I really enjoyed years of a MT, but it was time to grow up to an AT I know that will take a lot of heat, but with wife, kids and a different life style it really meant I needed to not deal with the hassle of a MT. and the decision was very easy with how amazing the Sport is with an AT, I love how you can go into redline and hold it there, or be in 4th gear and double down shift to 2nd in about 1/3rd of a second. they really designed this AT with driving like a MT minus hassle.

I can't imagine that you would have regrets if you purchased the AT, with paddle shifters I'd say it's more fun then the MT, while still allowing you to throw it in D and hit cruise control and not need to worry about down shifts to pass someone on the highway.

 

If anyone believes that every single review bashes the manual tranny, then they haven't read the reviews. Many prefer the G35's over BMW's. I don't consider a little vibration in the shifter a big deal; it certainly isn't any worse than many other cars I have driven. I think the manual is just more fun to drive, but neither transmission is clearly superior.

 

Since you are an MT person and you have a current MT G, I would think that you would be happier with the 6 MT.

You are already used to the "quirks" of this MT setup
* High clutch takeup
* DBW throttle latency
* Shifter vibration

I felt that the auto was quite good - but a 6 sp auto would've suited this car better. (I hope the G would soon get an auto like the one on the 335i !!)
There were some rough shift at times - but again that could be due to the fact that the driving patterns were messed up on the test drive car.

Ultimately, MT v AT is a personal decision -- much like color choices.
Pick one

 

yea its definatly a personal deceision like you said....I'm going to have to test drive the 6mt and see if there is at least an improvement over my current car. I did move one back and forth and my store but it was burried so i didnt drive, and not for nothing but the clutch did seem to feel better then mine....but i def have to drive it. Sad to say i may actually go auto this time, besides the fact that the auto in this car isnt to bad...it will probably slow me down some because stick just makes me wanna play more.

 

Don't count on that ..... both stick and auto would easily let you break the speed limit without you even realizing it .... the car is deceptively fast

 

lol yea i hear that. i had an auto 05 maxima and though not as quick as the G the car def moved...very easily can get you into trouble. But you cant do things like dump the clutch and drift during a turn or other smart things i tend do in my car lol.

 

Believe me, in corners up to about 40 mph, you can drift just fine with the AT...

 

just a question i know the car has that DS mode...which i found out about late when driving the g35x...but it seemed pretty cool im assuming in that mode the car shifts at optimal rpms by itself as well as downshifts while braking....is there a mode that will not upshift nor downshift by itself unless you do it yourself?

 

If you put it into DS, then manually shift into a gear, it'll stay in that gear until you shift (the one caveat is if you slow down to <5mph, it'll shift to 1st).

 

And to add to that, it will let you go right through redline and it will hold the gear even if you take your foot of the gas at 8200 rpm... so you really need to pay attention, in first gear it hits redline in what seems like 1 second even at 3/4 throttle, by the time you switch to 2nd gear your doing 60 and approaching readline. it's very fast, while feeling fast, it doesn't actually feel that fast, I cruise on 30 mph roads at 60 and it feels like nothing.

 

Around here I would feel $hit scared doing 2x the limit
More power to you for feeling nothing

 

probably because you have reasonable speed limits around here they set stupid speed limits line 25 mph on a 4 lane w/ center turning lane. and wide open backroads that most states set at 55mph, they set at 30mph here. It's a joke how bad the speed limits are. Atleast though, the police recognize how stupid DOT is that they actually don't enforce it in any of the towns around here, unlike NY which is the worlds speed trap capitol, where they take a highway and set a 45 mph speed limit for a 1/2 mile section just to FARK you with a $400 ticket which can't be disputed in court.

 

Get what fits your style. In my teens and twenties I thought Stick was king. Try driving in bumper to bumper traffic in a stick. I hate it. Always clutching, shifting and braking, then braking/clutching/shifting again. I drove one for the first nearly ten years of my driving life, five cars. After buying my first auto I never went back.

If your friends make feel like a chump for driving an auto that's your call, buy a stick. If no one bothers you about it buy the auto. You can still auto stick or paddle shift which is pretty cool, more modern anyway. My fathers 1940 Ford pickup has a stick, that's not very cool. Totally your call, get what you want not what someone else what's for you.

 

I was in a similar position of deciding on Sport vs. X, 5AT vs. stick. BTW, I live in the Chicago suburbs and have a small child (who will likely not ride in the G unless there is an emergency).

I chose the Sport AT for a variety of reasons. First, the paddle shifters provide enough control FOR ME. I love driving stick, but figured (correctly) that I'd be completely happy with the paddle shifters...which allow full control (as other posters have mentioned) by letting you go from a crawl to redline and back to a crawl in 1st gear. The AT is very impressive...no, it is not a true MT, but then again, it is easy to put it in D when in traffic. Plus, some vehicles with 'paddle' shifters simply preventing upshifting...it is a blast that the G allows nearly instantaneous downshifts accompanied by a nice exhaust note...for me, this is even better than any related response during acceleration. I don't care that much how fast I can accelerate but the engine braking with nice exhaust music are great!

I was a diehard MT person for years and I don't feel cheated at all by the AT in the '07 G...I do believe it is because of the excellence of the transmission and not because of my age or marital/child status.

 

believe me...i know all about bumper to bumper traffic with a stick. I live in brooklyn ny and travel the belt parkway to work. Ive had 2 sticks before my G as well so I really do know. As far as my friends saying anything I could care less what people say, espcially that 95% of them cant drive a stick lol. I think im leaning like 75% towards the auto though, im going to have to test drive both and see what it comes down too.

Thanks for the replys everyone.