Hi all, another newbie here. I plan on buying a new 300xi in a couple of months and will average about 40K miles per year for the next 4 years until i retire and hopefully upgrade to an M5 or possibly an M6. I am having a hard time deciding between the manual or auto transmission. Any thoughts, pros and cons of both would be greatly appreciated, Thank you all very much.
Manual vs Steptronic
- Thread starter bmikew
- Start date
Do you like to drive 'sporty, and control the car? Do you like rowing your gears, and having that precision RPM control, the ability to shift when you want, not when the computer thinks it's saving you gas? (Yes yes, you can throw it in 'sport' and 'shift' the gears yourself in steptronic, but it's still nowhere near the same thing).
It's really all about how you drive. Do you have a latte in one hand and a phone in your ear constantly when you drive, or do you yell at drivers like that as you go by? (hehe)
If you're looking for 'performance' reasons, there are slewfuls that say 'Manual' and none that say 'Steptronic'. Comfort reasons, Slewfuls for Steptronic, and nil for Manual.
Or did you mean.. SMG versus Manual? (That's a little different)
Welcome to the forums btw! [driving2]
It's really all about how you drive. Do you have a latte in one hand and a phone in your ear constantly when you drive, or do you yell at drivers like that as you go by? (hehe)
If you're looking for 'performance' reasons, there are slewfuls that say 'Manual' and none that say 'Steptronic'. Comfort reasons, Slewfuls for Steptronic, and nil for Manual.
Or did you mean.. SMG versus Manual? (That's a little different)
Welcome to the forums btw! [driving2]
This question comes up all the time on this forum, other BMW forums, and all other auto forums. Nobody knows how you drive, your driving conditions and traffic, and other things like that, so the decision is really on your own. The only thing I can tell you is that if you have to ask this question, you're better off with the automatic.
P.S. Reread this post...my intent is not to be harsh or act like a jerk, I'm just being honest so please don't take it the wrong way.![[:)]](/images/smilies/smile.png "Smile [:)]")
P.S. Reread this post...my intent is not to be harsh or act like a jerk, I'm just being honest so please don't take it the wrong way.
![[cheers]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_cheers.gif "Cheers [cheers]"){kind=icon}
Just my opinion
My opinion if this means anything. If you want a drivers car buy a standard transmission, this does not mean buy a BMW for sure as there are many nice 4-5 or 6 speed cars. But I know one thing for sure is that the German automatics are nothing to write home about and seem to have a few issues. Myself I do not think I would buy a German A/T and I am speaking as a retired engineer but I also know the German A/T have improved a lot lately. I believe the US automatics are superior as they have the most experience building them. Please don't flame me with US transmission problems as this is just my opinion.
PS. If you just want a car for tranportation buy Asian not much exitment to drive but you will get there. [bmwkick]
My opinion if this means anything. If you want a drivers car buy a standard transmission, this does not mean buy a BMW for sure as there are many nice 4-5 or 6 speed cars. But I know one thing for sure is that the German automatics are nothing to write home about and seem to have a few issues. Myself I do not think I would buy a German A/T and I am speaking as a retired engineer but I also know the German A/T have improved a lot lately. I believe the US automatics are superior as they have the most experience building them. Please don't flame me with US transmission problems as this is just my opinion.
PS. If you just want a car for tranportation buy Asian not much exitment to drive but you will get there. [bmwkick]