THIS IS VERY VITAl. i have never owned a stick car, and it seems quite fun. my dad seems very eager to buy a mcs (well not eager but he wants to get it over with becuase i want one and have been bothering him about it), and it is very bothersome

that somewhere down the lien imma get sick of it... i need response on whether i should just get an automatic.... ASAP!!!

 

You need to test drive both and make your own decision - don't let other people's opinion drive your life. That said, my wife has an '05 MCSa (auto) and loves it, I have an '06 MCS (stick) and love it. Both cars are fun to drive - the stick has a bit more oomph to it but the auto is certainly not a slouch. You really need to determine on your own which one better suits your driving needs. Most of the people on NAM will steer you towards the stick but it is really a personal decision that only you can make. Good luck!

 

I agree with rhawth99. I have a stick and think it's a blast. But, there are times it can be a pain too, like in stop and go traffic. If I used the car pretty much just for commuting in traffic, I'd probably go with the auto, since it can be manually shifted. But, since I use it for other things, too, I prefer the stick.

 

This is definitely something only you can answer, and to find out you need to test drive. My MC is a manual and I bought it without ever having owned a manual before. However, I did know the basics of driving a stick beforehand, and test drove both before I made the decision. I wasn't 100% confident when I made the decision to get the manual, but now I'm comfortable with it, I know I made the right choice for me.

Anyone can learn to drive stick, but not everyone will enjoy it. It's entirely personal preference.

 

+1

 

Everyday car, lot of traffic, any physical problem with legs, feet, arms, go with an auto. If the car is a toy, stick.

 

I can only speak for myself, but I went with a manual tranny despite not knowing how to drive it (I had to have my Dad come drive it home for me). But I knew the basics of how it worked, I took a few hours to learn and it was the best decision I ever made. I can't imagine driving my Cooper with an Automatic and I have vowed to never buy a full automatic for my personal car ever again.

 

I own a Cooper CVT and an MCSa. I thoroughly enjoy both cars and have driven the Cooper to the Dragon many times and have taken HPDEs with it, too. I've driven my MCSa to HPDEs and am taking it to the Dragon this year.

I grew up on a stick shift in a Classic Mini and had driven sticks all my life until my present MINIs. I'll probably never go back to driving a stick, unless it's a loaner...primarily for the reason below:

Last weekend, I participated in the Dublin [a suburb of Columbus], Ohio, St. Partick's Day Parade with my Silk Green Cooper CVT. Those of us participating had a blast, as we all basked in the ohhhs and ahhhs from little kids and adults alike while we drove along the parade route. After the parade, some of us regrouped to think of a place to go for lunch. At least one stick shift driver commented that he could not have driven another mile at the 1-5 mph speeds, because of his clutch leg/foot cramping so badly towards the end of the parade. Funny, but my CVT worked just fine and drew the same number of ooohs and aaahs...AND, I felt "fresh as a daisy", even at the parade's end.

 

Hey, Heyjay..

shifting gears yourself can be very satisfying once you become proficient with it. But, I agree totally with the above posts. If most of your driving is city/traffic/stop-go, then get the auto. If you live in the country, and have lots of good twisties in your daily commute, consider the manual, but drive both and see if your comfortable with a stick. The MINI is a great car to learn on, because it is relatively easier to shift than some other cars AND if you happen to burn up the clutch while under warranty, the dealer will replace it for you...FREE

Either way you go, it will still be a MINI and you will LOVE driving it.
Welcome to the club and Happy Motoring,
--Dan

 

I THOUROUGHLY agree with Dan. I LOVE driving a stick, its economy and feel as one drives thru the twisties, but as I've gotten older, just do not appreciate the clutch [especially when stuck in stop and go traffic] as much as I did when I was younger.

 

Exactly!!! Shifting is half the fun. Going fast is the other half.

 

STICK!!!!!! Unless you're used to driving an automatic and like it. If you're used to driving an automatic, and HATE it (as I do when I have a rental), and it drives you nuts the way it *thinks* you want to drive and the way it shifts weird, and you KNOW you'd be happier doing the shifting yourself, then get the stick.

 

I've had the opportunity to drive a few different courtesy car MINIs that had the CVT, and IMO it was awful. My MCS is a 6spd and, to me, there is no other way to have it. IIRC, you couldn't get an S with a slushbox for the first few model years.

You need to learn how to drive a manual, then test drive both kinds of car. Think about the conditions you typically drive in. Is this car going to be your daily commuter in nothing but stop-go traffic? Is it a toy to take to the track or A/X? Or is it just a fashion accessory that looks "cute" and gets you from point A to point B? All of the above? What is your "driving style"?

When you test drive the manual (after you learn how), try going to a crowded parking lot (shopping mall, for instance) and drive amongst all the drones in their SUVs who are too busy swilling coffee while chatting on their phone. This is a crude approximation of rush hour stop and go. Do you live in an area with alot of hills? Stop and go on a hill can be fun for the novice

Keep us posted!

 

Anyone can learn to drive stick, but not everyone will enjoy it. It's entirely personal preference.[/quote]

+1

 

+1 more... but if I lived in a large city with bad traffic, I'd consider the automatic.

Good luck!

 

It isn't that hard too learn how to drive a manual. www.standardshift.com is a good place to start. Once you get over the fact that it will be a pain in the *** the first couple weeks, you will start to enjoy it.

Personally, I've driven a Cooper and S with autos, I don't like how the tranny shifts. Just my opinion though. I have a club member that likes his slush box (even though we give him crap about it ).

I feel like when you drive a car you should shift it yourself, if not you are just riding

 

I, too, think the only way you'd really become sick of shifting is if you spent a lot of time in stop-and-go traffic. I dealt with NYC traffic for a couple of years with my old car (a stick) and was all right for the most part. (I appreciated the split-second advantage a well-executed launch in 1st would give me over others in traffic.) Then again, driving was never a forced issue as I could always opt to take public transportation. (Driving was reserved for arrive-early, stay-late days spent at school.) There were two times I cursed my stick--once when stuck for a couple of hours on the approach to the Lincoln Tunnel and once in a parking lot on the Staten Island freeway.

So, unless that's going to be your daily driving conditions, get the stick.

 

http://nuclearworldaction.com/target.html i got an auto :P
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http://nuclearworldaction.com/target.html i got a stick. :D
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http://nuclearworldaction.com/target.html i mean i got a stick... DONT CLICK the link!!!it's a virus
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