Sadly my faithful girl was written off by a clueless blonde in a SUV that has probably never had a drop of mud on it, and i'm now in the market for the new car.
I have a general idea of what i'm buying, but all the "good deals" that come up are either tiptronic or auto.
Considering just biting the bullet so to speak and getting a auto, so i can get back on the road, rather then searching for a good priced (in the condition i want) manual. Or is this a big mistake
Advice!
a.woodrow,
May 9, 12:20am
Auto and tiptronic are basically the same. TBH 99% of the later model autos are fine, where you looking for a particular model and then we could advise you further!
foxdonut,
May 9, 12:21am
How much cash are we talking and what sort of vehicles are you looking at! Rough age range would help to.
A properly modern auto is leagues better than an old fashion manual for pretty much everything, but there is a cut off point to factor in.
rovercitroen,
May 9, 12:25am
I'll say it for Jazz. Get a VW with a DSG transmission.
richardmayes,
May 9, 12:33am
A 'Tiptronic' in most ordinary cars is just a regular ordinary automatic gearbox that has the first, second, third etc gear hold positions replaced with a toggle "up" & "down" function so you can pretend you are driving a racing car with a sequential gearbox.
If you like to get into the right gear for the next corner, BEFORE you actually arrive at the corner, tiptronics are actually not bad at all, and you should definitely hold out for one.
If you are more interested in doing mean Burnouts or PhaT sKidz yO, definitely get a manual, they generally take a bit more abuse before they break.
ninja_man,
May 9, 12:40am
if it was me id hold off for the manual.
chromis,
May 9, 1:12am
I was in the market for a car a few months ago and I had the same dilemma, plenty of autos/tiptronics and f'all manuals. I held out and waited for a manual and I'm glad I did, heaps more fun.
cjohnw,
May 9, 1:33am
You live in auckland! Drive in peak hour traffic much! And want a manual!
trogedon,
May 9, 1:40am
A manual isn't all bad in Aucklands worse traffic. If you want 3 pedals - wait for one.
alan1111,
May 9, 1:45am
Its a personal choice and only you can decide in the end. But i would hang out for a manual myself.
bwg11,
May 9, 1:49am
Today I test drove a Swift Sport with CVT automatic transmission (with 7 speed manual paddle mode) for my wife. Absolutely brilliant. Instantaneous changes in manual mode and very quick kick-down in auto mode. The last 2 tip-tronics I drove were a MR-S and Pajero (about 2000). Both horrible with quite a time lag between the "tip" and the "shift". Some, like a MR-S give a pathetic throttle blip on the downchange.
I know someone will pop up and tell me the 7 speeds are only simulated stages of the CVT, but they do give a great driving experience, like one or two downshifts for engine braking for descents. or to drop back to say third for overtaking. Without the steps you could not downshift, to say fourth, for a known amount of braking.
I would suggest you find the car and deal you like then test drive, don't limit your choice by looking for just manual, tip-tronic or auto. There are good and bad of all the technologies. We ordered a CVT Swift - it was that good.
gram,
May 9, 1:52am
Everything will be auto soon. Manual will be the option you can't afford.
beki07,
May 9, 1:55am
Sorry for the lack of info - more now
Mitsubishi Legnum and toyota Caldina. $2500 is the top I can afford, since state insurance decided my car was supposedly worthless. *grumble grumble*
I live in Auckland, but go to work before rush hour and home before or after. So rare I get stuck in traffic. We don't want to be able to tow things on a rare occasion
beki07,
May 9, 1:56am
Yes, No, Yes
beast9,
May 9, 1:58am
be weary of mitsi tip tronics as some of them can have problems i know of a few that have had to have sensors replaced
beki07,
May 9, 2:01am
Yea I've heard similar things, its just that I am without a car, so finding it a bit frustrating waiting for a car that ticks all the boxes to come along. I should just be patient
pnh4,
May 9, 2:02am
Theres nothing quite as neat & simple as an automatic old school 4 cyl car, KP starly KE etc.
foxdonut,
May 9, 2:08am
Go with a manual.
pnh4,
May 9, 2:16am
especially around town, autos best.
foxdonut,
May 9, 2:19am
Yeah, because you'll have to have the transmission fabricated at cost in the factory since its obsolete technology and no one will be making them.
noodle34,
May 9, 2:45am
I reckon 2 litre car and under has to be manual 2 litre to 3.5 litre tip tronic auto 3.5 to 7 litre ordinary auto. small engined cars with auto's chop and change gear to often, where as big cars with manual transmissions have heavy clutches etc
easygoer,
May 9, 4:51am
Performance car manual, Sunday cruiser auto, modern autos are fine with smaller engines
trogedon,
May 9, 1:18pm
According to who! For who!
richardmayes,
May 9, 4:20pm
There are some pretty nice [IMHO ;-) ] cars around now that are auto/tiptronic only - including a few fairly driver-oriented ones (SiR Accord wagons, GT300 and GT350 Skylines, etc)
So if you rule out anything but manual, you are potentially ruling out a few options altogether.
Like Noodle34 said above, if you've got 3 litres or more then for normal road use the performance advantages of having a manual gearbox start to be less important - just step on the gas and she'll go anyway.
(Maybe it's a sign I'm getting older, but I for one am getting to a stage where I'm starting to think it would be nice to just click it into "drive" when I'm noodling around town, and only be bothered about selecting gears when I actually want to play with it a bit.!. )
robotnik,
May 9, 4:25pm
The Mitsubishi Legnum has an very clever tiptronic auto transmission called INVECS-II. The tranmission computer learns your driving style and adapts shift points and such accordingly. Makes for an better driving experience.
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