I will be purchasing a new 3 Skyactiv 4 door this week. I have had many manuals over the years and enjoy driving them. But have heard lots of good things about the new auto tranny. I will be driving my 3 and 5 year old kids to school a lot in the car so would enjoy the ease of an auto however my wife just purchased a 2012 Mazda5 GT with auto tranny yesterday so thinking maybe it would be nice to have a manual. Any thoughts? What do you all prefer? (sound of can of worms opening)
Buying a Skyactiv Auto or Manual??? Hmmmm..
- Thread starter Dinoco
- Start date
I dont think I could drive a auto everyday. I like being able to shift the car when I want to and you dont end up being stuck in a gear you don't want to be in at the time you want something else. All of mazdas autos seem to shift really late and don't like to downshift when you want a little more go without a lot of time between shifts.
Depends on the commute you have. I would like a manual transmission, but reality says I have stop and go traffic quite a bit, so went with the automatic. They both are good gearboxes, you can't go wrong with either one in my opinion. The auto will add some resale value if you don't plan on keeping the car for a while though.
I have a customer that has the SkyActiv 3 and he opted for Auto because his wife and him share the car. She doesn't like manual, he can put up with auto. When talking to him, his biggest complaint is the Automatic shift points, and there is lag in the throttle response. If I were you I would test drive the heck out of them, take it on the freeway and test on/off ramps as much as possible. You may not feel that it is as bad as he does, but you may not be happy with the performance. Chris and I are on the same pages, we like manuals 
Yea I like manuals as well. Have only really had one auto, a Passat and wasn't too impressed.
I don't have a traditional commute. I'm a pilot and am gone for 14 days at a time and then home for 14 days straight so it will be driven mostly by me when I am home and really just to drive 10 miles to and from school twice a day. Other than that it will be en errand getter and sitting at the airport for 2 weeks at a time. I'm leaning towards the manual.
I don't have a traditional commute. I'm a pilot and am gone for 14 days at a time and then home for 14 days straight so it will be driven mostly by me when I am home and really just to drive 10 miles to and from school twice a day. Other than that it will be en errand getter and sitting at the airport for 2 weeks at a time. I'm leaning towards the manual.
Just drove home a new white Auto M3i Touring. Couldn't refuse the deal $17,900. $19,300 out the door. I played around with the manumatic. I think that will satisfy my want for a manual. If i'm feeling lazy with the kids in the car i'll throw it in D.
40 miles on the car so far. lol.
40 miles on the car so far. lol.
GoBackToSleep
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- 2012 Mazda 3i Touring 6MT in graphite mica
Having driven only manuals for over six years now, I couldn't break the cycle. I did test-drive an automatic SKYACTIV Grand Touring five-door and was overall impressed with how good the automatic actually was, but I just can't see myself stuck with an automatic transmission for several years, even if I happen to drive in traffic and such. I traded my '08 MS3 Sport for a graphite mica '12 SKYACTIV hatch 6MT last night and couldn't be happier. The shifter and clutch are so light and smooth compared to the MS3 that it feels a bit more like an automatic anyway, yet I have full control. If anyone who loves manual so much has to make that call when it comes to driving (whether or not the manual would be a good fit due to kids, traffic, etc.), honestly, the SKYACTIV manual is the EASIEST manual I have ever operated in my life.
