Manual or auto?

Dad fell off a combine last week, he finished working on it and by the time he was ready to leave he couldn't even lean out to shut the truck door. Lots of variables when you get hurt.

 

Lol I believe I could drive with a blown knee. I’ve walked over a half mile with one. Just fell down every ten feet and may not have been the best for my knee.

I tend to blow my knee out every 5 years and between that broken bones etc. the biggest problem is the recovery and trying to drive a manual when you can’t necessarily bend your knee. Or supposed to.

I’ve been driving a manual the past year but I haven’t had any injuries lately haha. But I don’t think it’s too big of a problem. I’ve borrowed friends cars when I could only drive an auto

 

If you're not picking up multiple children from school or hanging out with friends everyday then just get Access Cab with a Manual. Seriously, Double Cabs are overrated.

 

Yeah, when I blew my knee, I skied the rest of the way down. Just couldn't put any pressure on the right knee (meaning no sharp left turns). Recovery was rough. It was about 2 weeks before I could drive again after surgery. Auto would've been easy peasy. But that didn't deter me from buying more manual cars. I bought the current auto due to other reasons, but not worrying about shifting while injured was an added bonus.

 

The dealer gave me an Auto to take for a few days on an extended test drive, I hated the constant up and down shifting.

 

Manual. Do yourself a favor. Most of us spend a lot of time in our vehicles. Why not keep yourself in control of your shifts and the fun factor up.

 

I bought my manual specifically in case of an emergency in the backcountry, what if your battery dies? You can always bump start the truck and be on your merry way. And if you are worried about breaking yourself I am sure you could still make the truck get moving in first using the Clutch Start Cancel switch and then be on your merry way in 2nd gear.

 

I test drove both. The manual stick is further forward than the auto shifter. Due to old shoulder injury that decided it for me. Add in the fact it accelerated and shifted like an old 5 ton truck we owned I just didn’t like the stick no matter how much I wanted to. A longer test drive might have changed my mind but after driving 4 hours to the closest stick on a lot to test drive and I still had the 4 hour return trip home the extended test drive wasn’t going to happen.

In the end I had tried both and found at least for me that the auto was a better choice. Doesn’t mean that it is the right choice for everyone. Try both and figure out for yourself.

If you buy a new truck and are planning your purchase based on how to drive when you break a leg or how to survive when your battery dies maybe you should just stay home. There are far too many what if’s in the world and besides your underground bunker is never going to get built if you are out driving around in your new Tacoma.

 

The Manual Shifter is not that much further forward, I can reach every gear except Reverse with my elbow still on the console, plus it is the easiest, smoothest shifting gearbox of any Tacoma I have ever owned. The only gear that my truck ever likes to fight me on is Reverse, sometimes it takes several tries before it will engage.

 

I had a 05 DCSB TRDOR with MT and loved it. The revs would hang almost every shift, but it was fun til it got totalled. I replaced it with a 17 DCSB TRDOR AT and really have not missed it much, and I was a hardcore manuals or bust kind of guy. Manuals are fun, but Toyota makes so few of them they are very hard to find. It took me 2 years of searching to find my first 2nd gen MT taco because I wanted the MT. Either way, it is an excellent truck and I have no regrets owning either.

 

I will never understand you guys that think driving a manual in traffic is fun. I love manuals. This is my first auto. But I can safely say I have never enjoyed traffic with a manual. My commute is 15 miles and takes about an hour. Eff a manual.

I got stuck with mine because I wanted an off road access cab. No choice but an auto. “Manually” shifting it I have no problems or real complaints.

Oh also...after a tune an auto has more horsepower.

 

For you it isn’t. For me, my shoulder and my reach it was. Which is why I had an issue with it and why I posted “Try both and figure out for yourself”. I would easily estimate the difference is 2-3”.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...rations-welcome.406844/page-328#post-16388341

I love my manual TRD Pro.

 

What if you break both legs?

 

Guys, you're forgetting something: We've got a full synchro manual transmission.

You don't need no stinking CLUTCH!

 

True after you get moving with the clutch start. Better practice double clutching before you need to as you must match rpms to downshift without the clutch. I used to shift my 78 2wd without the clutch most of the time.

 

Try slowly letting the clutch out a small amount as you apply light to medium pressure back on the stick and it will fall in without having to force it.

 

Jump battery, jump cables with a buddy. Running out of battery power in the backcountry is not a concern for me.

Let me be clear--I didn't buy an auto because I was concerned about "what if" scenarios. Read my first post. It was just an added bonus.

 

I travel in the backcountry frequently on my own, therefore I think of it as an added bonus.

 

If you can push a 4k lb truck by yourself on rough backcountry roads, more power to you. I'd rather just carry a battery pack myself, regardless of transmission.