FWIW, the A/Ts of today is noting like the past. Advancements have made A/Ts quite engaging non the less...

I can live with driving A/Ts. Now if only there's an option to trade that lalaland mind numbing "cruise control" for a tank of gas... heck I'd do it in a heartbeat. The only time you see cruise enebaled on my A/Ts is when enabled by accident... those buttons should be placed under the passenger seat or in the trunk. Yeah, that's how much I hate cruise control.

LOL guess I went far wide on that one :p

 

but honda put the same old crap on the Fit's AT. :D i know cause my GE is AT and it's a slush box. the paddles is a joke too on this car because it spins with the steering wheel when you turn. they should've just left the shifter do the +/- sequential shifting.

anyway for a car like the Fit, the MT is so much easier to drive. the clutch is so light it's a non issue for congestion too. infact, comparing my MT Fit to the AT Fit, it was less tiring for me to drive the MT in bumper to bumper than the AT.

 

Doesn't BMW put them on the wheel instead of the steering column?

Anyway...

Hear ye, hear ya...

I hereby rescind anything I ever said about the 5AT with paddles being any worthwhile replacement for a proper stick with a proper clutch. I mentioned it in another thread, but I'm back in a stick, and one with plenty of legroom so I don't have to buy the Auto and try to convince myself that it will do!

 

You're going to have to explain that one to me.

 

I can see it - the Automatic strains against your when you have your foot on the brake (though not as bad in a low-power car like the Fit). When you let off the brake, you have a bit of forward creep, or can push the gas... with about a half-second delay. The feeling of less than full control of the car makes it more stressful.

If you're on a flat surface, you typically don't need to bear down on the brake in an MT car. I hear some people find hills stressful, but I've owned all sticks and only briefly had an automatic (the Fit), so it doesn't make much difference to me. You have to be too incompetent to be driving on public roads for rolling back to actually be a real risk (and I'm frequently stuck in stop-n-go, creeping traffic on a 30% grade on my work commute.)

 

I dont think I canever go back to driving an automatic unless its a truck or minivan. When I'm driving my gf's accord or my mom's mazda6, I find myself not paying attention half the time cause it's so boring. The other half of the time I yelling at the car (while my passengers think Im nuts) for being in the wrong gear/not changing gears. Im driving the car, not the car driving me, and I hate how I dont have the final word on the matter in an AT. MT all the way!!!

 

Before manual:
"Ugh, I have to drive somewhere."

After manual:
"Man, I need an excuse to drive somewhere..."

 

I enjoy my automatic. It gives me the option to not worry about shifting if I don't want to for various reasons.

I don't mind that the paddles turn with the wheel, in fact, they should do that. I have yet to sit in a car, and I've sat in a lot, where the paddles don't turn with the car. They are at the 9&3 o'clock position (maybe a tad higher), which is where your hands should be anyways. Also, you shouldn't be shifting much in a corner, you'll throw off your weight distribution.

 

Granted the fit is not a supercar but many of your higher end performance cars have stationary paddle shifters ie Ferrari, Lambo and GTR just to name a few.

 

Which is odd because their F1 cousins that inspired the entire thing into production cars do have them turn with the wheel.

Also, most of these cars have much larger paddles, which has lead to even worst design choices. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLi073iS8No

 

Aren't the Porsche ones attached to the wheel?

I would think that column mounted would be annoying unless they were HUGE - otherwise, you'd only have the shifters under your hands if you the wheels were centered. Aside from parking maneuvers and making turns onto side streets, you rarely have to turn a modern car's steering wheel more than about 180 degrees one way or the other, and generally far less than that. Keep your hands at 9 and 3, and the paddles are always right there when you need them.

The real issue is paddle shifters being connected to a slushbox instead of a dual-clutch sequential shift transmission - if you're going to forgo the honest gearbox, at least do it for something worthwhile.

SOOOOO glad to be back in a manual. WTF was I thinking.

 

But having them column mounted means, if you let go with one of your hands (say the one you're planning on using to shift), you'll know exactly where to move it.

for wheel mounted paddles... even if you use 9 and 3... they aren't always comfortable during a turn, especially if you keep hitting your legs with your hands on the wheel.

 

I'd rather have the control on the shifter for my car. I despise the paddles.

 

If I had to drive regularly in stop and go traffic I might consider an automatic but in all other contexts I prefer a manual. Automatics have gotten much better but I still think they work better with larger displacement motors with more torque and broader power curves than little four bangers like the Fit.

 

And paddles don't allow you to have control??

 

i'm amazed at how many refuse to simply shift into Neutral. Ever wonder why they made lockouts so you can slap from D to N without engaging the switch and worry of accidentally going to Reverse?...well thats why. The function exists to work the same as pushing the clutch. Some also have engine braking switches or you can have one put on. works just like downshifting.

 

What I meant was if I had an AT and had my choice, I'd want the "slapstick" style AT. Nothing to do with control, just location.

 

I have an A/T. I still think they should have put the shifter on the floor with the +/- position. Like the 5th Gen Prelude. The prelude's tranny failed cause it Honda's first attemp with that tiptronic tranny on the prelude. Mine failed and had to get replaced. They could have made improvements and made the design better I'm sure.

But if I have to have them around the wheel I'd rather have mounted to the column. Having to follow the wheel around to shift is sometimes annoying.

 

Cool, so then you could be reaching down between the seats and taking the car out of gear at lights and then reaching down and putting it back into gear when the light changes. Which would be be kind of like, I dunno, DRIVING A STICK SHIFT. As good as autos have become, and they are damned good now-a-days, they will never be as adaptable to my mood as a good manual trans. If I wanna short shift and get better MPG, I can. If I wanna shift at the fuel cut and act like a real asshole, I can. And everything in between, the paddle shift auto will always be a pale imitation of the real thing. If you bought the auto, good for you, enjoy, but its not my cup of tea....

 

Unless you have a DSG/DPK gear box, your flappy paddle nonsense is nothing like a manual trans.

Period.