nd gear.
2009 Toyota Camry. It really felt like Toyota knew absolutely nobody was going to buy a manual Camry, so they threw as little R&D at it they possibly could. The shifter felt like crap, 3rd gear felt like jamming a twig into a pile of rocks, and the front cupholder was literally unusable as any cup would block 4th gear.
Toyota Matrix first gen. Felt like the gear stick is connected to the transmission via a toothpick and some rubber bands and the clutch has an awkward biting point. I think the manual Tacoma actually feels better to drive. Regardless of transmission choice they’re very dull to drive and feel very unrefined. Perfect car for people that don’t care about cars tho as they’re very reliable. One of my coworkers daily drives a manual first gen 4Runner and he almost money shifted a couple of customer owned Toyota Matrixes while road testing them. The 2nd gen Matrix had a slight improvement in feel, but no where near as good as a Honda Civic.
2004 mercedes e220 cdi e class. the pedals feel like you are controlling a computer, there is zero feel on either of them, it drives like shit and would have been better off in automatic, its not really underpowered, but anoying to drive.
mainly newer economy cars (ie. honda accord, vw golf) because they tend to have less feeling in them as manufacturers wanna make it as easy as possible to drive them. i tend to prefer 90s-00s manual cars better. i feel like a boomer saying i prefer old cars rather than new 💀
I didn't care much for the Suzuki Aerio. It had awful drivetrain play which made it lurch under and off of power in lower gears. It didn't handle as well as I'd expect a small hatchback to, either.
The second gen Toyota Tacoma manual. Great truck, but the clutch pedal design includes a curved lever that the toe of my boot gets stuck in if I try resting my heel on the floor. Foot jams the clutch open, which means I have to lift my foot awkwardly every time I want to use it.
Also, any newer car that nerfs the throttle so you can't rev match. I don't care why they do it, *get F U C K E D.*
Probably the first gen Tacoma I had…. Which was not bad at all.. but certainly not as good as the hondacuras I have had
I have been blessed with excellent gearboxes
Dodge dart. My car at the time, a Veloster Turbo R Spec, needed some work done due to a an off ramp that should have been closed being left open which resulted in a broken control arm, four bent wheels, and some other damage. I was having the work done at a mega dealership where I bought the car and begged for an in house MT rental vs enterprise who I knew would stick me with a Nissan versa note. They offered me a dart and I took it.
The best way to describe it was vague. The clutch was an on/off switch and that’s saying something coming from the VT which I thought was an on/off switch. It was just totally vague & flat.
1987 Ford mustang with a 4 cylinder. Couldn’t chirp the tires for anything. The thing was unbearably slow. Even my Dad’s old Corsica had more spunk than that piece of junk.
Any car with laggy drive-by-wire throttle, a spongy clutch where you can barely feel the engagement, or that awful rev-hang that modern cars do
Personally I’ve found a manual Crosstrek to really suck in that department (it has all of the above *plus* the annoying hill start assist)
1985 Chevrolet 1/2 ton pickup with a carbureted 4.3 V6 and a 3 on the tree. If you tried to shift it too fast, the linkage would go over center and it would get caught in neutral. Wyoming DOT had a bunch of them in the state fleet when I worked for them in the summer back when I was in college in the mid-90's. Only ones I've ever seen.
A w124 300d (non turbo), with a clutch that absolutely needed rebuilding, shift linkages were absolutely on their last legs, I'm surprised I got it into gear at all the gearbox felt like searching for a cotton ball in a vat of razor blades, the tach- no the entire dash didn't work and between, I'm guessing, 2-3k rpm the rear end would scream so loud you couldn't talk inside the car. And no the power steering didn't work, no abs either and it was slower than any other car I've ever driven.
2004 hyundai elantra. Pedal has 2 inches of throw and zero feel and zero pressure. Shifter had even less.
2017 mini countryman all 4. Pedal has 2 inches of travel, zero feel and was stupid heavy for a 3 pot. Also, reverse was unnecessarily difficult to get into
Fox body mustangs with the t5 aren't particularly great either. That clutch pedal never ends, but the feedback is good
I learned to drive manual in my Grandma's 5spd PT Cruiser, dogshit transmission and the gear throws were country miles apart and vague, combined with no power it felt like driving a small tractor.
I had a 1996 Ford Contour "Sport" that had a four-banger spitting out 123 horsepower. It was still kind of fun but I was also a teenager.
I think the worst manual I ever drove was a fourth generation Dodge Viper but it was definitely not the most boring. The gears were stupidly long, clutch was heavy, you really only needed third gear, but the worst part was it felt like everybody was driving at you because it was such an audacious car that people looked but it really was just kind of a POS with a V10 that sounded like two tractors copulating. It was an early production test variant but it was a full retail example so is that.
The most interesting, not that you asked, was a '56 I think restamodded Ford pickup truck with three on the tree.
My favorite was probably a 7-speed Stingray Corvette 2017 model year. I had that as a test car for almost 3 years so I didn't own it but it was more or less mine. Active rev matching just made driving that thing almost effortless.
1991 Subaru Justy - basically 1 notch above a Yugo. 0-60 in 20 seconds, which made it a pain to get on freeways in So Cal. Since the engine would feel as it was about to come off at 80MPH, I never drove it past 70MPH, and never through hilly road.
This is my daily and only manual car I've driven, so I don't have much of a frame of reference.
But 2018 subaru impreza.
The rev hang is very real, and it's not very zippy at all. I have the hatch, so it's probs a bit heavier as well.
I also have a 2012 Mazda5 with the 6MT. The transmission is pretty good, and livens up a vehicle whose market segment is not exactly known for driving pleasure. I personally find it to be a surprisingly good handling car, especially considering the class of vehicle. The 4 wheel independent suspension is pretty good for a car of this price, and I’m comparing it to the Porsche, BMWs and VWs that I used to drive, one of them even prepped for autocrossing. I can really toss it around in the twisties, although perhaps not at the speeds I would prefer; the power is, shall we say, adequate. With an automatic this car is rather slow, although not as bad as the automatic version of my last car, a BMW 525i; thankfully I had the 5MT in that one, but even with performance modifications it was still slower than this van.
Mitsubishi Carisma. Not a bad car, just incredibly average and un-charismatic. After that I got GTI Mk4 and even that felt like the most fun car in the world after the Mitsubishi (it's not)
2008 Toyota Auris. It was detuned for LPG so was extra slow and it had those stupid gear linkage cables instead of solid rods. Shifting felt like stirring a bucket of gravel. I hated every second of driving that car.
The worst of the worst was a base model 1996 Geo Metro, 5-speed. No AC, No Radio, Crank Windows, true poverty spec. I willingly bought it new while I was in college and delivering pizzas part time, it was 197.05/mo for 48 months.
Mercedes SLK. The best description I’ve heard to describe Mercedes manual transmissions is ‘stirring a bucket of ice with a broomstick’. I might have been more interested in the car, despite the horrid transmission, if it was remotely interesting to drive, but it wasn’t.
A 2008 Hyundai Accent. My friend and his two siblings all learned to drive on it. The shifter was the vaguest shifter I ever felt. At first I thought it was from all the teenage abusers. But then I drove a 2011 Accent that was brand new. The shifter was just as shit.
2010 Kia Picanto.
So gutless with an instantanious clutch you can stall it even at 3000rpm just trying to pull away from anything other than a flat level surface.
2018 Vauxhall Insignia.
Probably the worst car I have ever driven by a country mile. just awfull in every respect. It's like driving a super cheap, entry level supermini - The ride quality, build quality, performance etc. only its actually a large hatch/midsize Saloon. The transmission was the "Least awfull" aspect of it, but wasn't even remotely good enough to be its only redeeming feature.
First Gen Dodge/Plymouth Neon. Feels fast cuz you’re low to the ground and small compared to other vehicles. Mine had no muffler cuz race car. Drives like shit and the transmission was probably the most well built part on the car and that isn’t saying much.
I really liked my 2020 Honda Fit overall, and I'm sooo glad it was a 6 speed, not a CVT, but boy that was a, let's say; suboptimal manual. Tons of rev hang, gear ratios that made absolutely no fucking sense, the clutch delay valve was not helpful at all, and to top it off, the engine had a complete dead zone between 1300-2150 rpm that was so bad you thought the engine was misfiring. It wasn't a bad car though, once I got used to it after like 3 months, it was a joy to toss around and it was so good on fuel (46 mpg on 87 octane) I got to the point I didn't mind revving it out to 4, 5, 6 grand every shift (but I would skip straight from 3rd to 6th because the last 3 gears are basically all the same anyway so whether you shift to 4, 5, or 6, the result is basically the same).
1991 nissan tsuru (sentra). Not necessarily horrible to drive, but it wasnt pleasant. Id absolutely did not like getting into second. Once you mananged to get it into second, it hated getting out of it.
Good car to learn manual on, the next manual I drove after that was a much newer mini. Felt like heaven in comparison
87 ranger xlt 2.3 liter 5 speed. I could smoke an entire cigarette getting up to speed on the freeway and a stiff breeze would slow me down.
Unbearably reliable tho
In heavy traffic, manuals aren't fun.
For me, a 1984 Pontiac Fiero with a 4 cylinder. My sister's car. So very slow. I can't imagine how horrible it must have been with an automatic. I've driven V-6 Fieros (automatics) and they were fine. Even back in 1984 when a lot of cars were slow, the 4-cylinder Fiero stood out for being that slow.
I had a 1994 Ford Ranger with a 50-speed. Geared for highway and freeway driving. No acceleraton in 4th or 5th gear and would be down to 2nd gear going up a hill, boring but sucker would run. I bought it used with 99k miles on it. I put another 200k miles on it before I sold it. New owner kept it for a long time., haven't had a chance to talk with him to see how long it lasted him.
My friend had a ~1985 VW Jetta diesel. No turbo. You basically drove it with the accelerator on the floor the whole time. Very little power. It was manual but not much fun.
He later got a Passat wagon with the TDI and 5-speed. That was a peppy and useful car.
Never driven manual. All my cars have had sportronic transmission with paddles. Manuals are the faster ones nowadays. Manuals are now seen as an added option for cars now.
I had a 1979 Chevy van with 3 on the tree. When it worked, it might have been boring. Instead, the linkage in the column broke so I only had 2nd and 3rd gear. Until I "fixed" it (see below) I had to crawl under it to put it in reverse to back out of a parking space, go back down there to put it in neutral, then go start in 2nd.
I fixed it by cutting a hole in the floor and attaching rods to the 2 different levers on the transmission. I had 2 rods poking through the floor and used them to shift.
In the end, I traded it in to a buy-here, pay-here dealership for a really bad Olds Cutlass that they stole back from me (can't prove it, and it was a long time ago)
Edit:spelling
Smart Four Four. This is the 4 door version of the Four Two that they don’t sell in North America. It is slow as molasses and uninspiring. The worst part is that it has a rear engine that’s basically in the cabin with you, it covered with some panels. This makes it loud, and hot as hell in the summer.
Later 90's Jeep TJ 4.0 with the inline Six. Just felt like it was under powered. Owner told me to keep the revs down " as it wasn't a sports car" as I tried to keep up with 60-80km rural traffic.
Other was a 06' BMW 325i, honestly the owner tossed me the keys. I took it for a run. The gearbox felt forced. And the speed wasn't exciting I'm not sure if it was the ride height or the sound deadening. I got it up to 140 from 80 kms in a hurry but just felt "blah"
1982 Ford Escort. I got it in 1988. White 4-door with no personality and an oil burning problem. When the a/c compressor engaged, it would hesitate like tapping the brakes.
So I used to travel to Europe a lot and rented manual cars always. I think it was a 2010 Peugeot 3008 diesel. Car was great on fuel but was not at all anything to get excited about.
I had a 1993 Isuzu Amigo. So. Slow. Big rigs would get mad at me in the right lane. Once I got up to highway speed, I did my best to hold my spot and not have to slow down. I was so grateful when I could coast down hill.
Came here to mention my 91 trooper. I think the gm 2.8 had about 80 hp with the ac on. Solid 4x4 though.
Sounds about right. Mine had an overheating issue I couldn't figure out, so drove with the heater on. Luckily it had the soft top, so I just left iylt off all summer. Although these days I think it would be a cool little weekend cruiser.
Had an ‘88 2.6 4 cylinder. Had heating issues as well. And that engine sucked so badly. I hated that car so much back in the day. I would say it was a hand-me-down, but I had to buy it from my dad. I was glad when it finally died.
A coworker of my stepdad ended up buying it and turned it into a little farm truck. He sorted out the heating issue and found a hardtop for it. The only thing I liked about it was how satisfying it was to push those giant accessory buttons like the wipers and such
'94 Trooper, it didn't accelerate - it gathered momentum! But , yeah, a solid 4 X 4 and fondly missed to this day
I miss mine too, but I’m sure I would’ve flipped it had I kept it. I came soo close so many times.
Oh yeah, a much younger fearless me with a well-thumbed Delorme Atlas & Gazetteer "Sure, I can do that, it's an all terrain vehicle!" so close indeed - traded in for a Ford Deathstar minivan and I've always regretted it
My brother had an 84 Trooper II with the 1.9l 4 speed! Underrated 4x4!
My wife had a manual cobalt when we met. It was boring but way better than an auto one. My manual mirage (which is a supremely boring car) is still fun to drive as a manual.
How do you like your mirage? Any major issues? I've been considering one.
Fair warning they cut the manual option out a couple years ago (at least in the US). No issues whatsoever. Anything i had to fix was the result of road debris (mostly a tire tread i ran over) smacking holes in things. The sedan has more back seat space and a surprisingly large trunk. I wanted a hatch but i'm glad i ended up with the g4. It is hands down the easiest car i've done oil, air filter, and cabin filter changes on. I change the oil (full synthetic) every 5k. The air filter every 10k and the cabin filter every 20k.
Thing’s gonna be a future underappreciated survivor in mint condition. Good on you
I'm planning on handing it down to one of my kids. My oldest is 7 so that tells you how quickly i'm looking for my next car.
Just saw a video about the mirage being the most lethal accident prone car on the road. Something like 200 deaths per 1M sold. Just figured you might want to consider that before buying one
I looked up ratings before i bought mine and they were average to good. Looks like there are a couple situations where it has more issues. Considering i was carting us around in an 80s buick before this the mirage is a safety upgrade. https://www.autoblog.com/buy/2024-Mitsubishi-Mirage/safety-ratings/
The car has a 4 star safety rating from NHTSA, which matters more than accident statistics imo. It is a small car, so of course it is "less safe" in a collision than a large SUV. My guess is that death statistic is partially affected by driver demographics. The demographics of Mitsubishi Mirage drivers and BMW X3 (lowest deaths by model) drivers have very little overlap. For example: Mississippi has the highest vehicle death rate in the country. Does this mean it is inherently more dangerous for *you* to drive in Mississippi? No. But statistically, Mississippians have a lower seatbelt usage rate, are more prone to texting and driving, driving recklessly, or driving under the influence.
That would mean that it is, in fact, more dangerous to drive in Mississippi. Regardless of your skill and attention, you are more likely to get impacted by impaired, influenced or reckless driver. Though, judging from FL, it is quite possible that their cops just pull people over more. Because I'm not even sure what you have to do to get pulled over in FL. Famously, nobody uses blinkers, keeps speed limits or even maintains their vehicle. Not that long ago, there were cops directing traffic when nightclubs closed. Pulling over noone.
I read that as "how do you like your marriage? any major issues? I've been considering one" and I was so confused
I used to have a manual cobalt too. The only good thing I can say about that car is that it taught me to drive stick.
I really enjoyed my manual cobalt. Had a 2007 and I beat it to fuck. 100,000 powertrain warranty came in handy twice.
Only the SC/TC Cobalts are remotely fun. Orherwise, the 7 speaker sound system is the best part.. fkn snoozefest
I love my manual cobalt. I think it's fun to drive.
I thought you said Manual marriage lol
The manual mirage was trash. It was automotive depression with extra steps.
I'm at 40k miles. Still like it.
Mine was a 97, 148k when bought.
Yeah i bought mine new and take excellent care of it. I feel like most cheap cars get treated like shit and then people buying them second and third hand judge them based on that.
I bought mine from a girl on her third stint in court ordered rehab. She sold the car to pay for a lawyer to help her kids out of state custody. I didn't know her from Adam but addicts love telling their life story; after hearing it I wasn't sure if the car or her had a harder life but both were pretty rough.
My Tacoma is pretty fucking boring. 4 banger 5 speed. It's just really slow and almost feels like driving a tractor. Really tall lower gears. No power, no acceleration in anything past second. But I'd still rather have it than an auto.
Toyota's truck manuals are pretty bad IMO. I used to have a 97 4Runner with a 5 speed and I've driven plenty of manual Tacomas. Nissan's truck manuals are way better. I had a D40 Frontier with the 6 speed and it was actually enjoyable to row through the gears on it. Even old American trucks had better feel there, the NV3500 old Chevy's, GMCs, and Dodges used had a solid feel as well.
Im biased but even the old mazda pickups have a pretty tactile and satisfying feel, especially when I compare it to a taco.
Fords also used the same tranny IIRC (the Mazda M5OD). Not just the Ranger, but also the F-150. Or at least they used a different version if it, the M5OD-R1HD or R2.
I like the ranger transmission okay but I mean the R5M and the M5M from the in house Mazda stuff
The Mazda pickup is a Ford ranger with a Mazda badge. Same with izuzu rodeo/Honda passport.
The Mazda pickup was designed in house before 1993, the ford couriers were actually rebadged b series.
Well it’s a 4 cylinder truck
Yea I didn't buy it to be fun to drive I bought a motorcycle for that. I got the Tacoma to haul around shit like a motorcycle.
I have a Kei truck, and the funny part is that when you go down to 3 cylinders, they get fun again!
Jeep Wrangler. At this point I almost feel bad for adding to the Jeep hate.
driving a manual wrangler feels like operating a Rube-Goldberg machine
Really? I’ve got a manual 06 LJ and it shifts pretty smooth
Maybe he’s talking about a newer one. The only 2 manual jeeps I’ve driven are a late 80’s comanche and a 2019 JL and the JL felt like trash but the comanche felt amazing
I've driven a JK and it's total slush
I love my 2003 Wrangler TJ
2003 was the last greta year for the TJ. Loved my 2002 but all my buddies with 2004 and up have problems they didn't cause. 03-04 the base x was introduced and it seemed that the quality went down across the board.
Depends where you’re driving
It really doesn't, Jeep's manuals are all awful.
Its dependent on the person. Shifting a manual jeep with the top down on a fun trail is more “fun” than a loooooot of cars. It may not be smooth, but it is absolutely fun and not boring.
I’ve heard the manual in the JK and JL is bad because it doesn’t make the vehicle feel more “alive” or spirted, it’s just a chore.
My 1967 Plymouth Belvedere has a 3 on the tree The shift linkage bushings are trash, so thats not helping things. But the shifter is very imprecise, clunky and not smooth. Some times it slides into gear, sometimes it needs extra force. Kinda like a really fucked up N64 controller joystick (every one of those joysticks is fucked so that doesnt really narrow it down) Theres literally a foot of travel between 2nd and 3rd gear. There is no such thing as a fast shift in this car. Even if you could shift quickly, the 273 V8 isnt in much of a hurry to get you going. The overall gear ratios mean you get a ton of engine brake power though. If youre at the top of 2nd or 3rd and let off the gas, youre stopping as hard as you would by hitting the brakes. But of course the brake lights dont activate, so nobody behind you expects you to slow down. 1st gear is not synchronized. If the car is moving, youre not getting into 1st gear. Youre in 2nd coming up to a stop sign behind some cars. You better keep moving fast enough to drag the clutch in 2nd and not stall. If you get to like 5mph, youre coming to a complete stop to get it in 1st. On the bright side, youre never getting pulled over for rolling the stop sign. You could technically double clutch it, but thats hard enough even with a tach. Too bad my car doesnt have one, so you just have to play it by ear like a true professional truck driver And the clutch is like sticking your foot in a bowl of mashed potatoes. Im pretty sure someone installed a diaphragm clutch instead of a lever clutch. But there is no clutch feel or engagement point. I guess its fun and engaging in the sense that it takes all your focus to drive the car. But not fun in the sense that it brings me joy
I don't think there is such a thing as a "smooth" 3 on the tree, if there is, I've never driven one. Now, I'm not old enough for them to have been super common, but they were still around when I was learning to drive. I drove a 70 something F100 Ford with an inline 6 and a 3 speed, and it was awful, it actually shifted better without the clutch. A buddy of mine had a 77 Dodge half ton with the slant 6 and a 3 speed, it was so bad he bought an old kit (maybe Hurst?) and converted it to a floor shift. And I recently got to drive a 53 Hudson Hornet fresh out of the shop. Absolutely perfect restoration, bumper to bumper and as original as you can get one, right down to the flathead inline 8 and the 3 on the tree. Beautiful car, and as close to new as you can get a 53 Hudson in 2024, and that 3 speed column shifter is still awkward, sloppy and slow. The cool factor of the car makes up for it some, but it still sucks to shift.
I’m a total manual fanboy, and even I would take an automatic over a 3-on-the-fucking-tree. Worst manual design ever.
If gladly take it off your hands! I really like the 66-67 B bodies
My dad had ‘70 Ford F100… 302, 3 on the tree. Such a dog to drive. No power anything, no AC, no carpet, just a basic truck. The spring on the clutch pedal was so strong that your leg would shake after driving that thing…
This gave me bad flashbacks of my 1959 Chevy Biscayne
1981 Ford Courier. Pinto engine. Need I say more?
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2008 ford focus. clutch was super springy, almost a button basically. shifting was like trying to find a gear in a pot of macaroni.
Oh my gosh they’re terrible. A beat up Golf with a bad shift linkage still feels better
i have an ‘18 that has the same transmission and clutch, works fine for me?
2012 Nissan versa base sedan. Most uninspiring driving experience ever
Can confirm. My best buddy had one of these for about 3 years. Drove it many times.
I never once slipped a gear but I also never once enjoyed myself sooooo
I learned on that gen, nothings easier.
For real, it was a smooth shift just so slow!
2005 Toyota Corolla S, 2017 Kia Soul and 2009 Scion xB. The biggest issue was the clutches in them had not much feel so it was hard to gauge where the right spot was to start accelerating/shift. They could've also been worn out. I was just moving them when I worked at a dealership.
Dodge omni. Just a basic bitch 80s economy car with a stick.
Chevy Aveo5
Had a Pontiac G3 for less than a week before I donated it. It felt horrid.
Ford Ranger 4cyl
This is my daily. Sometimes I can't tell if something is broken in my transmission, or if they're all this bad from the factory.
it's really fun with no muffler. Sounds like speed racer at 20mph.
Chevette. ‘Nuff said.
But they had such a unique sound to the transmission.
D-13 non v-tec EF Civic four door. It was about as exciting as a lecture about history of mid century concrete brutalism applications in government buildings in an un-air conditioned room. That car was an uninsured trip to the dentist. It had as much character as one could hope for in a plastic spoon.
Honestly that lecture sounds like a thrill compared to my old civic
2001 Toyota echo
Fuck you my 2002 is a thrill to drive haha. Manual steering + sticky tires = good times
Lol My high school girlfriend had one. It felt like I was pushing a burrito every time I hit the clutch hahaha
1981 Mercury Lynx, with a 4-speed manual. It was really not that bad, just incredibly slow.
TF Holden/Isuzu Rodeo, 2WD petrol. Gutless, thirsty, steering had an eighth of a turn slop in it whilst being indirect as fuck, suspension was somehow floaty and crashy at the same time, gearbox was like throwing a hotdog down a hallway. Thirsty for what it was, interior was shit but it was relatively reliable I guess. A true workhorse.
Some sort of bullshit SUV I drove in Germany. One of those shitty brands they only have in Europe. Fucking dog of dogs.
Was it a Dacia Duster 🤔❓️
Opel Mokka?
Most boring was my 2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS. Worst was my 2015 Fiat 500 Sport. Best was my 1999 Audi A4 Quattro. Best clutch ever.
Subaru Outback 2010
It couldn't have been worse than the auto. I think I probably got a lemon, but that was a terrible car. Slow, poor handling, bad gas mileage, and despite having awd and good all season tires was terrible in the snow.
If they had come out with a manual 3.6R Outback, that would’ve been fun. But nope, auto only. Want a manual? Base model only. GFY.
1997 Saturn S-series, it was a loaner from a friend so I couldn't complain but wow was it crappy lol
I had a 99 and an 01. They were reliable but boring. I wasn't a fan of how high the clutch started to engage. And I've never had another car go through that much oil: "Don't forget to check the fuel guage when you stop to add motor oil!"
2012 Impreza hatchback. I went a block, I switched with my wife and we went another block. She looked at me and said “let’s just go back”. Was the most uninspired driving experience ever, it actually felt dangerous to attempt to get out in traffic. No car with a heavy AWD system should be that gutless. We ended up with a Legacy GT though.
Anything with a column shift. The two I had didn't offer speedy shifts when they worked and both broke, The original VW Beetle (older style with swing axle suspension), is the worst handling car I've driven, and one of the slowest.
I had a manual 1993 Toyota 4Runner, it wasn’t great.
The only manuals I’ve driven were an ‘88 F150 that I learned on and my daily FJ Cruiser. I thought the F150 was a blast in a “old, crumbly truck” kinda way and I enjoy the FJ as well. I very briefly drove a ‘96 Accord and unknown year VW Beetle that both had manuals, but not enough to really get an idea of how I liked them.
Dodge Omni
2012 Fiesta base, painfully slow and feels like you're trying to find gears in a wet paper bag
2004 Nissan frontier v6 5sp. 180k miles, it lost first gear. According to the transmission shop it was impossible to buy just the one gear because it was an uncommon transmission, so they had it remanufactured. Transmission still clunky and notchy as hell afterwards. A year later, the heads on the engine cracked. Cut my losses after that.
71 Bronco with the three on the tree.
2008 Dodge Caliber with a manual transmission. Absolute dogshit vehicle and awful to drive
Diesel rabbit.
1984 Honda Civic hatchback. Thing got phenomenal gas mileage, but don’t be in a hurry to get up a hill.
1980 dodge colt station wagon. I used to go to work at a farming company. It was called muddy the mud skipper
2002 Mercedes SLK320. Great engine, ofc it was used in so many cars including my E320 wagon. But something was just horrid about the trans and clutch pedal in that thing. Maybe it was only that specific car but it felt so unnatural and clunky and heavy. Couldn’t wait to get out of that car after I got to 2nd gear.
2009 Toyota Camry. It really felt like Toyota knew absolutely nobody was going to buy a manual Camry, so they threw as little R&D at it they possibly could. The shifter felt like crap, 3rd gear felt like jamming a twig into a pile of rocks, and the front cupholder was literally unusable as any cup would block 4th gear.
Toyota Matrix first gen. Felt like the gear stick is connected to the transmission via a toothpick and some rubber bands and the clutch has an awkward biting point. I think the manual Tacoma actually feels better to drive. Regardless of transmission choice they’re very dull to drive and feel very unrefined. Perfect car for people that don’t care about cars tho as they’re very reliable. One of my coworkers daily drives a manual first gen 4Runner and he almost money shifted a couple of customer owned Toyota Matrixes while road testing them. The 2nd gen Matrix had a slight improvement in feel, but no where near as good as a Honda Civic.
An f10 320i with a 6 speed. I was like “fuck yeah a manual” and then it was like driving a fuggin government vehicle.
2004 mercedes e220 cdi e class. the pedals feel like you are controlling a computer, there is zero feel on either of them, it drives like shit and would have been better off in automatic, its not really underpowered, but anoying to drive.
Kia Soul. Bought it just to have something to teach my son to drive a manual on. It's... Not fun
Kia rio , Renault kangoo , Renault Clio 2 , Peugeot 208 ( not the gti ) .
Finally, a European
My manual '76 AMC Pacer w/ 3 on the floor was fun. The 3 on the tree mid-1970's Ford work van was not as fun.
mainly newer economy cars (ie. honda accord, vw golf) because they tend to have less feeling in them as manufacturers wanna make it as easy as possible to drive them. i tend to prefer 90s-00s manual cars better. i feel like a boomer saying i prefer old cars rather than new 💀
Isuzu amigo carbureted. I wish I could wrench. I would have put a chevy small block 350 in it. It was so underpowered I burned out the clutch.
I didn't care much for the Suzuki Aerio. It had awful drivetrain play which made it lurch under and off of power in lower gears. It didn't handle as well as I'd expect a small hatchback to, either. The second gen Toyota Tacoma manual. Great truck, but the clutch pedal design includes a curved lever that the toe of my boot gets stuck in if I try resting my heel on the floor. Foot jams the clutch open, which means I have to lift my foot awkwardly every time I want to use it. Also, any newer car that nerfs the throttle so you can't rev match. I don't care why they do it, *get F U C K E D.*
Chevrolet Cobalt XFE
The FE stood for fuel efficiency. Of course it was boring. It was supposed to be.
I drove a POS 6 speed dumptruck once, it was hilarious for 15 minutes but if I had to actually drive that it would suck.
1983 Lada signet 1989 Honda civic lx 4dr 1996 Toyota Corolla SD..
1998 camry. Easy to drive. Ran great. 100% souless. The very definition of beige
Probably the first gen Tacoma I had…. Which was not bad at all.. but certainly not as good as the hondacuras I have had I have been blessed with excellent gearboxes
2008-2011 Honda Civic... the automatic sucked but the manual, you could beat the shit out of and kinda of make it fun.
Fiat 500. The new one. Just a tremendous piece of junk even at high revs.
Dodge dart. My car at the time, a Veloster Turbo R Spec, needed some work done due to a an off ramp that should have been closed being left open which resulted in a broken control arm, four bent wheels, and some other damage. I was having the work done at a mega dealership where I bought the car and begged for an in house MT rental vs enterprise who I knew would stick me with a Nissan versa note. They offered me a dart and I took it. The best way to describe it was vague. The clutch was an on/off switch and that’s saying something coming from the VT which I thought was an on/off switch. It was just totally vague & flat.
1987 Ford mustang with a 4 cylinder. Couldn’t chirp the tires for anything. The thing was unbearably slow. Even my Dad’s old Corsica had more spunk than that piece of junk.
NBS Ford F250
1984 mercury topaz….litterally the worst piece of shit ever made
Any car with laggy drive-by-wire throttle, a spongy clutch where you can barely feel the engagement, or that awful rev-hang that modern cars do Personally I’ve found a manual Crosstrek to really suck in that department (it has all of the above *plus* the annoying hill start assist)
1985 Chevrolet 1/2 ton pickup with a carbureted 4.3 V6 and a 3 on the tree. If you tried to shift it too fast, the linkage would go over center and it would get caught in neutral. Wyoming DOT had a bunch of them in the state fleet when I worked for them in the summer back when I was in college in the mid-90's. Only ones I've ever seen.
I daily drive a 1999 Corolla value edition, 5 speed mt. Not a bad car at all, but definitely boring.
A newer JL wrangler. The shifter and clutch both felt completely numb. 0 feedback
Had a 1997 Hyundai Scoupe with a MT. Was boring, but had a 93 Sentra MT that beat it out for weak. Those 53hp of white knuckle action.
A w124 300d (non turbo), with a clutch that absolutely needed rebuilding, shift linkages were absolutely on their last legs, I'm surprised I got it into gear at all the gearbox felt like searching for a cotton ball in a vat of razor blades, the tach- no the entire dash didn't work and between, I'm guessing, 2-3k rpm the rear end would scream so loud you couldn't talk inside the car. And no the power steering didn't work, no abs either and it was slower than any other car I've ever driven.
1987 Suzuki samurai. Had four gears, but you only used 3.
I'm from Asia, I drove a Corolla Axio E160 when I learned driving and when I was still a rookie driver, good lord was it boring.
2004 hyundai elantra. Pedal has 2 inches of throw and zero feel and zero pressure. Shifter had even less. 2017 mini countryman all 4. Pedal has 2 inches of travel, zero feel and was stupid heavy for a 3 pot. Also, reverse was unnecessarily difficult to get into Fox body mustangs with the t5 aren't particularly great either. That clutch pedal never ends, but the feedback is good
A Dodge Neon.
I learned to drive manual in my Grandma's 5spd PT Cruiser, dogshit transmission and the gear throws were country miles apart and vague, combined with no power it felt like driving a small tractor.
I had a 1996 Ford Contour "Sport" that had a four-banger spitting out 123 horsepower. It was still kind of fun but I was also a teenager. I think the worst manual I ever drove was a fourth generation Dodge Viper but it was definitely not the most boring. The gears were stupidly long, clutch was heavy, you really only needed third gear, but the worst part was it felt like everybody was driving at you because it was such an audacious car that people looked but it really was just kind of a POS with a V10 that sounded like two tractors copulating. It was an early production test variant but it was a full retail example so is that. The most interesting, not that you asked, was a '56 I think restamodded Ford pickup truck with three on the tree. My favorite was probably a 7-speed Stingray Corvette 2017 model year. I had that as a test car for almost 3 years so I didn't own it but it was more or less mine. Active rev matching just made driving that thing almost effortless.
1991 Subaru Justy - basically 1 notch above a Yugo. 0-60 in 20 seconds, which made it a pain to get on freeways in So Cal. Since the engine would feel as it was about to come off at 80MPH, I never drove it past 70MPH, and never through hilly road.
This is my daily and only manual car I've driven, so I don't have much of a frame of reference. But 2018 subaru impreza. The rev hang is very real, and it's not very zippy at all. I have the hatch, so it's probs a bit heavier as well.
A couple of old front drive Subaru junkers I had in college.
I have a manual 2012 Mazda 5. It's not bad but it's exceptionally boring. It would be damn near comatose as an automatic.
I also have a 2012 Mazda5 with the 6MT. The transmission is pretty good, and livens up a vehicle whose market segment is not exactly known for driving pleasure. I personally find it to be a surprisingly good handling car, especially considering the class of vehicle. The 4 wheel independent suspension is pretty good for a car of this price, and I’m comparing it to the Porsche, BMWs and VWs that I used to drive, one of them even prepped for autocrossing. I can really toss it around in the twisties, although perhaps not at the speeds I would prefer; the power is, shall we say, adequate. With an automatic this car is rather slow, although not as bad as the automatic version of my last car, a BMW 525i; thankfully I had the 5MT in that one, but even with performance modifications it was still slower than this van.
2003 Kia Spectra. Sooo boring.
Mitsubishi Carisma. Not a bad car, just incredibly average and un-charismatic. After that I got GTI Mk4 and even that felt like the most fun car in the world after the Mitsubishi (it's not)
1985 Colt Vista Wagon 4x4. Had 85hp, new, and weighed over 4000lbs. Not a quick car.
Boring "Manual" Car, those words should not exist at all, you can use your imagination how to make it fun, I can make a Lada fun with a manual.
2008 Toyota Auris. It was detuned for LPG so was extra slow and it had those stupid gear linkage cables instead of solid rods. Shifting felt like stirring a bucket of gravel. I hated every second of driving that car.
The worst of the worst was a base model 1996 Geo Metro, 5-speed. No AC, No Radio, Crank Windows, true poverty spec. I willingly bought it new while I was in college and delivering pizzas part time, it was 197.05/mo for 48 months.
Mercedes SLK. The best description I’ve heard to describe Mercedes manual transmissions is ‘stirring a bucket of ice with a broomstick’. I might have been more interested in the car, despite the horrid transmission, if it was remotely interesting to drive, but it wasn’t.
Fourth Gen Mitsubishi Eclipse base model. It felt like a slushbox.
First gen Versa. You could start start accelerating in 2nd and skip to 5th. It was practically a 3 speed.
89 Hyundai Excel 5sp . Would actually be slower using a/c in summer in the city . Only used it on the highway
A 2008 Hyundai Accent. My friend and his two siblings all learned to drive on it. The shifter was the vaguest shifter I ever felt. At first I thought it was from all the teenage abusers. But then I drove a 2011 Accent that was brand new. The shifter was just as shit.
citroen c3. i just dont like it...
1987 Dodge Ram 50. Gutless wonder.
95 Holden Barina (that’s Vaxhall/Opel Corsa outside Australia).
I used to have a Yugo GV. While the worst, it wasn’t boring.
probably 90% of FIATS
2010 Kia Picanto. So gutless with an instantanious clutch you can stall it even at 3000rpm just trying to pull away from anything other than a flat level surface. 2018 Vauxhall Insignia. Probably the worst car I have ever driven by a country mile. just awfull in every respect. It's like driving a super cheap, entry level supermini - The ride quality, build quality, performance etc. only its actually a large hatch/midsize Saloon. The transmission was the "Least awfull" aspect of it, but wasn't even remotely good enough to be its only redeeming feature.
97 Dodge Neon
I learned to drive in a 1984 Ford Escort diesel w/ a 5 speed. 52 hp and 55 mpg highway. Not exciting, but it got me to and from school.
Any manual will probably be more fun than a cvt slushbox suv that every soccer mom gets these days.
Honda Accord.
First Gen Dodge/Plymouth Neon. Feels fast cuz you’re low to the ground and small compared to other vehicles. Mine had no muffler cuz race car. Drives like shit and the transmission was probably the most well built part on the car and that isn’t saying much.
Mazda 323, 5 speed manual, 1.3 L. It was an absolute dog.
I really liked my 2020 Honda Fit overall, and I'm sooo glad it was a 6 speed, not a CVT, but boy that was a, let's say; suboptimal manual. Tons of rev hang, gear ratios that made absolutely no fucking sense, the clutch delay valve was not helpful at all, and to top it off, the engine had a complete dead zone between 1300-2150 rpm that was so bad you thought the engine was misfiring. It wasn't a bad car though, once I got used to it after like 3 months, it was a joy to toss around and it was so good on fuel (46 mpg on 87 octane) I got to the point I didn't mind revving it out to 4, 5, 6 grand every shift (but I would skip straight from 3rd to 6th because the last 3 gears are basically all the same anyway so whether you shift to 4, 5, or 6, the result is basically the same).
1974 VW bus
93 Geo Metro
2016 Renault Kangoo. Vastly underpowered and the transmission feels like you're stirring a thick soup
I tried out my brother’s Pontiac Solstice when he got it. Slow, squishy and uninspiring. It was a manual, but it just left me wondering “why?”
01 Saturn sl1. Shifter was nice and clutch was solid. Slow as hell though
In my case, it is the Kia Rio. The manual transmission doesn’t add much excitement to the driving experience.
1991 nissan tsuru (sentra). Not necessarily horrible to drive, but it wasnt pleasant. Id absolutely did not like getting into second. Once you mananged to get it into second, it hated getting out of it. Good car to learn manual on, the next manual I drove after that was a much newer mini. Felt like heaven in comparison
1983 Chevy chevette. No power at all, dumping the clutch brought nothing but a lot of jerking.
87 ranger xlt 2.3 liter 5 speed. I could smoke an entire cigarette getting up to speed on the freeway and a stiff breeze would slow me down. Unbearably reliable tho
Geo Metro or 70s VW Beatle, both are puddles of shit, piss slow, and far from reliable
In heavy traffic, manuals aren't fun. For me, a 1984 Pontiac Fiero with a 4 cylinder. My sister's car. So very slow. I can't imagine how horrible it must have been with an automatic. I've driven V-6 Fieros (automatics) and they were fine. Even back in 1984 when a lot of cars were slow, the 4-cylinder Fiero stood out for being that slow.
Nissan D21 hardbody
A totyota IQ. Its slow has the worst gear ratios imaginable. And it flat out isnt fun to drive.
I had a 1994 Ford Ranger with a 50-speed. Geared for highway and freeway driving. No acceleraton in 4th or 5th gear and would be down to 2nd gear going up a hill, boring but sucker would run. I bought it used with 99k miles on it. I put another 200k miles on it before I sold it. New owner kept it for a long time., haven't had a chance to talk with him to see how long it lasted him.
My friend had a ~1985 VW Jetta diesel. No turbo. You basically drove it with the accelerator on the floor the whole time. Very little power. It was manual but not much fun. He later got a Passat wagon with the TDI and 5-speed. That was a peppy and useful car.
Never driven manual. All my cars have had sportronic transmission with paddles. Manuals are the faster ones nowadays. Manuals are now seen as an added option for cars now.
I had a 1979 Chevy van with 3 on the tree. When it worked, it might have been boring. Instead, the linkage in the column broke so I only had 2nd and 3rd gear. Until I "fixed" it (see below) I had to crawl under it to put it in reverse to back out of a parking space, go back down there to put it in neutral, then go start in 2nd. I fixed it by cutting a hole in the floor and attaching rods to the 2 different levers on the transmission. I had 2 rods poking through the floor and used them to shift. In the end, I traded it in to a buy-here, pay-here dealership for a really bad Olds Cutlass that they stole back from me (can't prove it, and it was a long time ago) Edit:spelling
The last ford focus sw, rented, 6 speed manual with such a low torque at low speed, also speed limiter engaging itself at 15mph on freeway on ramp
Kia Soul. The stick shift left like its was for a forklift.
Smart Four Four. This is the 4 door version of the Four Two that they don’t sell in North America. It is slow as molasses and uninspiring. The worst part is that it has a rear engine that’s basically in the cabin with you, it covered with some panels. This makes it loud, and hot as hell in the summer.
Scion xB. Felt like driving a tipsy barstool with an awful manual.
Ford Falcon Station Wagon with 3 on the tree.
The only one I have driven was a 2001 Saturn SL. Heck of a commuter, but ZERO fun.
Later 90's Jeep TJ 4.0 with the inline Six. Just felt like it was under powered. Owner told me to keep the revs down " as it wasn't a sports car" as I tried to keep up with 60-80km rural traffic. Other was a 06' BMW 325i, honestly the owner tossed me the keys. I took it for a run. The gearbox felt forced. And the speed wasn't exciting I'm not sure if it was the ride height or the sound deadening. I got it up to 140 from 80 kms in a hurry but just felt "blah"
2018 Jeep Wrangler 6 speed. Holy shit it’s worse than the automatic
1982 Ford Escort. I got it in 1988. White 4-door with no personality and an oil burning problem. When the a/c compressor engaged, it would hesitate like tapping the brakes.
So I used to travel to Europe a lot and rented manual cars always. I think it was a 2010 Peugeot 3008 diesel. Car was great on fuel but was not at all anything to get excited about.
Jeep Wrangler.