The manual transmission is sometimes regarded as godlike in car culture. Enthusiasts who worship at the altar of the manual often believe that all vehicles are made better with a third pedal. Most of the time, I’m inclined to agree. There has yet to be a car that I’ve driven that was made worse with a shift-your-own-adventure transmission. But this cannot be the case for every car that has ever existed. Is there a car that was somehow made worse with a manual transmission?
Admittedly, this question was pretty hard for me to answer because I am a huge fan of manuals. My insane car-buying habits have meant that there were times in which I owned the automatic version and the manual version of the same car at the same time. Being able to compare both transmission options within minutes of each other is shocking.
In one of these cases, I owned a 2012 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI DSG and a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI six-speed manual at the same time. Both cars had the same options, the same engine, and the same interiors. The only difference was in color and gearbox. The 2012 was fine! VW’s DSG is lightning quick, and when it works right, it’s something that works smoothly in the background that you never have to think about.
On the other hand, the 2010, despite being pretty much the same car, felt far more engaging to drive just because of the change in transmission. It was awesome. I’ve even once gotten the chance to drive a Smart Fortwo with a real five-speed manual, and it was so good that I bet Smart haters would be complimenting the little city car.
But is that going to be the case with every vehicle?
I think if there’s a vehicle that maybe had been made worse with a manual transmission, it could be a heavy-duty pickup truck built in the past two decades or so. I’ve once driven an older manual Super Duty, and while it was so cool to row my own in a heavy work vehicle, the clutch was a heavy unit. I could imagine my left foot getting really tired rowing gears while towing a trailer, or inching the truck along in dense city traffic.
But I also get why old manual diesel trucks are legendary. Automatic truck transmissions often sucked back then, no matter which brand they came from, so a manual was pretty much the best shot at stellar longevity. Also, manuals are still really cool! But were these trucks actually better to drive? The last manual-equipped heavy-duty pickup in America was the Ram, and that hasn’t had a manual since 2018.
If I had to give a wild answer to this question, it would be a diesel-mechanical locomotive with a manual transmission, which is a thing!
Pete piping in real quick. I can’t recall if it was the vanilla-spec Ford Focus or Fiesta that I’m thinking of, but I test-drove both circa 2013, each with a stick as well as the automatics. One if not both of them (definitely the Focus, I think) was done no favors by its manual gearbox. The throws were long and imprecise, and it just didn’t feel good. On top of that, the ratios were wack. I recall a very low (numerically high) first gear, and then a huge jump to second, a minor tooth-change for third, and then a too-tall fourth gear and another short hop to the fuel-economy-optimized fifth gear. Or something like that – but for sure, it was a lot of extra work for no extra fun. The autos, on the other hand, seemed to have reasonable ratios and responded with crisp-enough shifts and hesitation-free downshifts when I matted the pedal. Not thrilling, but not frustrating.
How about you? Is there a car, truck, SUV, or other vehicle that was made worse with a manual transmission?
Top graphic image: Ford
This is the same experience one has the longer back they broke up with an ex the more the bad things fade and the good things get embellished. Just think about it those of us old enough remembered how shitty the malaise era cars were but now people prefer them over the earlier years and pay big bucks for a Ford pinto, oops mustang
One of the auction sites recently posted a 1971 Buick LeSabre with a 3-on-the tree. Rare as hen’s teeth, but I don’t want to own it.
From my experience old square body trucks were much more pleasant to drive with an automatic. Set it and forget it
I grew up with those trucks. My uncle was an automatic guy but my dad was a manual die-hard. Those Muncie 4 speeds were indestructible but brutish. I learned how to drive stick on those and every manual I’ve ever driven since was easy, even unsynchronized 9, 10 and 13 speeds in commercial trucks.
Indestructible but brutish- that is exactly it. Great way of putting it
Vans and moving trucks. Especially moving trucks. You know there are fragile things in there and you want smooth as possible.
The early front wheel drive cars from Chrysler, Omni and K cars. The shift by cables transmissions were hit or miss.
Type 2 VW Bus. The shift linkage is just ridiculously sloppy.
Agreed. Came here to post the same thing.
Any class c or larger RV. Same for moving trucks.
I have been driving a 2006 Super Duty with a manual hauling a 3 horse bumper pull and bed camper to shows since it was new and still enjoy it. I also get joy out of my 47 CJ-2A even with the non-syncro 1st gear.
Any 2.3L Fairmont/Zephyr coupled with the 4 on the floor.
My Mother would also say the Chevy II wagon with a 3 on the tree we had when I was a wee pre-Hot Wheels lad.
Here we go…..
I think the diesel VWs were better with the DSG compared to the manual. I felt it kept the engine in the powerband way better than with a manual. I couldn’t shift fast enough to keep it accelerating like the DSG. Manuals seem to just lose all enth. If it was the regular 2.5 Jetta engine, I much preferred the stick shift ones.
I’d rock a manual SmartCar, by the way!
The C4 Corvette with the Nash 4+3 trans. Great idea that didn’t pan out as anticipated.
It’s a T-10 four speed with a 2 speed planetary gear set bolted to the tail shaft. When they worked they were clunky at best. When they didn’t work it was just a regular 4 speed. Which isn’t terrible.
But the T-10 isn’t exactly a strong transmission either. Depending on gear ratio they can only handle between 275 and 350 ft/lb of torque and they don’t like a lot of abuse.
I don’t know I like my MT equipped Super Duty, but it is not a daily driver and I don’t think I would have that feeling if I did use it as a daily driver. The Low gear does give you the ability to almost drive it like an automatic in slow traffic, but dam that shift from L to 1 is clunky and slow. OD is a bit clunky but like L it doesn’t get used as frequently so for the most part is driving an old school close ratio 4sp, only MD truck worthy.
I’m on board with the header image. Driving a manual diesel Super Duty when collecting hay was a giant pain. 0/10.
Worked for a guy with a couple automatic Super Duty’s, which worked fine….his 6.9idi however was a 4spd and definitely not fun for lots of trips in and out of the truck.
I think your typical Mercedes sedan of the 80s and into the 90s is a better car with an automatic.
I drove several old box trucks for an insulation company one summer. One was an old ford with a diesel and a manual. Another a newer gas Chevy with an Allison automatic. The automatic was much less tiring in Chicago traffic.
Also, getting it off the ford and into my TJ with a five speed at the end of the day made its transmission feel like a highly refined sports car transmission.
One thing that should be noted… on a lot of modern manuals that are equipped with “Clutch Delay Valves” that slow down the engagement of the clutch.
Deleting this stupid thing results in a more responsive/better feeling clutch.
https://9thcivic.com/forum/threads/clutch-delay-valve-removal.8624/
Some newer cars have engine rev hang during shifting, which is an emissions thing and as far as I know cannot be eliminated.
I’ve read that can be eliminated with a reprogram/tune.
*legally eliminated.
C6 Corvette. A shifter that’s so stiff and hard to work that you think it’s broken increases frustration, not engagement, and it add the wrong kind of challenge to driving.
Use case worse, I believe yes. My 2015 Fit has the CVT. I bought it so early in the run that the manual wasn’t available. Since the gearing on the manual would put it up at 3K plus on the highway, I dodged a bullet since 5k of my annual 8k mileage is on a long distance road trip. The car would have been screaming at me.
The Fit has a great manual shifter and clutch, but the ratios are wrong for US driving. My 2009 Fit ran 3100 rpm at 65 mph in 5th gear. Around town, there was never a “just right” gear. My daughter’s 2015 CVT Fit, like yours, is barely over 2K rpm at 65, and gets at least 5 mpg better as well.
I wish it wasn’t true because I wanted a manual, but I’m glad it’s true since I couldn’t get one!
CVTs are so good for highway cruising which is a selling point that most enthusiasts completely overlook. My first CVT experience was in a Forester and it could do 2200 rpm at 75-80 mph. Pure serenity, which is saying something for a flat-four Subaru.
The cars that were worse with manuals are the ones with poorly designed/manufactured manuals… such as the Chinese-sourced M82 transmission that replaced a proven/reliable Tremec manual in the lower spec’d Mustangs from 2011 to 2019 that has generated lawsuits.
https://www.thelemonfirm.com/2022/05/10/ford-mustang-class-action-suit-over-manual-transmission-woes/
If the manual is properly designed and durable (like Honda manual transmissions), then it’s usually the better choice compared to a car with a conventional automatic or CVT.
I’m a huge manual fan, but the rev hang from the drive by wire and other weirdness sadly make the few remaining ones less fun. My last Mustang was a 2012 GT 6MT and the rev hang was really bad, but I was able to defeat it with a tune. The clutch pedal had some weird dampening spring which would make it go limp after a couple of enthusiastic shifts and I never warmed up to the shifter feel even after installing an aftermarket short throw shifter. A few years ago I test drove a used 2014-ish Accord coupe 6MT. I wanted to love it, but the rev hang absolutely killed the experience. Just awful. But the manual in my Blacking? Oh fuck yeah..
I drove a mid 90’s Legacy wagon a few times with a stick. The shifter was vague and rubbery as hell, and the clutch was somehow the heaviest I’ve ever experienced. It’s the only car to ever make me regret skipping leg day.
Now this car was relatively old when I drove it, but the owner (my employer at the time) said that it always drove like that. It was immaculately maintained, but a chore to drive. Their manual first-gen Tundra was easier to shift.
The rubbery shift knob and steering wheels were tragic. A $1 2″ wood knob transformed the shifter in my ’90 (and a knockoff Momo the steering).
I’d say any car where the manual is much more fragile than the automatic, to the point it breaks under regular use.
Otherwise if the durability is the same or the automatic transmission is weaker I’ll take a manual over any automatic.
The r129 Mercedes. Yes, you could get the sl320 with a manual. Not really sure why they even offered this. It was a big open top cruiser. Not a sports car. And they only offered it with the 6 cylinder, not the v8 or 12.
What?
The dogleg 300SL is a holy grail!
https://www.motortrend.com/news/1990-1993-mercedes-benz-300sl-24-manual-transmission-auction-sale
Yes, I know they’re rare. But rare doesn’t always translate to good. I have actually driven one and I can tell you that that engine, even with a manual, is not enough for that car. You’re much better off with the v8 or v12 with the auto.
While the 6MT in my 2013 320i wasn’t bad per se- great action, short throws, fun, every time I got in a service loaner with the automatic the engine and transmission just felt more paired together. Like BMW spent all their development time on the auto version and the manual was an afterthought.
The CEO at the company I was at had a 6MT M5 V10 around the same time and shared a similar complaint.
Any fleet vehicle. Those have to accommodate multiple drivers and expecting every employee to know how to drive a stick is a limitation. Now you do have to ask yourself when choosing a car, do I really want to own a fleet vehicle?
Not every fleet vehicle is driven by multiple drivers, many are assigned to a particular driver, or at least just a few drivers who do that particular vocational work. A pool car on the other hand yes can see a different driver every time and may never see the same driver twice.
The manual transmission vehicle in my regular use fleet is in fact a former gov’t fleet vehicle. It had a very specific vocation which was dragging underage kids out to the side of the freeway to pickup the garbage for below minimum wage. I can’t say for certain if it only had one driver its entire life but the records showed proper maintenance and the hrs meter showed that it spent its life on the freeway, moving, with an average lifetime speed over 50 mph when purchased.
Yes it had suffered a few bangs and bruises but for my use case I’m much more concerned with how it does the job vs what it looks like.
That isn’t the only former gov’t fleet vehicle I own or have owned. It definitely pays to know the agency, their policies and the specific vehicle’s former vocation. I have mainly purchased from my state since they do give access to full maintenance and repair records, including when the pool equipment was installed and removed. I did buy one car that finished the last bit of its life as a pool car once it served its usefulness in deep undercover work for the Dept of Corrections.