1999-2009 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Have driven a 99 9-5 manual for two and a half years, and would not recommend this combination. First, the transmission has a problem when you downshift from fifth to fourth where it can sometimes hang up in the middle, and not drop don into gear smothly. It almost feels like the gear lever is hitting a solid stop, and you have to finess it into fourth. Usually happens when you are downshifting and want to pass somebody,or might be rapisdly approaching an of ramp, and need fourth gear in a hurry. In other words, it happens at the most inopportune times. Mine has been torn down and rebuilt, with no success.
Second. Even though the motor is relatively good on torque, and has a flat power curve, I find it is necessary to wind first out to about 4,000 rpm even in general driving , to avoid getting into second and having the engine bog down. An example of this would be starting out from a standstill on a slight uphill road, and short shifting at about 3,000rpm. When you hit second, you need to floor the throttle and wait for the boos to build up again. I have driven numerous 2.3l automatic cars, and find them much better, especially in sport mode, where the upshift point is raised in relation to the normal point on the power curve.
I used to be a dyed in the wool stick shift fan, and made fun of automatics and the lack of sportiness etc. I have now come full circle and will get my next car, an Aero, with the automatic. As for the drop in performance, the stopwatch tells the tale. About two tenths of a second to 60 MPH. In the real world however,your right foot can react much faster to cause a downshift than can your left foot and right hand. If you are planning on challenging John Force or Cruz Pedregon at the next light, get something else! You might also not be aware that even Formula One cars, the most technically sophisticated machines on the ground, are all electrohydraulically shifted,in which the driver can effect the timing of the shift, but the actual shifting is done by hydraulic solenoid valves, not entirely unlike what goes on inside a contemporary automatic transmission.
Bottom line, drive both at a dealer where you plan on buying, but make sure you like the stick a lot before buying. Resale would be one last consideration. Most cars in the class of the 9-5 are equipped with automatics. If you plan on keeping the car till it dies, no problem. If you flip cars like I do, buy what the next guy wants. My guess is that 90% of US model 9-5s are auto. 90% of their potential resale buyers will want the same.
Good luck
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