Hey for everyone living in the New York area (Any of the boroughs or Long Island) what is it like driving a manual transmission everyday? I was reading it can be annoying in tight stop and go traffic? Which is usually how it is here during rush hour. I’m in Long Island if that helps anyone here. Opinions on getting one, or stick to automatic?
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I’ve done it for a couple of years in my Boxster, commuting in LI.
It’s fine, didn’t mind it but didn’t love it. Drove it in boroughs couple of times and intentionally take my other car instead now, not worth the stress or hassle.
Honestly, LI NYC is an awful place to have a really nice or powerful car, unless deliberately driving after hours on weekends. Imo you just don’t get a pleasant experience because of constant congestion and poor road quality. It’s fun if you go out East, but that’s likely not what you’ll be doing.
It’s doable for sure, but eventually only drove my Boxster on beautiful days because the traffic killed a lot of the fun.
I moved to North Jersey with a manual transmission and got rid of it after a year. It miss it, but it became too much while sitting in traffic. I don’t recommend it.
I was always the person to make fun of people who bitched about driving a manual in a city until I had to do it. It wasn’t the absolute worst thing but I wouldn’t want to do it everyday and I only had to deal with it in Chicago. I couldn’t imagine New York. If you really want a manual go for it but I personally wouldn’t want to do it.
Never forget the time I took my 5 speed kia with a stage 2 clutch into rush hour traffic in Manhattan. My knee still hasn’t forgiven me.
Everyone on both sides of this “debate” really overstates their case and sounds like a total drama queen.
The reality is, if you daily drive a manual long enough, it becomes second-nature and you don’t really notice or think about shifting in regular/boring/rush hour traffic driving conditions. I never had problems daily driving manuals (including through lower Westchester traffic) for 10+ years. I also don’t really miss shifting anymore when I’m just sitting in traffic. Human beings are pretty adaptable, having to push in a clutch every now and then isn’t going to ruin your life.
Drive what you want to drive.
I drove stick for the first 13 years of driving, starting at age 16. At age 29 I got so sick of the stop and go nature of my daily 40 mile commute from Brooklyn to Floral Park and back, that I got rid of it and got a car with an automatic (DCT) to be exact, so not a traditional auto, but no clutch pedal. Never looked back.
If traffic is moving 5mph-10pm h then stops for a sec then gets up to speed again it’s not too bad. When you’re just creeping forward the whole time at a speed lower than idle in first gear then it’s not great. There’s a spot in my commute where traffic always creeps 1mph up a long hill and my clutch foot gets a workout. Still worth it though IMO
Dailied a three pedal S197 in the outer boroughs for years. Sure there were times it wasn’t fun but I still would take it over daily driving an auto without question
It depends on the car I think. I don’t live in the city but I have driven my Fiesta around in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Long Island. Having a manual can suck for sure but it’s not a big deal to me. Having a small ass car like the Fiesta makes city driving awesome. I can navigate around obstacles and parking is a breeze.
Don’t do it.
Where exactly is your commute? I’m on Long Island as well. I used to commute on the southern state daily, and hated it with my manual.
luckily with the torque of the LS2, I used to let the car idle in second gear to creep slowly in traffic.
You can do that in pretty much any manual. I always just spaced myself out and idled in 2nd when everyone else was stopping and starting.
Depends on your tolerance, the car, and where you’re going/where in LI. If you’re commuting on the LIE into NYC you might want to reconsider it lmao. Traffic is absolutely miserable in NYC and the recommended “just give space and creep” is bad advice here because everyone will cut ahead of you and you’ll never have space.
I decided after a few months of back and forth on the belt and bqe in my NA Miata that it just wasn’t it for me. It isn’t as miserable in a modern manual, though I’ve heard push button starts actually make it harder to get going again if you stall.
If you’re like more east than Manhasset and don’t commute, I think a manual is probably fine. The further away from NYC the better.
You can still give space and creep in NYC.
Stick is awful in the city. I drive stick because I rarely go to the city traffic.
It’s fine in the city. It’s so second nature that it doesn’t even matter.