Hi folks, new to the board (been lurking for a week or two) and am definitely close to buying my first new car (a Clubman S in dark silver/silver with silver bonnet stripes, I believe).

One thing is bugging me though. I currently don't know how to drive stick, and everyone talks about driving MINIs with a manual transmission, and I have to say that's getting to me a bit (along with the promise of better gas mileage--somehow 26 city seems a lot more reasonable than 23 for the automatic).

I live in LA and commute a short 4 miles, but it's a lot of stop signs and a fair amount of traffic. So this has me concerned a bit. My Dad drives a stick so he could definitely teach me. And my wife doesn't drive a stick, so she couldn't use my car (could be both good and bad ). Some of the reviews indicate that the automatic is pretty good, though, and I am definitely not so much an enthusiast as some people on this board that I will be rallying and such.

So is it worth the bother to learn to drive with a manual transmission? Is it crazy to hop into a new and fairly expensive car with little to no experience? I don't want to screw up the car due to my lack of experience. Thanks!

 

I have an Auto Clubby. Waited two years for him and love him to death. Otto is a wonderful drive with automatic. I get 27 city. I drive 8 miles to work each day in Prescott, AZ. Lots of stop lights, too many for my preference. My average speed is 21-30. Otto is still not fully broken in with only 671 miles on him, but the mpg should go up a little after break in.

On the highway coming home he got 37 mpg.
If you want the feel of a stick, the autos come with paddle shifters anyway. I would use that on twisties as I have that on my BMW and it works great.

If you want automatic I would go with it. Stop and go traffic with a manual can be a royal pain, but thats just my feelings.

Make yourself happy.

 

One other thought. Many years ago (like 1977) I bought a manual Toyota Celica. I didn't know how to drive stick. My sister had to drive it home for me and then taught me how to drive in the cemetery next to our house.
I've had both kinds of transmissions, but for around town and lots of stops I'm happy with the auto.

 

I highly recommend learning to drive a stick whether you're going to buy your new Clubman w/ one or not. You never know when you might need to drive one.

I think if you spent some quality time getting the hang of the clutch and gearbox in empty parking lots before jumping into LA rush hour traffic, you should be fine learning in your new Clubman. The thing that took me the most time to get used to when I first started driving stick was taking off from stop signs at the top of hills. I had quite a few embarassing and smelly (I love the smell of burnt clutch in the morning ) incidents in the first couple of weeks, but the clutch in that car ('90 Civic Sedan) never wound up needing replaced over the course of another 60k mi. that we had the car (already had 35K on the clock when we got it).

That being said, it sounds like the automatic in the R56 (edit: the R55 too in this case) is much improved and, aside from the slightly worse gas mileage, should be just fine for spirited daily driving.

Really just comes down to personal preference.

 

Hi ebh!
My fiance and I decided to get a manual Clubby even though she doesn't know how to drive stick yet. She shares your concern about damaging our new toy and as it turns out, the hardest thing is to go from the automatic "gas and go" mindset to having to focus on the shifting and engine before you can go anywhere

We live near Boston and know stop and go traffic and let me tell you, just about when my left foot wishes we'd just gotten the auto, we break out into the curvy state roads and the stick is so very worth it.

 

Depends.

1. How old are you? If the answer is "Old", go to question #2. If you answered young, then yes... you should learn how to drive manual.
2. Can you teach an old dog new tricks? If you answered yes, then yes... you should learn how to drive manual.

 

I think everyone should know how to drive a manual. I know it's come in handy for me a couple times when I had to borrow a car.

But whether your mini should be manual or not is a completely subjective answer. Maybe you should learn first to see if you like it? I live in LA as well, and I love driving the manual. But it's not for everyone.

 

If you go as far to post the question, then the answer is yes, get the manual. Paddle shifters are not the same--not on the MINI anyway (Other cars have paddle shifters that are dual clutch and are actually faster than a manual, but that's not the MINI setup).

Yes, in stop and go traffic the manual can be a little cumbersome, but at all other times it is much more involving. If you love the act of driving, get the stick. If your car is nothing more than a means of getting you from point A to point B, get the auto.

By the way, the MINI tranny is very forgiving, and subsequently very easy to learn on. Good luck, either way!

 

or......can you find a better place in the car to put the $1500 the auto costs??

....your wallet maybe??

My stance is, and always will be, I get a better 'feel' for how I am driving if I am shifting gears.

 

but really, think about your driving. I have another car that I used to commute in, and it wasn't happy going a couple miles an hour in start-stop traffic. But when the road opened up, I'd never have traded it for an auto. Our SUV is an auto, and that's fine with me, it's not sporty, so I don't miss the engagmenet.

Reasons to learn a stick:

• Manuals cost less. Saves money.
• Manuals usually get better mileage. Saves gas and money.
• Sometimes you may have to borrow or drive a friends car that happens to be a manual. More flexible skills keeps options open.

Reasons to buy an auto:

• All (or most) of your driving is start/stop driving. It's just easier.
• You don't like manuals. There is some preference here.
• Um, can't think of another one....

But no matter what you choose, you should still learn the manual, in case you need to drive one in a pinch.

Matt

 

Simple answer...YES, get the manual!

 

thanks for everyone's input so far. I think you are right--if I'm leaning toward it I should probably do it.

Here's what I'm thinking. Do some practice with my Dad in his car. Then after I (hopefully) get the basics down, try to rent a manual for a week or so and see how it goes in my day-to-day driving. If I like it, great and I get the manual Clubman, if not I go back to automatic. I think it would be worth the couple hundred in rental fees to try before I buy. the only downside is I have to wait a while to order my clubman and then wait even more for it to be delivered!

I definitely like the idea of being more involved with my car, doing a bit more "fun" driving up in the hills maybe. That's what's interested me in a MINI as opposed to another car. But I have reservations about the daily slog. So we shall see.

For those driving manual, do most get the limited slip differential? Or is that something not really necessary.

 

Sounds like a well reasoned plan

I'm a big fan of limited slip differentials on pretty much any car. Added safety in low traction conditions and allows you to roll onto the throttle a bit earlier/more robustly exiting turns

 

but really, you have to think about how you drive and where you drive. IF you're worried about inside tire spin when you corner exit, it's nice. If you will drive a lot when there is ice or snow, it's very nice. If you don't do those two, it's not really needed.

Matt

 

LSD is overkill for most people, but it's wonderful at the track. I'd say DSC is a must--it'll help you with your winter driving and slick conditions, but unless you're really driving the car hard, LSD isn't going to be wll that beneficial. But if money isn't an issue, go ahead and get it--for $500, the LSD is one of the few "bargain" options on the MINI....

 

DSC also gets you hill assist which should make learning to drive a stick a bit easier if it works well.

 

DSC comes standard on the clubman, so that's all good. Good to know re: hill assist.

I think I will pass on the LSD probably, unless it greatly increases re-sale or something.

 

 

Like the previous poster, I had a jeep too. It was manual. My brother taught me to drive a manual before I was legal to drive.

It's easy. My only recommendation is to rent car with a stick and learn on that for a few hours. You'll be able to beat on it without fear of wearing out YOUR clutch or breaking something. You can do stuff like, ...what happens if I rev it and my foot slips off the clutch. This will happen. Or if you don't fully engage the gear...all real life stuff.

Knowing what is expected is okay. Learning what is unexpected is even better. Have fun.

 

brief update--had my first lesson with a stick in my in-law's old volvo 240 (from the late '70s or early '80s with close to 200k miles on the original clutch, apparently). Everything went pretty well. Just did some laps around the block to get a feel for it. Had some rough shifts but didn't stall out once. So far I like it. Going to try again and get out a bit farther next time, maybe in some traffic and try some nearby hills .

Do you think a MINI dealer will let me test drive a manual even tho I'm a novice and may have some issues? I think it would be good to give the MINI a try before I buy. But definitely leaning toward getting my clubman with a manual at this point.

 

Happy to see you're giving manual a shot. I think in the end, after you've driven standard for a few weeks, that you will achieve a comfort level as well as a new skill and that "direct feel" with your MINI that you'll really appreciate. Not to mention the gas and money savings.

As for test driving a manual - I guess it really depends. If you are a definite customer with an order about to be placed and manual/auto is the deal decider, then I wouldn't see why they wouldn't let you at least test drive a manual for a few miles with the MA in the passenger seat.