Has anybody accustomed to a manual transmission chosen the automatic CX-5? Or stayed with the manual? Either way, what do you think?
My last automatic was in a '73 Dodge Dart. That was followed by an '89 VW Fox wagon 4-speed which I kept for 215,000 miles, followed by my current '98 Passat wagon 5-speed which is approaching 175,000 as the main family hauler and long-distance cruiser. My wife has primary custody of a 2002 Protege5; there's also a 97 Wrangler for occasional fun, plus an MGB which the Jeep was supposed to replace but somehow I haven't got around to selling yet. I also raced a VW Beetle along the way.
Even though the Passat is just a wagon, it is fast and smooth and pretty and long-legged and handles great. Its paint still looks like new. But, it's reached the point where annual maintenance costs are exceeding new-car depreciation. Plus, even if well-maintained, as it ages there is increasing concern about something going wrong on a long trip. And, I've had it fourteen years, it's just time for something new.
As soon as I saw the CX-5, it just clicked. It has the right combination of features--comparable space and better ground clearance, weight-carrying and towing capacity than the Passat, distinctive styling, exceptional responsiveness for a CUV, and an available manual transmission.
I had a couple test drives in manual CX-5s and they were fine but oddly uninspiring. The auto, with its manual mode, was surprisingly...not bad. It's like, the manual felt like a trucklike sports car, while the auto felt like a sporty truck...does that make sense? Some of it I think is due to the very dark and plain interior in the Sport models. The Touring has a better and flatter-folding back seat which has value for me because I sometimes load it up with a lot of stuff. Also a better choice of exterior colors, nicer fabrics inside.
I have some concern about the effect on the auto of driving long distances fully loaded and occasional towing, although the clutch system locks out the torque converter above 5mph which seems like a good thing. Still, the manual is simpler, with no sophisticated electronics or computers to fail out in the middle of nowhere.
We recently rented an Accent for a few days while on a trip, it has the same automatic/manual shift setup as the CX-5. I played a bit with the manual shifting but ended up just using the auto. It worked. Got us from place to place. Meh. But, it was just a Hyundai econobox. Would my reaction be different if it had Zoom-Zoom DNA?
So anyway, with all those considerations, for me it really all comes back to the driving experience of manual vs. automatic. If you too have faced this decision, what did you do and how do you like it?
Kurt
My last automatic was in a '73 Dodge Dart. That was followed by an '89 VW Fox wagon 4-speed which I kept for 215,000 miles, followed by my current '98 Passat wagon 5-speed which is approaching 175,000 as the main family hauler and long-distance cruiser. My wife has primary custody of a 2002 Protege5; there's also a 97 Wrangler for occasional fun, plus an MGB which the Jeep was supposed to replace but somehow I haven't got around to selling yet. I also raced a VW Beetle along the way.
Even though the Passat is just a wagon, it is fast and smooth and pretty and long-legged and handles great. Its paint still looks like new. But, it's reached the point where annual maintenance costs are exceeding new-car depreciation. Plus, even if well-maintained, as it ages there is increasing concern about something going wrong on a long trip. And, I've had it fourteen years, it's just time for something new.
As soon as I saw the CX-5, it just clicked. It has the right combination of features--comparable space and better ground clearance, weight-carrying and towing capacity than the Passat, distinctive styling, exceptional responsiveness for a CUV, and an available manual transmission.
I had a couple test drives in manual CX-5s and they were fine but oddly uninspiring. The auto, with its manual mode, was surprisingly...not bad. It's like, the manual felt like a trucklike sports car, while the auto felt like a sporty truck...does that make sense? Some of it I think is due to the very dark and plain interior in the Sport models. The Touring has a better and flatter-folding back seat which has value for me because I sometimes load it up with a lot of stuff. Also a better choice of exterior colors, nicer fabrics inside.
I have some concern about the effect on the auto of driving long distances fully loaded and occasional towing, although the clutch system locks out the torque converter above 5mph which seems like a good thing. Still, the manual is simpler, with no sophisticated electronics or computers to fail out in the middle of nowhere.
We recently rented an Accent for a few days while on a trip, it has the same automatic/manual shift setup as the CX-5. I played a bit with the manual shifting but ended up just using the auto. It worked. Got us from place to place. Meh. But, it was just a Hyundai econobox. Would my reaction be different if it had Zoom-Zoom DNA?
So anyway, with all those considerations, for me it really all comes back to the driving experience of manual vs. automatic. If you too have faced this decision, what did you do and how do you like it?
Kurt
