Our '06 is an Auto. Our prior '06 was an auto. In the process of ordering an auto now . The auto delivers the goods to the pavement and the paddle shifting is a hoot. If you're going to walk away from the funnest car you'll ever own over this, see ya. Hope you don't die early from boredom. Me & the wife are keeping our fountain of youth and buying a second.

 

owning two rocks!

we have a cooper and an S, (both are manuals, though). we use the cooper for long trips and occasional commuting, the S is more for autocrossing and fun drives.

 

aaaahhhh.... being single has its advantages.

 

I got the dealer to place an order for one with 6-speed... but had to throw the Sat. radio into the equation for her... still not sure it will be a go for her with the manual... we'll see when it hits the ground. Dealer will put into inventory if she does not want it.

 

get the 6 speed, seems that is more important to you and compromise on the color. Or get her to test drive the manual.

 

Formula one cars have paddle shifts, and on a mini they are really nice once you get used to them. Manual is nice, but really annoying in heavy traffic, so if you live in the city...

 

Ordered our 335i with step and paddles (same technology) because that is what the wife wanted, disappointed at first, no regrets, the paddles are quicker shifts than a manual (same with the mini).

My MINI is a stick for mileage and sportiness, plus no traffic to work. (plus I got the get what you want treatment)

I would appease my wife before doing a major purchase we don't agree on. (married 19 years, one fight, lasted 3 hours, great make-up sex). Try fights more often now for make-up sex, but were too old (just turned big four-o)

Good luck and let us know what you decide...

 

Sex! What's that? Married 32 years... convicted murderers do less time!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmbaker3

My problem is my wife wants an automatic and I, a 6-speed... may as well go and buy a Civic... She can drive a stick and we have test driven both... but I just can't do it.

I just went from a ’98 5-speed Civic to an automatic base MC, and I *love* my MCa. Obviously I can drive stick, and I got the "get whatever you want" treatment from my *husband*, but for my situation right now, automatic was the way to go, and I haven't regretted it for a second.

Currently I'm commuting 155 miles round trip through Los Angeles traffic three to four times a week. I also have an autoimmune disease that left me unable to walk up a flight of stairs as recently as last summer (been in remission for a few months now, but that could go away at any time), and had me largely house-bound because driving the stick-shift hurt so bad I nearly passed out at one point.

My point is just this: I've never known *anyone* who could drive a stick shift but opted not to who didn't have a damn good reason to avoid the manual transmission. What's the real reason your wife wants the automatic? Does she have bad knees? Does she sit in a lot of stop-and-go traffic? Does driving stick stress her out? Does she drive with the kids in the car a lot? Is she pregnant, or planning on getting pregnant? What's really going on?

And FWIW, if my husband had insisted on a manual so it would be more fun for him when he gets to drive the MINI on the weekends, I would have left him at the dealership. Thankfully I didn't marry a jerk. He understood that my decision to get an automatic wasn't because manual scares me or because of some sort of feminine weakness, but because in my condition, automatic is the right decision. And an automatic MINI is a damn fun car.

 

Because I wanted the stick.