automatic

 

manual~ traffic on the 405 SUCKS on the way home from work...but having it is really useful changing lanes and stuff. all the while its alot more funner to drive.

 

auto, so the wife can drive it.

 

i prefer manual but you try driving it in nyc rush hour traffic and tell me if you dont need the auto

 

Manual all the way. the only time i really wish it was auto is when im stuck in Chicago traffic. but, no regrets.

 

Automatic

 

5-speed.

The shifter feels pretty smooth and the clutch is light unlike the Euro manuals that I'm used to. Definately going to go for the TRD short shifter after I break the car in a little more.

 

I got auto but wish now that I had manual, haha taht way I could go 125mph muahahahahah

 

manual, but i rode in my friends box that had a auto though. big difference.

 

What was the difference like?

 

i'd like to know how much of a difference it is too

 

Same here. I've been lurking around the boards for several months after my interest initally got peaked in the xB. I've been shopping around for one in the local area, but there are no manual xBs on the Scion lots in my area. I was able to test drive an automatic here and I was pleased with it, but I'd really like to know how much of a difference there is. I even stopped at a Toyota/Scion dealer when I was in Atlanta this week for business to try to test drive a manual they had, but after I was completely ignored in the showroom for about 40 minutes, I decided I definately wasn't going to do business there. Out of the vehicles my wife and I currently own, 3 are manuals and 2 are automatics. The automatics are larger vehicles, so the automatics make more sense. The others are 2 Mustangs and a little Saturn SC1, all of which I cannot imagine as an automatic. If anyone has experience with both in an xB, I'd love to hear how you would compare them. I've been hesitant to order an xB until I was certain I'd made the best decision.

Also, if I could find a manual xA in town, would that be close enough to the xB to get an idea?

 

I have a blue onyx right now Manual, I am trading it in for the RS 3.0 Auto. I am sick of stick. its not a hot rod it never will be, I drive in traffic to much and the stick gets old. I Will put engine mods on the new one but am not expecting much, just more pep. Thats what are cars have is pep. Also, after driving different makes, Toyota makes good autos, they translate the power well to the ground.

 

is it wrong of me to not truly consider a manual because i tend to get dyslexic? driving around i'd likely forget what gear i was in, not to mention i'm not coordinated enough to play drums so a manual seems further out of my skillset...

actually i have been driving with two feet on an automatic for years and it a much more smooth and easy transitional drive for passengers, allows me to do torque (converter) stalls ;)

i'd love a manual but i'm not sure if it is for me... i do love the control and i have driven my autos like a manual to keep in certain RPM ranges while doing "performance" driving.

 

I managed to find a used manual xB in my are to drive so that I could compare. I took it on the exact same test drive trip as the auto I tried. It was sheer coincidence that the used car lot next to the Toyota dealership just happened to get one in. So, if anyone is interested, here is my comparison of the two from the limited time I had during my test drives.

Auto:
Very smooth shifts, hardly even noticable. Very smooth running and comfortable. Less of a busy feel in the cockpit of the vehicle. Shifter placement is pretty good also and seems to be easy to reach. Goes under a little load when going up larger hills, but is not bad at all considering I never manually disengaged the overdrive (should have tested it though). Has pretty decent pep, but I definately would say that it's not your high performance choice. Interstate/highway RPMs are much better for cruising and the vehicle is, to me, definately much more quiet on the interstate/highway. A bit more comfortable to drive and no need to change gears. Stereo definately would not need as much volume for interstate traveling with the auto.

Manual:
I expected the ____er in the manual to be a bit sloppy since it's a cable shifted transmission, but was pleasently surprised that it has a pretty good feel and the shifting has a pretty decent solidness to it. Would probably be even better with the TRD short shifter. I'm used to the positive feel of V8 Mustangs with aftermarket short shifters, so to say that the shifting was pretty good is a compliment. It's definately better than the feel of my wife's spongy shifter in her Saturn, but you can tell that it is a cable shifted transmission. I found that the factory throw is shorter than most manuals I've driven before. Shifter placement is pretty comfortable. The clutch seems to be butter soft, but has a very short pedal travel range to it. On my Mustangs, there is quite a lot of travel, so I'd suspect that someone learning a manual for the first time in an xB might jackrabbit start a lot until they became accustomed to the very short travel distance of the pedal. It was easy to drive and does have a little more pep than the automatic. I could see where if you do drive agressively a lot, that the manual might suit you more however, I didn't consider the difference between the manual and the auto power-wise to be of any real significance if your plan is to really drive the car as a cool daily driver and not try to hot rod it. Going up steep hills was a little easier, but I attribute some of that to me downshifting the xB into third or fourth just before I went up the hill. I should have taken off the O/D in the automatic when going up a hill to get an accurate comparison but I didn't think about it at the time. Interstate driving RPMs were noticibly higher as well as interior cockpit noise. The noise was not very bad, but was definately more noticable.

Summary:
Overall I was very pleased with both. I was kind of sad to say it, but as nice as the manual was, it just didn't seem to me to be of enough difference in feel to definately sway me from getting an automatic. Right now I'm leaning towards automatic, but that $800 saved by going with the manual is still enticing. If I couldn't wait the average three week delay here to get an xB and was going to just grab one off the lot, either transmission would suit me. Since I'm not overly impatient, it makes my decision much harder. My only real concern with the manual is the threads about the clutch slipping. $350 plus labor for a clutch and another $50 to $175 for a short shifter negates a lot of the additional cost of the auto. Currently still undecided...

Anyone else have a good comparison?

 

awesome reply very informative. Was waiting for someone to lay it out like that.

 

I bought an automatic less than two weeks ago. It's been an interesting few days. Not only had I driven a stick for 16 years, but I had driven the SAME stick for 16 years. (I'm getting past the point now where my left foot searches for the clutch that isn't there when I come to a stop. That "the car is going to stall" feeling is going away. And my right hand only occassinally searches for the stick now.)

I was scared that I wouldn't feel as "in control" with the automatic (I bought the automatic for "old peeps" reasons) when I had to merge into fast traffic, but I've been pleasantly surprised. It picks up well enough so far. And I don't really intend to take this car on long distance interstate trips, etc.

It's nice to be able to use my hand to sip coffee at a red light. Or to fool with loading a CD etc. , insteading of holding the stick in the "ready position".

I like the automatic just fine.

 

Jane its still says future scion owner on your info? What color did you get?

 

Sorry. I "think" I've fixed it.

Red. I've bought three cars in my lifetime. All red.

I think the "salsa" red is a more "mature" variation of the color red. And more in fitting with my advanced age.

I love this thing.

 

my mom has a black cherry red tc. She says over and over again how she loves that color. I like the salsa red too.