My last car was a turbocharged eclipse manny. Loved it because it was a beast and fun to drive. I had a tough time finding a 6mt g that suited me so I opted for an 06 auto with under 4k miles and fully loaded. I love it. The extra torque over the manny makes that extra 20hp nothing to miss. Trust me, regardless of some tuner headz on here (no offense fellas, I myself am one, just not into it as much when I got older), 280hp is good enough. You'll take out quite a bit of cars out there. It's quicker than the average car from the factory. I am impressed with the out of box performance of the G. Not to mention it's a grown man's car. I call it the "grown man status". It's sexxy and sleek and you won't see a lot of young knuckleheads driving it around. At least not where I'm at. They say a BMW is the ultimate driving machine, but Infiite might have them beat. You will get a lot of looks. BMW is a dime a dozen and there's just so many different models out there. But there's only one G and that in itself is something to be said. Auto or manny, either one, you won't be disappointed with the out of the box performance. If you feel gitty, just juice it. $1k for 75-150hp. That will put your hp rating over a 40k M3 and 335. I don't regret getting the auto one bit. Pedal to the metal and it will pull, and you won't even have o shift. Trust.

 

1+ exact situation as you. Heavy traffic during communiting sucks, but thats nothing to stop me from having fun in my 6MT.

Good thing I live in the valley; less traffic. But some I manage to find myself in the middle of traffic hell in the downtown/hollywood area all the time

.

 

The AT is great, you can switch to Triptronic and do that, and it shifts just as good as any stick IMO. Plus when you are in traffic you dont have to deal with constant clutching etc etc. You wont regret it.

 

AT also feels more comfortable than the MT. If you are driving your girl or your family around a lot, it's a consideration also.

 

When I test drove for mine, I chose the 6mt over the 5at.
To me, the G felt like it was meant to be a manual, just my .02

 

From a reliability standpoint, the AT is far more reliable. There are many here who reported getting their MT replaced. Also don't have to worry about clutch replacements.

 

I have a 5AT and think it's a good comprimise between fun and practicality. I live in Dallas and the traffic gets pretty bad sometimes. It's nice to have an automatic, especially if you like to 'multi-task'.

There are times, when I really wish I had a 6MT, like when I hit the autocross track, but the manu-matic mode seems to work ok in those situations.

If you have any ambitions of racing your car get a manual. The automatic is a helluva lot of fun for daily driving though...

 

+2 same here
no matter how bad the traffic is....
sports cars need to be driven by the driver, not some computers

 

I live in the valley/la, and i got a 5AT. I drive it like a MT on the streets but i love the cruise control on long drives and then i shift it back to AT if there's traffic. I guess it depends on where you live and how you drive it everyday i would say.

 

X 10

Traffic with MT =

 

I have had nothing but MT my entire life and after driving both the 6MT and the 5AT I bought the automatic. I thought the manual wasnt very smooth and was uncomfortable. The automatic has been great and shifts great when you throw it over in manual. Best of both worlds imo.

 

6mt all the way. I just like to have connection with the car and enjoy a purist driver's car. Tiptronic is nothing like a traditional stick shift.

 

M 2 cents...
I have had a manual for a long time. My G is my 1st AT. I've been in NY and LI and with trafic these days, I wouldn't give up my AT unless it was a REAL performance car. Just think of all the shifting you'll do in rush hour on the L.I.E......

 

6mt

 

+1. Driven manual cars since I've been able to drive, and even in this Chicago traffic, I wouldn't trade for an auto. Had a 5AT loaner when mine was in for minor warranty work, and couldn't wait to get the 6MT back.... Nothing against the 5AT's, just my .02 and personal preference....Good luck whatever you decide....