auto or stick???

i drove a 96 passat and was impressed with the ease of shifting and how easily the transition was from gear to gear. it was unpeaky unlike the saturn sedan i tested a week earlier. i have not driven an auto tdi. recently we were caught in traffic with no escape it was 10 miles in an hour due to construction at river rd(o yes you chicagoans know of what i speak). the 240d held up just fine. i remember all the years with a stick jetta (1980) and the dreaded higgins rd commute thru the woods.

granted it was a fluke and const season will be over soon to restart in april 07 but i just gotta ask...................do you stick drivers find it easy to live in traffic with a tdi?

With a light clutch and the ability to motor along at idle in any gear w/o any accelerator input, it's not that bad.

Get a DSG you will love it in traffic.

The only time I've not enjoyed the stick was when I lived in Bloomington, IN. Very occassionally I'd get stuck in a long line at a stop sign at the top of a hill. More than once I got a terrible cramp in my foot (may have had something to do with the 3 inch heels) idling up that hill with my foot on the clutch. Other than that, once you work out a system for yourself in stop and go (mine involves a lot of coasting), it's not bad at all.

crazyjo said:

The only time I've not enjoyed the stick was when I lived in Bloomington, IN. Very occassionally I'd get stuck in a long line at a stop sign at the top of a hill. More than once I got a terrible cramp in my foot (may have had something to do with the 3 inch heels) idling up that hill with my foot on the clutch.

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I think that would be my only example as well. I have been on a couple steep metered on-ramps,

But otherwise I like the manual transmission just fine. And I spend a lot of time in all kinds of traffic. I admit that I probably treat my clutch very gently.