manual or automatic, which do you prefer and why?

I would have said HELL NO before I bought my Taco. I was all manual for 20 years. But the auto in this truck has really caught me by surprise. It's an immense pleasure to drive in traffic, in snow, offroad. The added mpg is a nice bonus. I do like a stick in small cars and light trucks. I don't consider the Taco a light truck anymore.

 

I like manual better. However the tacomas transmission is geared way better than my nissan d21 was. Tacoma runs around 2300 rpm going 65-70 nissan ran 3500 at 60.

 

Yeah they are, my buddy has a 87 Mazda B2600 4x4 pickup and at 70 it runs around 3200rpms, my Tacoma runs about 2600 at 70 and 2400 at 65

 

Manual is great on our trucks. Not as slick or quick as our VWs but it's a truck!

 

The only thing I don't like about having a stick and being in SF, is that people feel they have to stop right at your tail for fear of someone else cutting in front of them.

Yesterday I was on a curvy uphill freeway on ramp that had a lot of traffic. Stop and go a car length at a time. The guy behind me stopped so close that I swore I was going to hit him when proceeding. I first learned to drive in a stick so having the knowledge and ability was not the problem. It was him stopping less than a foot away EACH TIME that irked me.

 

Always had a manual trans but couldn't find a Tacoma with one, so settled for auto.

 

drove a manual sports car for 4yrs, i now have an automatic, traffic sucks in a stick, couldnt bring myself to go through that again, maybe if i moved, but those windy hilly roads were the best in manual though

 

umm not even close.

the rest is somewhat correct though.

 

manuel is what i prefer,, but of course I own a auto.

 

Automatic. How else am I going to eat my sushi takeout with chopsticks.

 

Yeah, I hope to buy a cheap car that gets good mileage with a stick, but can still perform well, thinking on a older Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, or Ford Focus. In traffic though it does not bother me much yet, but I agree, sometimes it is just nice to get in my dad's '10 Honda Accord and just cruise through the traffic.

 

Owned a lot of cars and trucks 90% manual but, as of now I prefer automatic.

 

Never owned an automatic, but have driven plenty of them. I find manuals more enjoyable to drive and believe they offer better/more control of the vehicle, especially in inclement weather.

 

Manual cause I wouldnt be able to attemp to tow like I do, or get the gas milage I get, or slow down with the gears, and thats two more gears I get since I use compound low the minute I need 4x4. If I had lower gears and a posi I wouldnt use 4x4 1/4 of the time. Thank god for auto hubs in my case. I have a 5 speed extra cab 4x4 v6 3.4 on 35'' tires with stock gears and a welded rear diff. I have 4:88 in mind very soon. Didnt think the 35's would make it suck so much since I had 33s for so long with no issues at all, but now I have a faster crawling speed and I have blown up too many sets of front struts and my hole front end trying to fly up knarley stuff.
I dont mind going slower on the freeway and launching off the line better. I am thinking Yukon R&P and any locker I have the cash for. Around $300.00 is what I am hoping to get a decent posi for. Not the best but somthing that gets the job done. I regret welding my rear diff till the second it rains or I hit dirt, then its on.

 

If I could drive a manual I'd rather have one. I get so tired of going around 55mph and then it downshifts into 4th gear, speed up to 60-65 to get it to go back into 5th...

 

you don't have 5th gear

 

Right... I think that's a sign that I need to go to bed haha

Time to edit that post!

 

lol

 

I would rather do a fluid and filter once in a while than do a clutch, PP, and TO. bearing. I call it LESS maint. over the life of the vehicle.

 

I can see that, I didn't think about the clutch

Although a decent driver can easily make a clutch last 200k or more.