Opinions on TC's with auto tranny....
 

Well i love to have a manual but here in nyc with the traffic and congestion it can get annoying. so i was wondering how you guys feel with the auto tranny. is it responsive? is it sluggish...? Help a brother out...thnx

Peace

chickensoup..

yeah i have an auto tc.. very responsive, no lag at all.. granted that the manual does have more torque (pull) off the line than the auto, but the auto's gear ratios have been well chosen in my opinion. It's a very smooth (like buttah) shifting auto, probably the smoothest I've ever experienced in an auto tranny. Only time I know it's upshifted is the engine rpm's drop.. downshifting has a little feel, but still smooth.. I've noticed it hold gears longer and won't release them if i need the power. Probably the first auto i've seen that actually works WITH the driver instead of against them! If i need more power, and i push on the gas at speed, it will not downshift but use the engine to gain the speed.. if i keep pushing then it will downshift.. very smart in my opinion..

The manual guys will say that their trannys have more power, and sure that's true, but only about possibly 0.5 second when 0-60 times are taken. I have found that if I want to rev the engine, i just put it down into 3 (from 4 or D) or even 2.. I think scion did an excellent job on the auto trans/driveline..

hope that helps..

yeah, what he said.

seriously though...I have absolutely no experience with sports cars, so I can't compare my tC to anything else. but starting from zero when I hit the gas it can throw me back in my seat. for what it is it's got good power. a friend of mine who owns a 2002 volvo (dunno which model) said, after driving my car, that my car "is way faster" than hers.

and as for what sciontc_mich said about upshifting he's 100% right. you don't feel it, you only hear it and see it on the tach. and accellerating past cars at speed, like on the freeway doing 60 or so, it does very well. it picks up and passes with no problem.

either way, at or mt, you'll love the car.

well i have auto and i love it in city driving... i go to school in philly and am from ny so i drive a good amount... like i said i love the tranny... the only thing i dont like is when ur rolling with light pressure on the gas at around 15 mph and u let off, the tranny feels like it isn't sure what to do when u get back on the gas after a small pause, as if its shifted into third when it should be in second... i dunno gets a lil jumpy but i wouldn't trade it :D

I had the misfortune to having to send my tc into the shop three days after I got it, and the shop set me up with an 2002 auto ford focus as a loaner. ha... the difference is stark. but me and the tc are reunited and it feels so good.

but yeah, I lose count as to which gear I'm actually in usually. I was driving on the freeway today with overdrive off and didn't notice that I was until I saw the tach and I was about 1000 rpm over where I should be... so that'll speak to the smoothness of the tranny and the relatively quiet cabin and engine.

for the automatic to get 1mpg more than the stick tells you something about the tranny's intelligence.

I agree with everything they said. The auto is well done. I have always had manual tranny's with the exception of two MB's and I swore I would always have them. I finally came to the decision that the stop and go traffic I deal with is not worth the few times I really get to enjoy the manual

I drove the tC with both manual and auto. Many 4 cylinder cars, especially turbo's, do not do well with automatics. They sap too much power from the engine. In the tC, the difference in 0-60 is negligible in seat of the pants testing.

The trick to getting the auto to move off the line is to not tramp the pedal to the floor. It seems to bog down when you take this approach. A nice steady, progressive, firm application of the go pedal and this car moves off quite nicely.

It also does not hunt around for a gear when you are going up and down hills. It seems to hold gears very well.

My only complaint is at low speeds. When I pull out into traffic and gun it a little and then have to quickly slow down for traffic in front of me, the downshift is a little clunky as you start to accelerate again. This is very minor and really is not something to worry about.

While I still don't enjoy my ride home on Friday afternoon, it is a lot less stressful with the auto.

For me the auto is great. But I am coming from a regular Corolla auto. This car is so nice!!!!

Kevin

I know this is dredging up an old topic but I didn't want to start a new thread. Has anyone with an automatic noticed a decline in the responsiveness of the engine? I realize that this could be characterized as me "getting used to it" but I feel like I'm having to rev the engine higher to get the same "kick"/acceleration then I had to the first day or so?
Thanks much

Yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about. Seems like it's not as fast as it used to be. But, I think it's exactly what you said...you got used to it. Try driving another car for a day or so, and you'll see just how nice your tC really is.

After driving both, I would do an auto. Its not a sportscar, so who cares about racing or sprited shifting.

Plus, my tranny shifts like crap with only 4000 miles. It grinds into 2nd alot of the time. 4th gear just doesn't feel right. Shift has alot of vibration when in 4th. Sometimes it clunks into second. I love shifting, but not a car that doesn't shift well.

I have the 4 speed auto...

I am not disappointed at all...seriously...

personally, the only reason I'd buy a manual is to race...and I don't see my 19 racing anytime in the near future...

I prefer style over speed... 8)

I believe it's actually the VVT-i... drive it aggressively for a little bit and the next time you start her up... she'll be a LOT more responsive. A very noticable difference.