my first car was a civic manual and I drove it off the lot without knowing how to drive stick. I just knew the basic instructions, which the person above has provided. Buy ur car on the weekend, or whenever traffic is at its lowest in ur area. Trust me, by end of day you will have it down. And hey, everyone stalled once or twice their first time. Oh and BTW..get the manual TC. This class car doesnt have the greatest pick up in auto. I commute from LA to the valley and its not so bad.

 

Yes.

 

There is nothing miraculous or especially "advanced" about the automatic transmissions in these cars. No amount of electronics and grade logic will overcome the inherent flaws in the traditional automatic. They are better than they were 20 years ago, sure, but you still wind up in 2nd or 3rd gear leaving the stoplight, you still wind up in 4th/OD when you should be in 3rd and so on. It just doesn't happen as often. It's still an uninvolving experience, but that is what some people want.

CVTs and SMG, those are *advanced* replacements for the traditional manual. Conventional automatics are just an unfortunate stepping stone on the way there. Completely adequate and effective for point A to point B driving, but nothing more.

Nothing wrong with an automatic if you have your heart set on it and you prefer to be a less active participant in the process of driving and would rather just get to Safeway or Starbucks as easily as possible with as little attention to your car as is necessary. (that means YOU)

Some of us just try to sway people if they are on the fence about it, because like I said, people rarely regret getting the manual but I hear people wishing they did not get auto ALL the time.

 

That depends on the car.

That does apply to the xB, but I am not sure about the tC.

It isn't a hard and fast rule, it depends on final drive ratios and top gear ratios.

Keep in mind that those "considerably lower" rpms are why you will pass semi's on a hill at a crawl and the 5 speed drivers will rip past them easily.

 

Im speaking through experience with the tC. The final drive ratio on tC automatics are geared for a higher top speed. I assure you, both the auto and manual tC have no problem passing semi's going up hill. If you really want to, you can manually shift the auto while driving so that the transmission stays in the gear that you put it in.