Hey guys what do you think. Stick so I can drive and have fun or auto so the wife can also drive? I'm leading towards auto so my wife don't kill me. I guess I already know the answer.

 

Depends on how many cars you have in your garage. If this is your 2nd or 3rd car, I would get the Auto so that your wife can enjoy it too.

 

Well I have a 96 gsr now, but I have to sell it to get the IS. So this would be my only car. My wife drives an 02 carolla, yay!!

 

Or if your old like me auto all the way. I am w a y over the stick thing especially in traffic. This is another reason I chose the IS 350 auto, with padel shifts. Wife happy me racer happy .

 

...guess what you'll end up getting...

 

stick. teach her how to drive it on gsr before you sell it. or practice at home with...

 

IS with the stick? No way. I got the extra 100 hp despite the auto. Besides, I have a stick in the garage anyway for those times when I just have to stir.

 

screw it all, buy a golf GTi or audi tt and use the DSG.

 

Stick. If your wife drives an 02 Corolla, I think it's safe to say that she's not into driving that much, and probably wouldn't care whether she drove your new car (does she care that she can't drive your GSR?).

As far as I'm concerned, my car will never be a super-slusho-slopo-tippy-tronic-matic transmission.

 

A conventional stick is anything BUT fun in heavy traffic and stop-and-go.

Well, if you're willing to take a chance on less-than-Toyota/Honda reliability, get a VW or Audi with the DSG (Direct-Shift-Gearbox). It is, literally, the best of both worlds...manual and automatic.....perhaps the most well-rounded transmission I have ever tested. I don't think you will be disappointed.

 

If you have to deal with much traffic, get auto.

If it's a second car, get stick.

I finally got one of each, and love it. Auto SUV when I don't want to think much and light stick car for a more 'engaging' experience.

 

One stick & one auto is the best combination Stick for the sporty car, auto for the luxury cruiser or family hauler.
Driving stick in heavy traffic never bothers me though, when you're used to it, it's like second nature, you don't even think of or aware of it while you're shifting.
Driving an auto do offer the convenience of drinking beverages & other activities when a free hand is desirable.

 

I vote for auto if you have heavy traffic... or better yet... like mmarshall selected, get a DSG-equipped car if you're interested in VW/Audi at all.

Are there ever any times where your wife has had to rely upon your car for something or vice versa? As much as I always wanted a stick, there were certain times where someone had to drive my car (e.g. RX in body shop, ES for some reason decides not to start at 2am, and my dad gets paged to ICU in middle of night) and it was crucial that he could use my car.

 

I'll completely disagree with that one. Driving a stick means that you don't have to spend all your time riding the brake pedal, unless you're on an incline. If your timing is decent, you can just coast and modulate your propulsion with quick blips of clutch and throttle. I find a stick much easier and more predictable in stop-n-go traffic. Well, I find it easier and more predictable in almost any situation, but that goes without saying.

 

Though I live in a stick country and city, I would never use a stick down here except at a track. I had a friend who use to have a stick Golf and he it developed clutch issues since he, in this traffic, would never get it into higher gears.