Auto or Manuel

The dealer near me has multiple Auto TDI Jettas. I drove one today and its very peppy for a diesel. But I want the stick. My question is...What am I giving up if I get the Auto? Performance? Milage? I can't even find a stick to test drive. But I can order a stick and have it July 15th. I can wait if its worth it.

mileage, earlier required maintenance.

performance is on par, it's preference here, but I know i'm in the top 3 with my auto among club members..

Otto comes from Germany.
Manuel comes from Mexico.

(Sorry . . . never mind.)

I bought a manual 5 speed in 1999. I was perfectly content with its punchy low-end torque. Had never driven an auto tranny 4 speed until today, when the dealer loaned me a new one while my car was being looked at. I logged 70 miles in Tucson traffic. The diesel engine and the auto tranny seem made for each other. Light changes to green, we're all lined up in three lanes, drag race style, and you're the first kid out of the blocks without much effort. It's not quite as fast on acceleration as the manual, but it's a hell of a lot easier to drive in urban traffic. If my driving environment was 50% urban I'd have an auto tranny. But it's not, so I'll hang onto my M5.

As for mileage, it's almost a wash. 49 highway vs. 45 highway, 41 city vs. 35 city.
The M5 has the higher numbers.

[ June 14, 2001: Message edited by: blugg ]

The complete specs for Golf, Jetta, or Beetle on http://www.vw.com say that the automatic is a bit slower 0-60 and uses more fuel.

It is also more expensive, and the timing belt replacement schedule is 40000 miles instead of 60000 miles for car with a manual. Reliability may be different.