Greetings,

I've read this board for two nights. You guys seem to really know the Scions very well, so I thought I'd post my question here:

I test drove a Scion today automatic and manual. They both seemed fine. Of course they both were pretty new. I will probably buy a xB. The question is if manual or automatic.

You guys here on the board seem to mostly gripe about the poor manual transmission. Otherwise you all seem to love the car (mostly). Some of you even suggested Scion should recall the car for the poor manual transmission.

So any input on the manual transmission?

How about the automatic one, is it much better?

thanks so much,
Philip

Let me butt in and say, this topic has been thoroughly exhausted, and it NEVER comes to any real good conclusion. . . I know you must get a lot of jargon when you do a search, due to the large number of times it has been discussed, but I am too lazy to get a good set of links for you hehehe.

Comes down to this:
1. The manual has a considerable difference in power/acceleration, and it is worth serious consideration.
2. You never have to shift an auto
3. The RPM's aren't as high on the highway on an auto. . .
4. The manual costs less initially. . . who knows on the long run.

another note. . . many will argue that a modern day auto is easier/cheaper to maintain, and this argument never sees an end either. Cost of clutch later vs cost of paying more for an auto now. . . clutch wear vs auto problems. . . it goes on and on. Secondly, some will say that auto is just as fast, but in this car, that's not true. Some cars maybe, as it can be argued, but eck it goes on forever.
Finally, I am perfectly happy with my 5 spd. They only complaint I have, is that second gear is slow to engage. Meaning; those who have been in my car know that I shift REALLY hard, and REALLY fast (I've managed to break a shift knob of the lever). Under fast shifting circumstances, it is relatively slow. But for moderately aggressive driving to easy driving, it'll suit you fine.

Bottom line: what matters more, convenience or fun? Do you live in a traffic congested area or not? Hills? Bills?

Thanks djct_watt!

And sorry for re-hasing an issue you guys have probably discussed to no end.

I'm not too worried about slow engaging gears. I'm the casual guy, not much in a hurry. Of course to the degree that I can drive safely and won't hold up the traffic.

But what did worry me are the following issues:
- reports of gears grinding with proper clutching. Supposedly double clutching helps. My friend in Germany (skilled manual driver) never heard of something like that being required.
- problems to engage the reverse or 1st gear (a "wall").
- clutch problems (there was one who lost some pin and thus a few gears and two that reported having the clutch starting to smoke because of being in a traffice jam).
- occurance of those problems post-purchase. As I said, I had no grinding or "wall" problems when I test drove, I'd hate to have problems a few thousand miles post purchase.

I'm interested in manual because of the fun and for practice. I travel in europe a lot and it's be nice to have confidence driving manual. On the other hand, my wife is anxious about driving manual. So I suppose I have a case for both sides. But I was so looking forward to manual... :D

Philip

...How about the automatic one, is it much better?
Here's some technical information that I posted recently that concerns both the manual and auto trannies. I was particularly impressed with the description of technological advancements in the Toyota Automatic Transmissions.

Tech Specs: xB Transmissions

http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=25986

I have an auto and love it. It's my first auto... all my past vehicles were manual.

As a prior poster mentioned the auto runs at lower RPMs at cruising speeds than the manual. I like that point. In CR Tests, the auto got 37 highway and manual got 36 MPG highway.

If your wife is anxious about the manual, strongly consider the auto. :P RPM

Yes sometimes 1st can be difficult to engage, but it is extremely rare. Usually if you allow the car to roll a tiny teeny little bit, it will slide in smooth, but I have had the same problem in other manual's so I don't consider it to be a big deal.

Reverse. . . yeah. Hehehe, I shift to 1st, then reverse, and never have any issues. Sometimes after being parked, shifting straight into second can grind the gears.

My personal opinion is that I love autos, but with only 108hp, I need the 5spd for the kind of driving I want. It's all up to the driver and want he/she needs out of the car. Personally, I won't take auto on any car that has less than 200hp.

I prefer a stick but most of my driving is in commuter traffic. Because of that I use an auto. If I had this car for the fun of it I'd have a stick.

Thanks for everybodies feedback! Tomorrow I'll be placing an order for a Black Cherry Automatic xB. 8) I'm so excited I won't be able to sleep tonight. :D

Btw, I saw a White Scion xB Taxi today. Wow!

Philip

The only downside to the manual is the crappy shifter. If the shifter was smoother the tranny would be fine. I'm not sure if its even a problem with the tranny at all but rather the shifter mechanism is not designed for fast shifts.

Thanks for everybodies feedback! Tomorrow I'll be placing an order for a Black Cherry Automatic xB. 8) I'm so excited I won't be able to sleep tonight. :D
Congrats on your order! You're gonna love your xB... get some sleep. :P RPM

I own an automatic and have no regrets with my choice over the manual.
My civic hatch had a manual tranny and I was just tired of shifting gears. I wanted something I could sit back and crusie with.

When I get another hatchback (I miss my hatch :( ) it will have a manual tranny because it will be made to race just like my last one.