Want a Porsche, cant drive stick!

[ukchris]

This topic is interesting to me as I grew up in the UK and didn't really know about these *automatics* until I'd been driving for several years. There were actually different driving tests, if you passed in an auto you weren't allowed to drive a manual (stick).

Still, I digress. When I moved to the US 6 years ago we of course got an automatic, I've grown quite accustomed to it and apart from a Jeep for a few years all of our cars have been automatics, including my Boxster.

Let's put that in perspective though, I think in the US a manual is seen as much more "special" than it is elsewhere because of the prevalance of automatics. I wanted a Tiptronic Boxster becuase a lot of my driving would be commuting and yes, I'm a bit lazy. Having said that though it's like no other "automatic" I have ever driven. It can drivle along ant low revs, as mellow as a minivan but in a moment you can give it a poke and all that Porsche excitement is right there waiting for you. Switch to manual mode and it's even more fun!

So, before you decide you need to learn to drive a stick it may be worth taking a spin in a tiptronic, you never know, it may be just the car for you. There are those that'll frown upon the idea but, at the end of the day, we all buy what is right for us and our circumstances.

Just another angle to consider, good luck!

Chris.

[Rail26]

Honestly, if I had to do it all over again, I would have bought a tiptronic. For all the reasons below.

[mjw930]

My wife wanted a Boxster from the moment she saw one years ago. The only problem, she never learned how to drive a manual. That presented a problem because in this household Porsche's only come with manual transmissions, I will not own an automatic Porsche. (sorry to all you tip owners but that's my rule). While it may seem narrow minded I firmly believe that Porsche's are drivers cars and to extract all of the pleasure from the car I need to be connected to it and that can only happen if I'm selecting the gears.

Now, I already had a 930 ('89 with the 5 speed G50) that she couldn't drive which presented problems if we decided to take the 930 on an outing and for some reason I was unable to drive. Taking all of this into account she decided to buy a GTI 5 speed to learn how to drive a stick. I still had my automatic F-150 Lightning so she still had something to drive while she learned but it took her less than 2 weeks to become capable of driving the stick and after 2 years she was ready for venture into a high performance ride. She finally got her Boxster 3 months ago and she's loving every minute of it and is now as understands my (and my friends) belief that real Porsche's don't have automatics.

This post isn't intended to denegrate anyone who owns a Tip Porsche. Just as everyone has reasons for owning a particular car these are mine. Of course I may have to eat my words it I decide to get a Pepper since they only come with the Tip .

[RandallNeighbour]

I beg to differ with all these fine posting members!

I think if you were to call a Porsche dealer and ask for the newest salesman on the floor, and tell him you'd like to buy a 5 or 6 speed boxster but need to learn how to drive it, he'd be more than happy to find a used car on the lot and take you out in it for a half hour to an hour and show you how to drive it.

If I was selling cars and hungry as a new salesman (which I was years ago) and that was the only thing keeping you from doing business with me, I'd invest the time, that's for sure.

It's worth a try!

[Thumper]

The first few Boxsters I test drove before buying mine were stick shifts. So when I finally came across a pristine one for well below market, I was a bit disheartened when I looked inside and saw it was an automatic. I drove it and played with the steering wheel shift buttons and decided that it was different enough to give it a try. I still agree that a stick is move fun to drive, but I'm not disappointed with the tip at all. It takes some getting used to, but you can come awfully close to the feel of a stick once you get the hang of the steering wheel shift buttons. And in heavy traffic it's a dream not to have to work the clutch and shifter constantly.

My next one will be a 6 speed. Let's see what the 550 special editions are selling for in a couple of years.

[Perfectlap]

it took me exactly 5 minutes to learn how to drive a manual transmission.
Getting good at it took much longer, especially when I only drove my car on the weekends.
Just my 2 cents, there is no better experience of driving a six speed manual transmission whith a 250 HP mid engine behind you. The pure drving experience is: Shift, throttle, steer and brake
I really am opposed to anything on a sports car that compromises those basic skills. Mercedes now has cruise control that will brake and accelerate for you.

try posting an ad on craig's list in your area under services. I'm sure someone would gladly teach you how to drive a stick shift for $50.

p.s. something that helped me was to deliberately stall the car a bunch of times to get used to the limit of how much you can lay off the clutch pedal before the engine shuts down. Learning to drive a stick shift is allot like racing, you have to be comfortable with what you are doing in the cockpit first. Thinking about what you are doing and trying to execute at the same time is very difficult unless you are at ease. Oh and get in the habit of always pusing the clutch pedal all teh way down before shifting. Not doing so "bozo clutching" will reduce the life of you clutch.

[Ronzi]

When I was teaching my son to drive he was having a heck of a time figuring out how to get a stick shift car away from a stop without the familiar jerking, bucking, etc.
After pondering on the problem, and really thinking about what you do with the clutch, I advised him to let out the clutch until it reaches the hinge point, and then REDUCE the rate at which he was letting out the clutch.
Problem solved. If worked perfectly the first time he tried it, and he never had any more problem.
Stick shift training notwithstanding, if you would feel more comfortable with a Tiptronic car, get one. My car has a Tip and I have never regreted getting one. It sure is much easier, and in my opinion more enjoyable, to drive in metropolitan traffic.
There are some practical advantages as well, such as no clutch to replace periodically, and less liklihood of experiencing the dread RMS (rear main seal) oil leak problem.
After driving the Tipper for a couple of years I would not go out of my way to get another one, but neither would I avoid an otherwise good car just because it had the Tip.

[asnigro]

Thanks for the great advice all! I will print this out and refer to it while in the cockpit! If I get the practice in on a rental in time, I will be in Orlando over the New Year (Go Badgers!) so I might as well rent one and get some early Porsche experience before my test drive! Thanks again for the great tips!