I have a link on an Accord 5-speed, 2.4, 4-cylinder. Since I drive 25,000 a year for sales; am I going to hate the 5-speed? I need a super reliable and frugal car and this is about the right size for me and when I need to carry the family.
Don't blast me on the car; just throw me a thought on the 5-speed. Will I want an automatic in 3 months?
Basically I need everyone to tell me to get the 5-speed as the autotragic is going to suck and I will love shifting in Chicago traffic 10,000 times.......
I hated every minute of every day driving an autotragic. Clutch pedal is a must-have. Get it!
I love to shift. BUT, when I lived in Houston, even on short commute days I longed for an automatic....
I've never had a problem with a manual in heavy traffic. Sure you'd probably wish you had a automatic somedays, but the days when you get out on the open road or through an area that has twisty roads, you'll be glad you have a manual.
I had a friend with a 5-speed accord in college, it was a good car and was rather peppy.
Having to shift in traffic will likely keep you a bit more alert, and a little less likely to mindlessly plough into the person in front of you. I like to practice getting the car rolling with the clutch only, no gas -- in second gear.
I am a 30k miles per year sales guy. My lineup over the past 10 years has been:
'95 Civic EX, 5 speed.
'96 Accord, automatic
'97 Nissan 240sx, automatic
'95 Volvo wagon, 5 speed
now, '10 Ford Escape, automatic, company provided.
I did not hate the automatics but keep in mind that I also had another car or two to play with during that timeframe. These were either a Miata, MR2 SC or e30,325is (all 5 speed.) I think if you are here on the board it is clear to say that lke myself you will not hate a 5 speed. Sure, it makes the whole phone/coffee/bagel balancing act that much more difficult but not impossible.
Every day I miss my Volvo 5 speed. It was a very light and forgiving clutch. My Civic was a bit more demanding. The car rev'ed very low and to launch the car you had to apply light gas in perfect timing while releasing the clutch.
My advise...
For me, I always needed a 5 speed (at least one.) So if this DD becomes an automatic then just be sure that you have a second car that is a 5 speed.
Chicago is my favorite city and I go there often, so if an autotragic means that you will eventually flip out and kill 32 people with a machine gun in traffic, please get the 5-speed.
ZOO wrote: I like to practice getting the car rolling with the clutch only, no gas -- in second gear.
That Civic I had could not really do this in first gear. If you gave it no gas then it stalled.
I've lived in Southern California all my life and I've driven nothing but manuals for the last twenty five years. The only time I'd like an automatic is when I'm in stop-n-go traffic heading up a significant grade.
So, traffic on a flat or decending road is ok, just consider how often you'll be clutch slipping up a grade.
...it really isn't so much the burdon as it is the thought that I'm spending more on clutches than I'm saving on gas.
The only time I wish I had an automatic is in stop and go traffic. I only wish I had an automatic then because everyone else has an automatic so they drive in a different style.
pete240z wrote: I have a link on an Accord 5-speed, 2.4, 4-cylinder. Since I drive 25,000 a year for sales; am I going to hate the 5-speed? I need a super reliable and frugal car and this is about the right size for me and when I need to carry the family. Don't blast me on the car; just throw me a thought on the 5-speed. Will I want an automatic in 3 months? Basically I need everyone to tell me to get the 5-speed as the autotragic is going to suck and I will love shifting in Chicago traffic 10,000 times.......
What year is the car? If it's in the mid-2000s, like a KA24 with the 5-speed automatic, it's a very very nice autobox and engine combo, even if it does avoid Vtak Y0 most of the time. It would make a great in-traffic driver; just change the fluid about every 30,000 as recommended to me. It's an easy change.
Duke wrote:pete240z wrote: I have a link on an Accord 5-speed, 2.4, 4-cylinder. Since I drive 25,000 a year for sales; am I going to hate the 5-speed? I need a super reliable and frugal car and this is about the right size for me and when I need to carry the family. Don't blast me on the car; just throw me a thought on the 5-speed. Will I want an automatic in 3 months? Basically I need everyone to tell me to get the 5-speed as the autotragic is going to suck and I will love shifting in Chicago traffic 10,000 times.......What year is the car? If it's in the mid-2000s, like a KA24 with the 5-speed automatic, it's a very very nice autobox and engine combo, even if it does avoid Vtak Y0 most of the time. It would make a great in-traffic driver; just change the fluid about every 30,000 as recommended to me. It's an easy change.
Forgive me if im wrong but isnt the KA24 a nissan engine?
K24.
Honda manuals are so good, and Honda automatics so bad, that you will regret buying an automatic from the day after you buy it to the day it arrives in the scrapyard having trashed the autobox.
Any Honda manual is going to be so slick-shifting and smooth that you won't ever want an autotragic.
I owned a 1.4 ltr Corolla. Slow, sedan, and unassuming. BUT, because it had 3 pedals, and I owned it scott free, was a hoot to drive. I now have an Infiniti G20 - by all accounts a FAR better car. But I HATE THE AUTO!!!!!YEAARGGHH
I live by few rules: Dont eat yellow snow, Dont trust something that bleeds for 7 days and doesnt die, and dont buy cars that have too few pedals...
flag girls > a manual trans > everything else
chaparral wrote: K24. Honda manuals are so good, and Honda automatics so bad, that you will regret buying an automatic from the day after you buy it to the day it arrives in the scrapyard having trashed the autobox.
You're over stating it by more than a slim margin.
With that said the Accord with a manual tranny is a much more fun creature to live with.
fritzsch wrote: Forgive me if im wrong but isnt the KA24 a nissan engine?
D'oh! Typo on my part. K24 it is. Thanks for highlighting that. :tup:
In reply to DaveEstey:
Yeah, overstating a bit. The automatic in my wife's Pilot is one of the best I've driven. An Accord manual is good, but feels kind of loose and sloppy compared to an S2000 manual. It is all relative to your wants and needs, I suppose.
I have trouble rationalizing manuals to my wife anymore. Newer automatics often have no fuel consumption or acceleration disadvantage. The wife hasn't tired of my boy racing tendencies at the age of 40 but is no longer interested in doing the same as she hauls our kids around or drives 18 mph up and down big hills in traffic on her way to work. And on the weekends, we have a Miata to make up for the week's drudgery.
Having driven big trucks in NYC traffic.. anybody who can't handle a manual in traffic shouldn't be behind the wheel
In reply to Otto Maddox:
I've yet to feel ANY transmission that feels as nice as the S2K unit.
I drive 30-36k miles/yr in congested long island & NYC; with a manual...
Zero regrets, get the 5-spd!...
I hated the automatic in my 95 Accord 4 cyl.
I love the automatic in my wife's 2010 V6.
The automatic on her 1998 4 cylinder was okay.
The automatic on her 2004 6 cylinder was very good.
<<Die-hard stick shift driver who has lived in the Chicago suburbs for most of his life, except while at school (1.5 hours away from Chicago traffic)
You want a manual while sitting on 55/57/355/80/94 during rush hour? Are you nuts?
EDIT:
Another thought: I could see myself doing it now, and for the next few years of my life. My dad never would anymore. How old are you? Youth can take a lot more "This is stupid, why am I doing this" than the wiser folks can.
A few years ago, I had an Integra (a '92) with automatic, and a Civic (a '92 also) with a B18 engine and gearbox out of an Integra. The automatic (and the extra weight of the whole car) made the Integra feel like it was dragging an anchor behind it, while the (very light) Civic felt like it could have taken flight if it had had wings. The automatic transmissions on (in?) Hondas have gotten prgressively better. I drove a '97 Civic DX with auto and now own a '97 Civic DX with manual. The auto Civic was quite eager and the shifts were fairly smooth (it was a 12 year old car), while the manual Civic is almost as eager....let down by my occasional light foot on the GAS that causes me to stall a few times a week.
I would venture to say, it all boils down to how much time you will spend in stop and go traffic. Fuel wise, automatics are about the same or better than manuals.
Remember, if the starter craps out, you can push start the 5 speed.
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