And where are you from? And how old? Not “do you” but just if you know how.
I’m in the US, mid 30s and can (and do) drive a manual transmission.
In Germany nearly everyone can drive manual. Used to be that if you didn’t learn how to drive manual in driving school, you weren’t allowed to drive manual with your license.
Prettty sure that’s still the case. I talked to a young person two weeks ago who said she’s not allowed to drive a manual transmission car.
Yes, but it used to be that you had to do the majority of lessons in a manual, now it’s reduced, you can get B197 with a few hours of manual. And then you can drive both.
B197 I just learned about “Schlüsselzahl 78” and “Schlüsselzahl 197”. Interesting. 10 lessons of 45 minutes in a manual car and a 15 minute test drive apparently.
Mid 30s Aussie living the the US. Yes I can drive a manual, yes I do drive a manual and yes I think it should be mandatory for 100% of learning drivers regardless of whether they plan to daily drive an automatic or manual when licensed.
The quality of driving here is considerably worse here than what I’ve experienced in Australia or Europe and I’m convinced requiring people to drive in a machine that forces them to consider the next ~100m leads to higher quality, more mindful drivers.
I agree. That would also introduce a lot of people to a manual preference and hey more manuals on the market!
At the current time, that’s the only reason I want this to be a thing XD there’s not enough manuals when looking for a new car and it diminishes more every year.
23, US. Yes, but I find them pointless for daily driver cars. Modern automatics are more fuel efficient and just make more sense because they’re much easier to operate and less annoying in stop and go traffic.
They’re great for off-roading and racing, but outside of those use cases automatics are just better.
I’m almost 30, living US and don’t know how to drive a manual.
I just don’t understand the purpose of learning or the superiority complex around those that drive manual. In my region of the world, the vast majority of cars are automatic to the point where you might have to straight up custom order a vehicle to get manual.
Sure, if I’m outside of the US, manual might be the standard in some areas…but I have no interest in attempting to drive a vehicle in a foreign country where I don’t know their local laws of the road. I’d rather take public transport or use services like taxis, Ubers, Lifts, etc.
It’s the year 2023. Automatic cars nowadays are more efficient than manuals in a majority of cases.
If you want to drive a manual or you prefer manuals, that’s great! More the power to you and I’m glad you like it! But to have a superiority complex about it is just odd.
It’s like some boomer making fun of a gen Z kid for not knowing how to use a VCR. So what? You don’t to learn how to use a VCR in 2023.
Again, this is in terms of my region. I get that manuals are common in other regions. But again, I have no interest in driving in a region where I don’t know the local rules of the road.
They’re great for off-roading and racing, but outside of those use cases automatics are just better.
5-speeds are definitely a pain in the ass in stop and go traffic, but the benefits of driving a manual transmission goes beyond use cases. For example, manual transmissions will always be cheaper to repair and easier to diagnose than automatic ones. Similarly, basic 4-cylinder engines will always be easier to diagnose and repair than the highly complicated CVT engines in all the new automatic cars.
Note too that a 5-speed Honda civic made 20 years ago will easily get 45 mpg, simply because by the time you get to third gear, the car is light enough that you can just ride the clutch for the next 1,000 feet. My 05 manual civic ex gets around 40 mpg combined easily, and I’ll never have to worry about potentially paying a third of the car’s out the door price if the engine ever decides to self destruct. I know we’re discussing transmission and not engines, but since you brought up the newer fuel efficient automatics, it seems worth noting.
It’s all preference at the end of the day, though. I personally like how connected to the car you feel with manual transmissions, use cases/utility arguments aside. I also kinda wonder if manual drivers are less likely to crash, since it’s difficult if not impossible to be on your phone while driving.
Similarly, basic 4-cylinder engines will always be easier to diagnose and repair than the highly complicated CVT engines in all the new automatic cars.
CVT is just the transmission, it has no bearing on the engine design. OEMs use the same engine with both MT and CVT.
honestly i don’t understand what makes them better for racing. can the auto not be tuned differently to prioritize speed and acceleration over fuel efficiency?
Automatic gearboxes can’t predict the road ahead, they can only react to the current RPM and speed.
Edit: just realised this posted on a completely different comment to the one I was replying to
Modern, high end race cars are automatics. Low end or lighter cars will be manual.
Modern, high end race cars are automatics.
No, they’re sequential manuals*. Unless you’re talking about drag racing, where automatics are common.
*Edit: Or they can also be sequential semi-automatics if you want to be extra pedantic. But personally I’d classify a transmission based on whether the driver has to select the desired gear, or if the computer selects the appropriate gear without driver input, because that’s the thing that matters in the end.
Yes, unless you want to still have an engine, then no.
Female, 34, from Indiana, USA. Currently driving a 2020 Honda Civic SI and I love it. My bro taught me to drive stick at 16 so that I’d never be in a situation where I needed to leave but couldn’t because I didn’t know how to drive manual. I’ve had both automatic and manual transmissions, manual being my favorite.
Hello, fellow Hoosier Lady!
Hey hey! Always happy to see another Hoosier on here!!
31,Sweden
Yes, and I prefer a manual car to an automatic. It keeps me a lot more dialed in while driving.
35, living in Europe, I had to re-learn manual. I had only automatics in Latin America. It is certainly more fun and I feel I’m actually driving.
Germany, mid 30s, all the cars I’ve owned were manual so I would say - yes :D
First time I drove a rental automatic I did an accidental hard stop at about every second crossroads as I intended to hit the clutch with my left foot and lacking one just hammered the breaks instead >.>
When driving combustion I prefer manual but I’ve recently driven some EV, I could get used to that feel :)
Germany, 25. Always driven manual, don’t even know how to drive automatic.
Im an american and just visited Germany. I rented a stick, but was given an automatic because they ran out of cars. The rental company asked, “Do you know how to drive automatic?”. Just the thought of it kinda blew my mind.
Driving in Germany was a geat experience. I really wish america would adopt alot of the german driving laws and thinking. I would however be sad about the car modification laws.
On a side note, i spent a day of the trip doing laps at the nurburgring in a manual hyundai i30n. Life changing experience.
The i30n is such a cool car, and pretty apt you drove it at the Nurburgribg too!
It was pretty impressive, though i am bummed i didnt get to drive the focus RS. The rental company got rid of it before i was able to get back due to the delays of covid. I would have been more comfortable in the focus as that is my daily.
Lol I think you’d manage.
It can be more confusing than you think at first, all the N/D/L stuff, some then also have 1/2/3, which “gear” to you start the car in, what to do when you come to a full stop (nothing, doh), …
The very first time I sat behind one was to drive a family friend home who drunk a bit too much, with his own car… I was a bit overwhelmed
Don’t forget the good old mistake of hitting the brake when searching for the clutch pedal (though that only happend to me once as I drove automatic the first time)
My parents forced me to learn in case I ever needed it.
I’d buy one again in a heartbeat if I could. Love the fact that it was easy AF to rock myself out of snow banks
One of my favorite things eas when I was a teenager living at my parents was roll start my ford ranger because I always parked in a spot that was on a fairly steep incline.
US. I can and have. Learned on a crappy stick shift truck where I had to nudge the clutch up with my toe. Launched boats with it.
Drove drunk friend home in his stick shift car. VW because of course he did.
Swapped cars with Mom when she hurt her clutch leg. Drove stick for a summer, a little Echo that shifted nicely.
So I can and will if I need to but I have no desire to. I have never really liked cars, just used them for utility. Now that I drive hybrids I do like them more. CVT, no gears at all!
Mid 30s, used to drive stick all the time but I wouldn’t go out and get one anymore. This seems like one of those things people clutch onto (pun intended) because it was at one time a useful everyday skill not everyone could do but now is completely antiquated.
Automatics have also become wildly better in the past 10 years. They used to be 3-4 speed and break all the time. Now they are 10 speed and super quick and more reliable.
Yes (early 30s) drive a manual VW polo. I’m from Australia. I have always had a manual car.
Belgium, 48. I drive a manual transmission. I never had a car with an automatic transmission.
Yes, 28, Northern europe, dad taught me how to drive when I was 16. In my country you have to do your driving test in a manual, unless you’re fine with a limited license that only allows you to drive automatics. Nobody that I know has that kind of license.
I’m Danish and I drive a manual transmission car every day. Most cars here are manual transmission and you legally can’t take driving lessons in an automatic transmission car here so everybody who knows how to drive knows how to drive manual.
I don’t get why so many Americans try to make it seem like some amazing feat of traditional blue-collar masculine excellence to able to do it. It’s not that hard, anybody can learn it in an afternoon.
As a Norwegian living in Denmark, I had to Google this statement. It’s true for Denmark. However, in Norway, you can do automatic only.
Learning is easy, but actually getting it into your subconscious when to switch gears and not be distracted is not that easy. It comes with the experience of driving a lot.
