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Comments

Josh Dudley

One comment,

You drive a car with a manual transmission, you steer a car with an automatic...

christopherolliff

My deat Atul....all I can say is if it does not have three pedals and a manual shifter, its RUBBISH!

Josh L

I have only owned and driven manual transmission cars. I agree, even after years of driving manual, I still get bogged down from time to time starting off from a stop. On the other hand, I think you would find if you drove your stickshift saab exclusively for several years you would find that it became so second nature that you dont even really notice yourself doing it. Quite often when on the highway I will try to shift into a higher gear, only to realize I am in the highest one already... You are right, tho, there doesnt seem to be much point. For the most part automatics have gotten so much better while manuals have hardly changed at all.

Atul

Josh and Chris,

Looks like the manual enthusiasts are more vocal. I still support what I wrote but I'm going to stick with the car. I guess it will take a little longer for my car to feel totally natural. My double-clutch rev-match downshifts are getting better and after a while longer I will get a complete feel for this car as I did for my older car which happens to be an automatic. I know exactly when it's about to shift or how I need to apply the throttle to get it to shift the way I want it to.

Josh L,
That's a good point that manuals haven't (apparently) gotten much better. Perhaps they had a head start on development relative to automatics. Plus manuals are limited by how good their drivers are!

David

I found your comments interesting. I recently purchased a 9-3, a 06 aero, with a manual and to be honest it is an expensive toy that I enjoy most of the time. I, like you, have found the shift from 1st to 2nd in this car to be a challenge; I don’t know if it’s me or a change in expectations, to much internet information. This is not my first manual, my 6th, but in the past I just drove without to much thought and looking back I can’t remember or comment on my skill level. I do know that I never went through a clutch, one exception - a 69 mopar with an oversized engine.

Atul

David,

Welcome fellow Saaber and thanks for the comment. Your tranny has different ratios than my 5 spd, but I think there's still a drastic ratio change from 1-2 on yours too. Try shifting earlier. It works for me sometimes because the revs don't drop so quickly and they're easier to "catch". That tranny is smoother shifting for sure, but I like the clutch take-up of my transmission a bit better. I just wish I had an extra gear for more efficient cruising.

Johan

I rarely hear of someone wearing out a clutch. Those people that do, usually have the bad habit of resting their left foot on the clutch while driving or by pressing the accelerator too early when shifting up.

I never wore out a clutch.
150 000 km (95 000 M) in a Renault 18
220 000 km (140 000 M) in a Mitsubishi Lancer
240 000 km (150 000 M) in a VW Passat TDi

The clutch on my Passat is wearing thin now but still isn't slipping. It is caused by pulling my boat out of the water on a steep ramp in Cornwall (UK).

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