Celia, Comparing a Subaru with a 4-speed to a 1-ton truck with a 4-speed misses the point. I’ve never seen a compact car or any passenger car with first gear being a “granny gear” needed only for starting a heavy load or off-road. My Subaru was no exception, and starting out in 2nd gear on level ground in that car would have been mighty hard on the clutch, and doing so on any uphill slope would not even have been possible. First gear was not meant to be skipped. My point was that having a first gear that’s a little bit lower than normal eliminates the difficulty most manual-transmission cars have with stop-and-go traffic.
When it comes to getting out of a tough spot in snow, I’ve found that using low gear works best IF you have really good control of your throttle foot to keep the wheels turning dead-slow in spite of their tendency to break traction. Starting in second gear in any normal car (not a truck with a granny-gear low) means that the natural speed of the output is far too fast unless you slip the clutch, but the clutch isn’t made for that. In my experience it’s far better to prevent tire-slippage with precise throttle control at a dead-slow speed of tire rotation than by using the reduced torque of the next-higher gear as a crutch, though you can get away with that with an automatic. This might be one case where modern cars with fancy computer control of wheel-slippage have an advantage.
For that example I gave of $2,200 for a headlight in Chevy/GMC pickups, that’s not a case of an inaccessible bulb, but a case where the bulb is not replaceable in the first place. As to getting brighter bulbs, sadly, the lights on my company truck are designed so badly that making them brighter doesn’t even address the worst of the problems, which include a minimally-effective high-beam pattern that puts most of the additional light at an angle that’s far too high above where the low-beam shines to be of any use, and failure to provide any side-lighting to illuminate the places where a deer might run from, or where you might need to turn sharply into (on that truck, turning sharply means driving blindly into blackness).
At least manuals are offered in more cars than they are pickups. I’m hanging onto my manual Frontier as long as I can. It is far better for mountain driving, not to mention just plain more fun.
I drove a new F150 with the 2.7L Ecoboost and 10-speed auto with “manual mode.” While it gets surprisingly good mpg for a fullsize 4WD truck—and the dual turbo makes it accelerate really fast—I would still prefer having a true manual tranny with a clutch.
Pikabike, ain’t it amazing that we are at a point where manual trannies are easier to find in passenger cars than trucks? I would have never envisioned that happening.
Guideboatguy, you just confused the crap out of me. In your higher up post it sounded like you were saying that city driving was not a problem because you could go right into 2nd of needed. In the one replying to me you said that was a bad idea. Unless you are saying a shift into 1st can be less gentle and harder on the driver if it is set higher? I will have to take your word for it, I never noticed an issue there across any of the cars.
Of course you would never try that on a hill. I don’t see where l advocated for that.
My truck thing was responding to what you said in the higher post, that there were cases where the gears were set lower and it impacted how you used then. Not sure l shouldn’t apologize for agreeing with you, but I won’t.
As to how to drive a manual, l am reminded of my experience on car lots trying to get a guy to take me seriously. I drove various standards for over a decade and my clutches were never the weak link in the car. I used them with minimal wear, enough to get comments from mechanics about it. I am still often the only one in a group who can get into any standard transmission car and figure out how to drive it, unless I have to double clutch. Had to do that three years ago when there was a medical emergency at a dinner gathering.
The headlights you are talking about then are the ones l have thus far avoided, like in the Prius, that cannot be dealt with by popping in a new bulb. Friends who have ,Prius have been hit with a 300 tab when one light goes, though they also say it takes a long time to get there.
Thank god for hill holder. In Quebec City traffic in snow and slush you need all the help you can get. When I first drove manuals ca 1967 in Ithaca NY there was no such help at all and you just hoped the dude in back of you would not pull to your rear bumper on one of the many hills… Of course then bumpers were real.
Hills… I was taught to use the emergency brake as a hill holder. It works great when the brake control is at your right hand. Trickier if it’s at your left foot. I disabled the dumb ‘hill assist-hindrance’ on my Crosstrek after it caused my car to stall. Cars behind me honking. Me swearing. It was unpleasant.
Trucks with manuals… my son drives a Toyota Tacoma because it has a manual. We weirdos who like station wagons and manual transmissions just get fewer and fewer choices.
Rex, I had forgotten until you said this, but me too. I was forced to improvise with such a tactic on my road test for my license, the examiner took me to a Stop sign at the top of a short but steep hill with lousy sight lines in winter. Some snow was down. I tried once to handle it normally and had to immediately abort, was risking falling back. So I vamped and experimented with toggling the brake with the gas, can’t remember now what brake I used. It worked but I was also certain I had failed the test for trying something out of bounds. Was utterly surprised when we got back and I had passed.
I never disabled the hill holder but my recall is I had to have it reset at least once as the car got older.
I’ve never heard of a hill holder but my last manual was in the 80’s.
Remember driving my mom around San Francisco in a stick Mercury and her asking why I ever bought that stick shift.
I bought that car in Roswell, New Mexico and back in those days unless it was a high end loaded model the dealers didn’t stock automatics.
When I traded it in (in Florida) the salesman call everyone around to look at a Monterey with a clutch.
I too was taught to use the hand brake on hill starts and had to demonstrate it during my DL road test. That was a standard requirement even with automatics.
Hey grayhawk. I think Subaru has had the hill assist for a long time. The car senses when you’re stopped on a hill and it locks the brakes so you don’t roll into someone. The brakes are SUPPOSED to release when you take off. Sheeeit. The car stalled. I disabled the thing as soon as I got home. I just continue to use the parking/emergency brake lever at my right hand if I feel like I need it. The computers and sensors aren’t as good as me yet. Not in the car I got.
I don’t know if anyone has already mentioned it, but some vehicles have now done away with the parking brake handle and the parking brake is foot operated (it takes a foot to set it and release it). So the geniuses added the hill holder. Well at least that is the case on some brands on some models. There is supposed to be a 2 second delay between the time that you remove your foot from the brake and press the accelerator. If you fail to hit the gas in that time delay, you will roll back unless you hit the brake again–I guess.
I thought our new Tucson had this device, but after thinking about it, I don’t believe it does, because we have the regular automatic transmission, which still has a torque converter. The models with the dual clutch 7-speed, do not have a torque converter–thus the hill holder. This is why I prefer a stick. But these days even that can be a PITA. In some vehicles, the whole engine assembly has to be dropped out of the vehicle to change the clutch.
There really needs to be a car/truck maker who believes in the KISS principle.
I had just gotten my '98 F-150 with a 5 speed when I went paddling with a friend. The put in was just off a 4 lane intersection with a steep drop to the river.
I was a bit spooked about getting back on to the highway. I got caught by the light on the slope and someone pulled up right behind me. Now I was a bit more spooked.
The truck had a foot brake . I revved the engine, popped the brake and burned rubber across the highway.
I eventually got better with the clutch.
My 2015 Mazda CX5 has the 6-speed stick, same transmission as in the Miata sports coupe. And it has the right side hand operated parking brake so I can easily set it when stopped uphill (and in Pittsburgh we have some of the steepest hills in the country, many of them of brick or Belgian block – check out YouTube clips of the infamous Pittsburgh “Dirty Dozen” annual bike race).
I like the gear ratios on the CX5 – I can easily start moving in second, also can shift smoothly between the gears without the clutch at many speeds and can coast through neighborhoods with a lot of stop signs in second gear, rolling to a 99% “stop” and then accelerating across the intersection without stalling it out. Compared to the old Outback it shifts like butter. Also gets 10 mpg more than the Subaru did: 27 around town and as much as 36 on highway trips.
@string said:
I had just gotten my '98 F-150 with a 5 speed when I went paddling with a friend. The put in was just off a 4 lane intersection with a steep drop to the river.
I was a bit spooked about getting back on to the highway. I got caught by the light on the slope and someone pulled up right behind me. Now I was a bit more spooked.
The truck had a foot brake . I revved the engine, popped the brake and burned rubber across the highway.
I eventually got better with the clutch.
I did something like that on the hills of SF in a manual RWD pick up. I was on a road trip and rolled into that unknowingly. I was quite decent with a stick but not decent enough for that. Practiced a few more times after and got used to the feeling of sitting in a rocket ship about to launch.
Totally don’t mind driving my 99 Prelude in stop and go. Very friendly transmission.
Celia, the primary reason I’m looking at the Rav4 is my experience with the current one I have. My 2009 runs like new, the v6 is powerful and the selectable 4wd has been a bonus. I’m looking hard at the 2019 Hybrid Rav4, the MPG rating surpasses any other compact SUV. All Rav4’s now come with 4 cylinder engines, but the hybrid puts out more HP than the non hybrid Rav4’s. One caveat in all this is that as long as my current ride holds up, I don’t see any reason to replace it. Also looking at the Mazda CX5. It is one of the highest rated compact SUV’s in all the reviews I’ve read. The Honda CR-V is on my radar as well. But as long as my 2009 holds up, I may be looking at 2020 vehicles.
I used to race cars several years ago and at the end of the day the modern vehicles are built to such high minimums as set by the federal government that the cheapest 2018/19 vehicle will not only run rings performance wise around the most top end car from 30 years ago, but it is also inherently far safer and more comfortable. Compare a Chevy Equinox with a 1989 Ferrari or SEL 600 Mercedes, the former is so much better in every way there’s no comparison.
Sadly some marques remain unreliable, Chrysler/Fiat is awful and Subaru has had a lot of powertrain issues in the last ~10 years which has been unlike them. I mean serious stuff like ringland cracks, spun bearings, PCV flow, head gasket issues, exhaust valve springs to name a few with recalls and class action lawsuits resulting. These problems have not just been on the high performance turbo motors either, also their run of the mill naturally aspirated engines as well.
In the end it’s hard to get a “bad” car in today’s market. Think of all the ****boxes we used to drive not that long ago and be thankful!
@Andy_Szymczak I like some of what I am seeing in the 2019 RAV4’s, but there is other new stuff that I would rather someone else experiment with it first. The cargo capacity is a major question mark for me if it has been reduced. I am wasting a lot of space with just me in the car. But when I start hauling most of a string quartet or make the long trips to Maine including a crate with two cats, I want decent space. The higher clearance also an issue, I am already partly lifting my very frail 96 yr old stepmother into the seat to get her to doc appts. Not sure it’d work with 2 more inches added.
I get holding on. As you said, when these cars run well they do so with astonishingly little out of pocket costs compared to anything else I ever owned. Whatever other complaints anyone might have, their lack of fussiness is quite wonderful.
I can’t quite make sense of this small SUV world we are in right now. I am sure they are wonderful cars to drive but I just can’t see them as spacious and they are tall enough to make boat loading an issue. in my mind a good old minivan would do better.
As far as a solo boat hauler a lower car makes more sense to me but none of the modern sedans and hatchbacks are low enough to load a heavyish boat solo unassisted very easily. My Prelude is very low but it’s about the highest I am willing to do with a 50lb boat on regular basis. Even a Corolla would be tall enough for me to get a load assist so might as well do it with a van which would be so much more practical.