ATOT I NEED YOUR HELP

[Darkstar757]

Here is my problem.


My current car is a Honda Accord 2002 Coupe with cloth seats. This weekend my lease is up and I need to get a new car. I have been looking at the Civic SI sedan and The Mazda 3 and Mazda Speed 3. I live in Washington DC and as you all know the traffic can be terrible at times. I currently drive automatic and the new cars I am looking at are all manual.

The Major reasons I am looking at the civic is its fast fun and I can afford leather seats and a Navi kit in it. The question is will the manual in the city kill me? I need open honest input as time is not on my side.


Thanks,
Darkstar

 

[CVSiN]

I prefer a manual even in traffic...

after going back to an Automatic I can honestly say I loath them..

 

[MrChad]

Kill you? No.

Manuals can be a pain if you sit in traffic for a long time (which you certainly do in DC). Do you know how to drive a manual?

 

[Darkstar757]

Originally posted by: MrChad
Kill you? No.

Manuals can be a pain if you sit in traffic for a long time (which you certainly do in DC). Do you know how to drive a manual?

I had driven a manual before not for a long period of time but I do own a motorcycle so i dont think my learning curve will be that large.

 

[JulesMaximus]

How far is your commute and how long do you sit in traffic on a daily basis?

 

[kmrivers]

Manual in the city can be annoying. It really depends on how you feel about it.

For example. I drove automatic all my life, then I bought a manual Jetta to learn. Coming from soley driving automatics if I got into heavy traffic I would be annoyed and I would complain about it.

My friends who only drive manual no matter what, they don't complain. At least not outloud.

It really isn't that bad though. I don't know how long you have driven manual or your history with it, but I think there are little things you learn that make it easier. Like for me it was finding the sweet spot in the clutch which makes starting from 1st not so frustrating. I will never drive an automatic again, unless manual cars go the way of the dodo.

I say go for it

 

[PaperclipGod]

Dont get leather. It doesn't feel any better through your jeans and it usually ages really poorly (cracks and stuff that'll impact resale value). In my SUV i WANTED cloth seats but they weren't even a friggin option, so ive just got seat covers on them now.

And my vote goes to the Civic Sedan. Practical, affordable, decently fast, and above all - RELIABLE. Not to mention their dealers are usually really high quality.

 

[TheSiege]

Si FTW

 

[courtjester123]

My 2 cents:

I drove my sister-in-law's Mazda3 the other day. It's a very fun car...peppy...and the transmission is an automatic but you can change it into manual and shift up/down yourself which I thought was cool. I do love Hondas though and you can't beat the resale value.

 

[Darkstar757]

Originally posted by: PaperclipGod
Dont get leather. It doesn't feel any better through your jeans and it usually ages really poorly (cracks and stuff that'll impact resale value). In my SUV i WANTED cloth seats but they weren't even a friggin option, so ive just got seat covers on them now.

And my vote goes to the Civic Sedan. Practical, affordable, decently fast, and above all - RELIABLE. Not to mention their dealers are usually really high quality.

Why no leather?

 

[PaperclipGod]

Originally posted by: Darkstar757

Originally posted by: PaperclipGod
Dont get leather. It doesn't feel any better through your jeans and it usually ages really poorly (cracks and stuff that'll impact resale value). In my SUV i WANTED cloth seats but they weren't even a friggin option, so ive just got seat covers on them now.

And my vote goes to the Civic Sedan. Practical, affordable, decently fast, and above all - RELIABLE. Not to mention their dealers are usually really high quality.

Why no leather?

I said why.

I mean, its just my opinion, but i think its just expensive, annoying bling. Unless you get a dark leather it'll look cruddy after a while and it's not as if you can feel the leather through your clothes while you're sitting on it.

 

[Umberger]

I'm the only one pulling for the MazdaSpeed 3? It's a fun little car.

 

[j00fek]

id never go back to an automatic

go for the civic

 

[lobbyone]

I'm pretty sure the Mazdaspeed3 is an AWD while every other car on the polls are FWD. For gas mileage definately the Civic! but I voted Mazdaspeed3 just, haha

 

[krunchykrome]

SI Sedan!!!!!!!!!!!

Im gonna test drive one within the next couple of months.

Although, I dont think leather is an option on the Si.