Why buy TRD OffRoad with manual?

Is there any real reason to buy the TRD OffRoad with manual? Why not get a SR5 or whichever other affordable trim comes with manual?

 

Because you get all the upgraded features you wouldn't have if you bought the sr-5. Duh

 

If sr5 came with a manual I probably would have. Either way I don't get your question? Why buy a trd off road with an auto?

 

wait. is this a trick question?

my 2008 TRD Off Road 6-speed has a SR-5 badge, I thought SR-5 was just a trim level, somewhere between basic and 'limited'...



"V6 SR-5" on the right side of the tailgate...

 

Why not buy a TRD OR with a manual? As far as I could tell, getting a MT V6 it is either the OR or the Sport anyway. SR (not 5) is MT in 4 only.

Also, if you want the DCSB the only option is the OR or Sport (even if you were willing to settle for the 4, which is ACLB for the Manual).

Granted, I might have missed something in the configuration when I was building, but this is what I found.

 

As someone who 4 wheels, having basic off-road shocks, a rear locker, and having complete control over the transmission goes quite well together, especially as a starting point. It's the features, man.

 

My auto lets me choose what gear I'm in, as well. Except I don't have to worry about screwing up a clutch or stalling. I'd say the auto is better offroad.

 

I don't worry about screwing up a clutch or stalling driving my MTs... never ever had an issue with either of those things while being offroad. Easy answer is if you don't like a MT then don't get one, but asking why get one is easy - some people want the features and prefer a MT.

 

If you can't drive a manual gearbox, it sure is.

As stated, OR gets you a rear diff locker. Unless you're buying a Pro, none of the other models have that.

 

My auto trans has a factory e locker. Hell I modded mine so I could use it 2H, 4H, or 4L.

If youve never been in a situation Off-road where manual trans is inconvenient you're sticking to the bunny slopes.

 

If you ever feel like the manual trans is inconvenient you don't really know how to drive a manual IMO. Prefer and auto, get it. Ask why to get a MT in an OR, the answer is easy. Some people (who obviously aren't you) prefer a MT and still want the features. And some people can handle more than the bunny slopes with a MT, it isn't that hard.

 

It's preference really.

The manual might be a little more bulletproof. If your off road and lose your fluid on a rock the auto is DOA, unless you can patch it and refill it with 900 gallons of atf fluid in the middle of no where. The manual will still work, for a while...

It also depends on how old you are. My 1989, 1993, and 2003 Toyota pick ups were all manual. Somewhere around 2008 and 45 years old I started buying everything with an auto. Not sure what's up with that! (I still prefer manuals, even though I don't buy them anymore, whatever that means.)

 

I've wheeled with a lot of guys who have had and a few who currently have manual transmissions. Everyone agrees auto is far easier and, in second gens, offers the same full control over the transmission in an easier package.

Gotta face it man. Manual used to be great, but if the manufacturer isnt stupid and gives you more than "No Go, Go, Backwards Go" choices the auto trans is always the better option.

 

Don't have to face anything. Guys you wheel with agree with you. I don't and some people I have gone with don't. Your are right, manufacturers aren't stupid. People are lazy and prefer the auto overall so it sells better. Doesn't mean it is "always the better option". It means it is the better option for you and your friends.

And the answer to the question is still easy. Buy a MT OR cause want features and prefer the manual. Don't buy it if that isn't your taste.

 

As this point, autos are advanced enough they are probably better, I won't argue with that. For the same reason why autos are also better in modern sports cars, having a computer controls clutch work and shifting is quicker and less liable for driver mistakes, so it is the same for 4 wheeling. I've made plenty of mistakes on my clutch work on the trail in my time. But I wouldn't trade it for an auto transmission. It requires more skill and more attention and bigger balls to drive a manual in some of the steep, sketchy mountain passes and shelf roads
I've been on. And sure, you can go ahead and push some buttons and can go ahead and roll over anything you want and do better than a manual could. But the FUN MAN. There's some satisfaction in knowing you both made THAT tippy rock and obstacle that auto jeep guy did.

 

Manual is still as great as it was. Auto's have to have a myriad of recent "techno aids" to match the utility of a manual transmission.

1. MT= slipping the clutch with precise control (exact amount of power) over an obstacle (if you're good with the clutch...."some" ppl aren't as good)
Auto= applying more and more throttle wondering when the torque converter is gonna match your desired input...oops too much now you've gone too far or been mashing your brakes...

2. MT= never a worry about oil temperature and oil lines when towing or hardcore pulling/snatching
Auto= yeah, gotta worry bout dat fluid

3. MT= rocking out of a mud/snow hole, clutch in, clutch out timed perfectly.
Auto. put in D, wait for engagement...wheel spin, brake, stop and wait for wheelspin to stop to engage R, rinse repeat, pull out hair and cuss everyone within earshot this would've been much easier with a manual..lol. (offers the same full control?)

4. MT= long downhill with engine braking not boiling the shit out of your brake fluid
Auto. Better have good fresh brake fluid or get something with Hill descent control (which is still using your brakes and boiling your brake fluid, out of your control), approximating what the mannytranny has been doing since inception. More techno systems = more ways to fail.

5. MT= push start dead battery.
Auto. Good luck with that (offers the same full control?)

6. MT = short drive around dead engine vehicle with the starter
Auto. Good luck with that. (offers the same full control?)

7. MT = 3rd gear is 3rd gear. Period.
Auto. 3rd gear is anything between 1-2-3 at the computers choice. (offers the same full control?)

8. MT= shifting on slippery surfaces exactly when you want so that gear change wheelspin doesn't break traction.
Auto. Good luck with that. Shift 3-4 and wait for ECM to do it when it wants even when you try to do it. (offers the same full control?)

9. MT= no vehicle "jump" when shifting in and out of gears
Auto. Annoying jump coming in and out of D and R. Annoying during trailer hookups, load tiedowns, etc.

10. MT= Failure is usually a clutch, $1000 repair bill give or take
Auto= tranny failure, (clutches inside worn out) repair bill $4000 and up up up.


I'll give you one thing, if your driving profile consists of just MASH and GO-GO-GO type of driving, including mudding and drag racing, and that's it, then yes an auto tranny would be more "convenient" for you .

Manufacturers offer what people want to buy just as well as what they think people should have. Only in Muricah has automatic transmissions become as commonplace as air, yet the rest of the world does just as much driving in the same types of terrains as we do and get manuals in most thing offered. The new many geared autos seem to be edging out manuals in fuel economy so there is that.

Muricans just want what's easiest cause I think the general population wants to be the "C" student at life at best. Sheeple.


Edit: Man instead of this post I should have done what others do and just said "manuals or autos are better just because me and my friends say so"

 

Thread win right here.

 

Well said, sir.

Agree/ALL

Frank

 

Forget the push start anymore with a dead battery, if your computer isn't getting a minimum voltage, it isn't working and that engine isn't doing anything. ALL newer vehicles should have a charged jump pack in them. MIne is good for 1000 CCA, if it won't start with that, hope you have good walking shoes packed also or a cell with signal bars.

 

Indeed