LogFAQs > #970458850

adjl posted...

What benefit does that additional control provide?

you can choose precisely which gear to use in a particular moment, including when to shift up or down, providing more power or more braking as necessary. using a manual intelligently has a lot of benefit.

in contrast, my automatic is pretty advanced and has two modes where it will tend to keep things shifted one way in economy mode (to reduce engine RPMs and use engine braking), or in performance mode shifted the other way to increase power (to increase engine RPMs). but even though that's pretty advanced control for an automatic, it's still pretty dumb and can't react dynamically to a particular situation like a person can.

I say this not being a "manual elitist", this is just what manual transmissions do. human control over the vehicle is usually/always superior to automatic systems. automatic systems are convenient, but not (always) as effective as direct human control over the same things.