Ain't that the truth!

 

Actually I mentioned before that I'm a manual fan. My 70 something year old mother has a red manual Toyota 86 which I drive from time to time. It isn't particularly quick, it is less practical than the XKR (though probably more practical than the f-type) and the gear shifts are notchy, but the steering is awesomely direct, it sounds pretty good and it is cheap. An ideal play car for those urges to drive a manual.

 

I feel sorry for all the people that are not even going to give this car a shot because it does not have a slow manual option. I drove manual for 20 years and this car changed my mind about auto with paddle option. I have driven and owned, Ferrari, Lambo, Lotus, Aston, Porsche etc and one 5 min test in the f-type and my mind was changed. I don't miss the manual at all. This car is a real sports car! If you want to miss an amazing opportunity to own such a wonderful automobile that will make history then good riddance!

 

Wow...do I understand you correctly? You pity and think somebody who already knows he wants a manual should buy an automatic anyways "to give it a shot" like he doesn't know the difference, criticize his preference by saying the manual is slow(er) which everyone knows, and think because you have driven manuals and like an auto now that others who know they prefer a manual should and would feel the same? And if he doesn't agree with you...good riddance?

Well, you may find after your brief honeymoon with paddles is over that you do miss driving a manual, like others have also discovered. You also might never decide to buy a manual again. And if one day you do you decide you want a manual you may have little to no choice. Some might absolutely love their F-Type and also have a sports car with a stick! Some here own and enjoy both.

Don't think you know better...you don't.

 

ROFL, don't start this crap. I never said anything about knowing better than anyone else. A forum is for opinions. I stated mine and my experiences and you do not like what I had to say... so what! I do feel sad someone will not even try the car because of no manual trans. However its still their choice and I respect it. However, before you complain, try the damn car! It might surprise you. And if you still feel the same after words, then so be it. To each their own.

 

I'm afraid the manual transmission is slowly going the way of the hand-crank, spark advance/retard, choke, hand throttle, crash gearbox, lube-drip controls, hand-operated wipers, window-winders, and all the other "driver involvement" devices that have been mechanized, automated, and otherwise eliminated in the name of convenience, safety, emissions, and fuel-economy in the past 100 years. I guess the positive side of all of this is that we haven't needed riding mechanics for a while!

Chris

 

When I decided to add to the collection two years ago I listened to the opinion of a track buddy who has a GT-R, among other track cars, and he was impressed with its DCT auto tranny. He liked it, found leaving it in full auto was the quickest way around the track, and that the auto made his other manual gear box cars feel like dinosaurs.

Suspending my disbelief that any auto could be fully enjoyable in a sports/GT compared to a manual for my rural country and occasional road course track use, I purchased the XKR with ZF auto with paddles. Stunningly beautiful, sporty, a comfortable and very capable performer, the lack of a manual gearbox kept it from being a great driver's car for my use. While it wasn't an issue for most cruising around, it was during spirited use, and particularly on the race track. The greater the demands of driver skill, the greater the involvement in all aspects of car control, the greater the driver's reward. Some buy high performance cars for their ability to meet these challenges, others perhaps more for style or prestige.

I'd have likely kept the XKR for years and years like every other sports/GT I've owned if it had a manual. My GT-R buddy has a sports car on order where he's returning to the pleasures of driving a manual gearbox for his combination of country, big city and track use, and I have done the same. Jaguar is one of his and his wife's favorite brands also, but the lack of availability of a manual gear box in their sport models just doesn't meet our current needs...and as a supporter of the brand since purchasing my XKE in 1975, I see that as a bit of a tragedy for both Jaguar and many enthusiasts.

Bruce

 

I think the F-type will be the first. Probably.

 

I have just read through all the posts in this thread, and I must say, I feel both sides have merit. Living in Los Angeles, where the average speed on any freeway is about 6mph, I don't think I want a manual any longer for a daily driver. However, as a weekend car out on an enjoyable canyon drive, there is something quite satisfying controlling your own shift points, smoothly raking through the gears. That is, of course, if it's a great clutch/trans combo such as in the Audi S5 which I drive so often. The gearbox just seems so willing to be sucked into the next gear or downshifted, it's just a pleasure. On the other hand, on my Pantera, with its Ferrari style gate and the notchy shifter (it probably runs into 20 litlle bumps and grinds between shifts). It takes both hands and both eyes off the road to make sure you're in the right gear while shifting. On the track, this is nearly impossible, so I end up leaving it in 3rd like an automatic. The one thing that really bugs me about the new automatics is where will the number of gears end? It's 8 right now, if another .25 of a mile per gallon can be squeezed out of it, it will go to 9 or 10....who on earth wants to row through 8-10 gears even with paddles to get to the gear you want. Porsche has a 7 speed manual, why, 6 isn't enough? Someday, the console is gonna have to be twice as wide to handle the additional gears.

Lamborghini no longer offers manual transmissions due to lack of demand. I'm afraid the manual is destined to disappear in the next few years, but there is simply no better feeling than a great manual gearbox that begs to be shifted.

 

Soon you're going to need two manual levers to shift through 12 gears!

 

Some very thoughtfully expressed opinions here, on both sides of the question actually. For those who would place manual transmissions in the anachronism dustbin of the past (e.g. hand crank windows, manual choke, etc.) I would aver that there is a qualitative difference between an automatic slush box and a manual trans. -- and for many folks something quite important really is lost when the third pedal is removed from the equation.

Nevertheless, I can also see the automatic writing on the wall. In five years or perhaps ten, you probably won't be able to buy a three pedal sports car from any manufacturer, at least one with zero miles on the odometer...

 

In fairness the ZF box in the F-Type is far removed from the archetypal slush box, it's a fast and responsive transmission that brings its own rewards to the overall driving experience. I'm a manual guy too, the 911 I sold recently was a 6 speed, and while Porsche fits an excellent manual transmission in its cars I haven't missed it much now that I have the F-Type. The ZF box really doesn't give up much if anything to the Porsche PDK (which was also designed and built by ZF) and there are a ton of former manual diehards over on Rennlist who have switched away from the stick shift when they replaced their 911 with a newer model.

Bottom line for me remains the probable low take up of the manual as the primary reason Jaguar doesn't offer it - if there was a viable market, it would probably be offered. I wish it were offered too, but it's not hard to see why it isn't.

 

But why does Porsche continue to have a high percentage of 911s (and Boxster/Caymans) that are manuals? I'm guessing it's because Porsche has more of a performance image, which is reflected in the types of buyers that go for Porsches.

Maybe one day Jaguar will have a similar following.

 

I agree to a certain extent, but suspect that the actual percentage of Porsche vehicles sold today with a six/seven speed manual is overstated. I've owned two recent vintage 911s and according to conversations with my dealer, the take up rate for the manual isn't all that high and is dwindling despite PDK being a 4K option. My local dealer does actually list few manuals in their 911 inventory, but upon inspection many are actually PDK - most of their current inventory doesn't have a manual. Some posted earlier in the thread that there were quite a few used manuals for sale, but how many of those were owners who replaced their car with a PDK? Even the GT3 is now PDK only. The reason is simple - performance is (significantly) better with the auto, not just with the GT3 but across all Porsche sports cars. I do agree the manual is more involving, but there's no doubt it's slower and the market is clearly moving away from the manual and performance is, in my judgment, the main driver. Again, we're back to why would Jaguar do this? They don't sell any other cars in the US with a manual as the market just isn't there. Porsche do at least have the ability to fit their own manual across a few models which are more similar than different (991/981 and others) so they are persisting for a while but I suspect the day will come when these cars are PDK only.

 

Apparently in 2012, the manual percentage for 911s was around 30% (and decreasing). That actually seems like a fairly high percentage to me.

2012 Porsche 911 - 10 Best Cars That Still Offer a Manual Transmission - Popular Mechanics

 

I don't believe that percentage to be accurate, at least not for the US market. Porsche is a true enthusiast brand, but more cars are sold because of the brand than the drive. The 911 and Porsche in general are still the car and brand of choice for the reasonably well-heeled type A's amongst us. Either way, the point remains. The days that Porsche offer a manual transmission are probably numbered. It's a shame, but it is what it is, and those same conditions are impacting all brands including Jaguar. You can't buy a manual transmission Ferrari any more either.

 

This source says 78% of the global sales for the 991 are PDK - and there's no way the US manual sales are at the upper end of the spectrum.

Porsche Engineer Predicts Manual-Transmission 911 Could Die by 2020

 

Welcome to the World where auto-makers MUST meet stringent MPG targets. One way to do so is to install gears that make the car roll down the freeway at near idling RPMs. As a result now we are having full sized luxury sedans, like the 8sp XJL, that easily does better than 30 MPG on the freeway. That is simply INCREDIBLE for a car that size and weight.

Since they have to sacrifice 2-3 gears these days as MPG gears, the additional gears come super handy for providing performance gears. The new 8sp Jaguar transmission is a fantastic model for both, close-ratio, race-like first 5 gears and MPG cruising upper 3 gears. With these transmission if you elect to drive on a race track you would be using it like any other close-ratio 5-speed performance transmission, never having to enter into 6th or higher. On the other hand, going down the freeways, the gear shifts are undetectably smooth and you will be cruising 70MPH in 8th at 1500 RPM, engine being ultra quiet and efficient. They truly are the best of both world. One place where you have your cake and able to eat it too.

I personally can not wait to get the 8sp Jaguar transmission in a performance car.

Albert

 

In ten years the car will drive itself and we will all marvel at how much quicker it gets us around the track better than any of us could on our own! I pity the day!

 

I seriously think that soon the gasoline engine will be gone. If not by 2020, by 2030 for sure. And then we won't be having the debate about 2 pedals vs. 3--it will just be 1 pedal!

The Porsche 918 (and the dead C-X75) are incredibly powerful hybrid-electric supercars and maybe they will pave the way for these sorts of powertrains in performance cars in the future.