Auto or Manual
Auto or manual whitch would you have and why?
I have a manual 230GE and its fine (5 speed) - drives like a car, but the gear change does require quite a bit of effort! and the clutch is quite heavy and long travelling too. I'd always thought an auto would be better provided you have the power for it (like a G55 !). For example, a manual with a 230 goes well because it's easy to get the most from the engine, which is pretty good if you use the revs. Not so easy to do in an auto and you don't want to be kicking down all the time or using the auto box like a manual.
Hello Lenny,
Personaly, I would choose the Auto. True, it cosumes more fuel than the manual, approximately 3% more, but given, the relative figures on fuel consumption between manual and auto. there is very little in it. If this tiny little differnec is of issue to you, I would say do not even consider to buy a G-Wagen or any other cross country vehicle; the fuel consumption will be high.
The reasons I would go for an auto. given, to-days road traffic congestion, an auto is comfortable to drive, you do not have the left leg strain of the clutch pedal. You constrate more on your driving, in summer or winter you do have a smooth take off from stationary situations.
Due to the torque convertor in the g/box, this has the advantage of multiplying engine torque by up to 4 times. In lay man's terms, you can, where it matters; off-road and in snowny, or muddy conditions, deliver power to the road through your tyres more smoothy, slowly at less engine revolutions ensuring traction and limiting tyre slippage, hence traction loss.
Using a light throttle does ensure having better traction, maintaing momentum at most conditions, in a manual that level of throttle triming is not there or the driver needs to be more expert. The school of thought favouring autos as an off road has increased. Those who favoured manuals, agrued against autos on the basis that there is no down hill control. This is not so, Gears selected in D1 does give engine braking which crucial for down hill control.
The other point of auto. is relability. That is not an issue either, autos are very relable now-a days.
The only other issue, I can not debate against, because it falls into an ego issue, you will have some say, "Ohh, I enjoy to control of what I am doing with my vehicle". I do not think, they would be saying that, at crawling traffic congestions, stuck in a jam for hours on end, as can happen.
Go for the Auto.
Cheers,
I much prefer a manual. It's more to do with the control than the consumption. I've only briefly driven a 460 auto but I often fealt it was in the wrong gear, mainly I thought it should have changed down earlier going up hills. Newer auto boxes are probably more refined.
Also the 460 autos are - I think - only 4spd and therefore cruise at higher revs than a 5spd manual would. That would annoy me. My old 230 was a 4spd manual and was screaming at anything over 60mph. It was similar in my 450SLC. 463's - again, I think - have a 5spd auto so this shouldn't be so much of an issue.
If I was looking for a 463 I'd still hunt down a manual though, especially if diesel. It should be noted that I don't spend a lot of time in traffic jams. If I did I may think differently.
Absolutely no contest, auto every time.
That’s from someone with a manual. Pistohead pretty much sums it up.
If you are serious about off roading an auto offers so much more control. Don’t listen to people who go on about engine braking, just learn to left foot brake. This is equally applicable to up hill as well as downhill situations. It’s simply not true that you shouldn’t brake when off road and going down hill, just learn to combine that with diff locks and delicate left foot braking.
On road, due to the ponderous nature of MB manuals there will be no performance penalty in real life driving.
Just my opinion, which I’m sure some won’t accept :lol:
Russ
Auto every time here as well
unless you are doing a lot of off roading , manual might be better
my 460Swb petrol and my 463 Lwb are both auto
This pains me to gree with Russ280 :x
But Auto is the best. Pistonhead has eliquently extolled the virtues and Russ280 has 'some' experiance....
Spider1V
(Only Joking Russ :wink: :lol: Love you! (but not in a Man way! :shock: )
Well seeing as I have penchant for later model 463s, it's kind of a mute point as they haven't made a manual G since the mid 90s.
But that aside - even though I am normally a manual fan I would always choose auto in a G as they are a lot more smoother and contrary to what pistonhead has pointed out I am fairly certain that the G is the one vehicle that is actually more fuel efficient as an auto vs manual if I recall correctly. Though am willing to be proved wrong...
As for downhill descents - I've been down some pretty steep descents off road in auto without needing brakes provided you start out in a low enough gear.
Auto for me to, and I'm driving a manual at the moment as well. I would say auto especially if you do a lot of off-roading. The only place where is could be a problem is long stretches of thick sand. The auto keeps changing up and down, so in the desert the oil becomes hot, and it starts slipping-so they say.
I drove from Luderitz to Walvisbaai in the Namib desert for almost 1000km without any problems in a auto. Just use it like a manual when needed.
I'll put my tick next to the auto box every time on this one.....especially in a G. Even for offroad traction and control the G-wagen autobox is very very good: in fact, one could say that for heavy slogging work the auto is better as you get better torque through the splitter. I wouldn't every contemplate getting a manual.
p.s. by the way, even tom stoppard opted for an autobox on his G and he's does a lot of desert driving. i've never read anywhere that he has been unhappy with his choice, in fact in an article he wrote for a mag last year he praised this decision as he didn't have to change gear all the time on the dunes.
What about at motoray speeds though? Is there a difference in ratio between 5th in a manual and top (whatever that is) in an auto?
Also, if I see a reasonable hill approaching, I change down to keep the revs up. This wouldn't happen in an auto until I was part way up the hill and the revs had dropped. Is this not a problem for you guys (other than Spider!)? I ask because I'm interested, not because I'm trying to pick a fight. It would certainly give me a lot more options when choosing a 463 (only a matter of time I'm sure) if an auto were acceptable.
My 92 is a diesel auto. Perfect combination both on and off road. Motorway cruising is the same in auto and manual as far as ratios are concerned. Both provide around 20mph/1000rpm.
No problem with early shifting in an auto when approxing a hill or overtaking. Either floor it and it will kickback or if that is too fast simply use the lever and move to a lower gear manually.
Auto is better in every situation except jump starting
Motorway cruising is the same in auto and manual as far as ratios are concerned. Both provide around 20mph/1000rpm.
Is that the case in 460's too?
Roly wrote:Motorway cruising is the same in auto and manual as far as ratios are concerned. Both provide around 20mph/1000rpm.
Is that the case in 460's too?
Yes, think so.
Russ
auto all the way, there is a reason its called one hand one foot driving!
as you can see here the box's are now more reliable, just as good if not better off road and are much more reliable now days.
as for economy, you can never expect a g to be frugal, but i find i rev harder in a manual thus using more fuel, i speed in a manual, thus using more points, and i hate sitting in traffic in a manual, hence more anger!
Tom
Auto or manual whitch would you have and why?
So whats your current thoughts.....any feed back as of yet based on what has been posted so far?
Spider1V
As per the majority I would agree that the auto box is superior in most situations.
The only thing I would like is a fifth gear. My 1993 463 300 pulls around 3800rpm at 70mph in 4th which I feel is working the engine harder than it needs to and burning more fuel.
What revs are the newer 5sp autos pulling at 70mph and out of interest what are the 5sp manuals doing at the same speed.
Mine sat at 2700 at 70
5spd manual 280GES: 3100 @ 70, 3500 @ 80 (private road obviously!)
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Well my g is auto and i love it :D . Just get in and drive any where i want to. On road, off road and like Roly said (i think) when you see a big hill coming, you just drop it down a gear and up she will go..But on the moter way it dose sound like it need another gear. :roll:
I guess it comes down to personal preference if i lived in London it would be auto all the way or back on a bike.. :twisted:
But i dont and it is not my every day drive.
The other thing is there is a lot of manual G`s for sale untill you get up to the higher end of things. That and i do have my eye on a 300 diseal(460) that is manual and wanted to know what people though of the pros and cons of the two gear boxes...