I am planning on purchasing a 05 Ralliart real soon and need a little help. I'm still learning on how to drive manual. I just need to know if there is a real difference in driving the 5 speed manual and the 4 speed auto. Some people say you can tell the difference between the two. By the time I decided to get it, if I don't know how to drive manual, I might have to take the auto.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

Go with manual. Before january of this year I never drove stick in my life. I learned how to in a few hours it was the easiest thing in the world. As far as noticing a difference between the two you surely can tell that stick is so much better.

 

Learn to drive the manual it's way more fun than auto, I hate driving auto now

You will have less drivetrain loss with a 5 speed.

Easier to mod at the moment more parts for the 5 speed.

 

I have an auto, if you can, GET A 5 SPEED. Mine was the last 04 on the lot and I would have had to wait until the 05s came in (at least 3 months) I didn't want to wait lol.
But yeah, manuals you have more control over the launch and obviously which gear you are in. They are not super hard to learn, I learned the clutch work in only 20 minutes or so (not an RA). It takes at least 2 weeks-1 month to get really smooth and natural though.
One other thing, manuals are cheaper too.
However, if you live where there is lots of snow, manuals will be a pain in the *** there, especially if you don't have near-expert control over the clutch and gas.
Even if you do happen to get an auto, it isn't that bad. The ratios are quite short (especially for an auto). The final drive is short (over 4:1 I think).
The highway rpms are close to the 5 speed RPM. So the ratios obviously aren't as short as the 5 speed, since the auto is missing a speed.
Another thing is the computer adjusts the shift control. If you hit the gas hard from a rolling stop frequently enough, the transmission will stay in 2nd or 1st, instead of being in a higher gear. It is pretty odd that the auto is in overdrive (4th) by 35MPH already. Most vehicles don't hit overdrive until at least 45-55MPH. An effect of the short ratios and final drive.

 

get manual as well...i didn't know how to drive manual until i got the RA....
it's a lot of fun....when you first go out to practice try to do it at a time there is very little traffic so that you don't have to feel so anxious about people right behind you....

 

get a 5 speed... more fun... i learned to drive stick on the RA... took me about 4-5 days to get it down and about 3 weeks to get comfortable

 

i wouldve gotten stick if someone taught me how to do it...but time was running out and i wanted a new car and all the ralliarts on the lot were auto so tahts what i got....i dont mind it b/c im always in traffic and its fun to make the auto sound like stick... i do it pretty good

 

It depends where you live and how you're going to drive. If all you do every day is sit in traffic for 40min on the way to work/school, the manual on't be much more than a nuisance. If you actually have chances to go on the highway, or have some fun here and there, I'd say manual would be more fitting. I wanted a manual, but my dad wanted an auto cause nobody else in my family knows how to drive stick, and if they ever had to drive my car (haha, yeah right :P), they wouldn't be able to. Anyway, I really don't mind it, it makes me feel less involved with the process of driving, but at this point I drive fairly non-aggressively anyway, so it doesn't make much of a difference for me. If you want to push the car to the limits all the time, definitely get the manual. If it's more for transportation, get the auto.

 

LOL I have done that. I feel like such an idiot, but I don't pretend I have a manual. Everyone who asks about the car knows I have an auto, I just like making it sound like a manual occasionally.