I just went test drivin this weekend and took out the Legacy GT and Outback XT out for spins. Drove both cars with the Manual and then Auto Sportshift trannies. First off the 250 horses are awesome both cars drive like dreams with power to spare plus they qualify as family cars for insurance purposes. A lot smoother and less peaky then the imprezas plus leather but anyway I've always driven a manual but the sportshift intrigued me with being both a true automatic and a push button shifter. What’s the reliability? Does anyone have one? How do like it? What’s your take manual vs. auto sportshifter?

 

Any cars like the WRX's, STI's, Evo's etc ,must come in manual transmission. My point is, Automatic transmission, wether button style or paddle style or whatever is GAY.........

 

Negetive. A tranny overheats usually during tow or steep uphill climbs becuase the plates that change the gear will slip a lil, to my understanding. Its a product of how much torque you place on the transmission not rpm

The sport shift is a gimmick you honestly could do this on any car with an overdrive button.

The longevity is probably better than manual tranmissions becuase of the torque converter sucking most of the damaging power output. The torque converter will absorb the roughness of the accelleration. Its potential is still not unlimated eventually enough power will overcome the clutches inside the tranny and smoke them.

 

I think they're for people who a. wish they knew how to drive stick, or b. are so whipped that their wives/girlfriends decide on the transmission

 

i drove the new legacy gt with one, both H6 and turbo and they both suck. manumatics are the worst thing to ever be conceived by an engineer. if you want to have control of the car, learn and buy a mt; if you want to be lazy or just don't care then buy the auto. but what i do like are the sequential transmissions like bmw's SMGII and toyota's sequential on the MR2 among others because they use a clutch and transmission just like a mt but with very high pressure pumps operating the shifting mechanism. plus if enough effort is put into the programming, the automatic modes are just as smooth as slushboxes but when needed, can shift fast and confidently like a true mt, because in essence they are. but yea, just my take on it

 

SMG boxes are amazing, I recently drove a 330ci smg, holy ****. . . felt like a traditional manual under uh "performance driving conditions" but was completely docile when used normally (in both at and mt modes). On a side note, I recently saw an ad at a dealership for a "learn to drive stick" free clinic thing, I found it to be rather amusing, but hey, if it promotes the use of a real transmission, then great!

 

i test drove the legacy GT and didn't like the sport shift. i'll take manual over auto any day.

 

Clutch>TC. Unless you're a whiny wimp who is in city traffic for 3 hours a day. Then buy a damn civic and let your WRX be a real car.

 

I hate the traffic excuse. . . you just have to be quick on the clutch, really just put it in neutral and brake, most of the time you'll still be going fast enough to put it in 2nd, if not, just blip the throttle and put it in 1st

 

That's only a statistical coincidence, and it's due to the fact that something like 80% of Americans are lazy idiots with slushboxes.