What gearbox for the rest of your life?

[cerb4.5lee]

If you could only have 1 gearbox for the rest of your life what would it be? Would you choose a 3 pedal manual, or an auto or DCT?

I think I'd go for a 3 pedal manual. I generally like having only 2 pedals in a daily, but it if was restricted to 1 car for the rest of my life it would have a 3 pedal manual I reckon. What about you?

[normalbloke]

Honda S2000.
Am I doing this wrong?

[cerb4.5lee]

normalbloke said:

Honda S2000.
Am I doing this wrong?

No, that is a great choice I reckon.

[QBee]

I have two manual cars (TVR and X Trail) and one auto (Saab).
If I could only have one choice it would be an auto.
Many auto boxes allow you to choose gears anyway.....on the three times a year you can be arsed.

[trails]

normalbloke said:

Honda S2000.
Am I doing this wrong?

[Pica-Pica]

QBee said:

I have two manual cars (TVR and X Trail) and one auto (Saab).
If I could only have one choice it would be an auto.
Many auto boxes allow you to choose gears anyway.....on the three times a year you can be arsed.

This. A ZF8, with comfort, Eco, Sport, Sport Plus, lever, flappy paddles.

[Puddenchucker]

Koenigsegg Lightspeed Transmission:

https://www.koenigsegg.com/lst

[limpsfield]

No-geared EV. Smooth, instant torque. Lovely.

Just to provide some balance to those posters who chip in with V8 fOr liFe!


But probably the auto I had in my old BMW M240 with the flappy paddles and various buttons mentioned earlier.

[BoRED S2upid]

normalbloke said:

Honda S2000.
Am I doing this wrong?

Yes the correct answer is MX5

With a proper gearbox non of this auto nonsense.

[captain.scarlet]

Absolutely a manual.

I have both an auto and a manual.

The auto is a more relaxed affair to drive and obviously a lot less of a faff in a traffic jams, but personally, for driver/car engagement a 3-pedal manual cannot be rivalled.

[VeeReihenmotor6]

Manual for me. I've had normal auto and DSG and lovely though they are there is no consideration for me. Even my 2.0 TDi is more engaging to drive as a manual than an auto petrol "sports" car I had.

If I lived in a city and sat in traffic a lot I would feel differently though.

[leef44]

cerb4.5lee said:

normalbloke said:

Honda S2000.
Am I doing this wrong?

No, that is a great choice I reckon.

I've never driven an S2000 so couldn't pick this one but from the title thread the first thing that came in mind was Honda Civic Type-R EP3.

They do know how to make them don't they?

[Lotobear]

Ford 3 rail 4 speed, preferably with the 2.5 first gear. The action has never been bettered.

[greenarrow]

My favourite gearboxes from recent memory were the 5 speed in my NB MX5 and the 5 speed in my daughter's mk1 Ford Ka, a sweet shifting delight that one. I am not an automatic gearbox fan, but must admit having sampled a flappy paddle in my other daughter's Smart four two, I could see myself getting a modern DSG type gearbox next time.......for now, its manual for me, but only a good one. So many manuals are rubbish. My current F30 BMW for example as the notchiest shift into reverse I have experienced in 35 years of driving, truly awful!!!!

[Muzzer79]

A good, modern automatic for me.

[Baldchap]

Am I allowed to adjust the linkages?

[TheOctaneAddict]

Manual, having owned all types of gearbox its my favorite.

[Smint]

In a car old school TC auto, no more than 5 gears needed with a torquey engine, simple and totally reliable for ever with the odd oil change.

In a truck an Eaton Twin Splitter manual, has 3 pedals but you only need the clutch for starting and stopping.

[Master Bean]

5 speed manual. What brand, I'm not sure.

[Patrick Bateman]

Manual and it's absolutely no contest.

Auto is indeed more convenient, more of the time but that does not outweigh the joy from using a manual when you really want to enjoy a drive. There's no way I could sacrifice that for more convenience unless something happened to my left leg/foot. Being able to manually choose what gear you're in with an auto/dual clutch misses the point completely.