Encouragement
I learned to drive on a stick shift, and learned to depend on "feel" and the engine "sound" to know when to shift. I am a non mechanical person and I can drive one like a pro. So you can do it, I am sure, with a little practice. I test drove a manual Insight, but it is different than others I have driven. The engine is so quiet. I couldn't "hear" when to shift. I was unsure when to shift. I used what were the gears and mph I thought to shift, but didn't feel certain I had it right. I think think 1st and 2nd have a wide mph range, but 3rd, 4th and 5th were narrower than I remember other cars having. So I was in 2nd going 25mph on a side street, rather than 3rd. I bought a CVT which is on it's way, instead, but for different reasons than the transmission.
I found a forum to read about how to drive a standard/manual shift car. It's http://www.standardshift.com. Maybe reading will help with the reality. Good luck!
I learned to drive on a stick shift, and learned to depend on "feel" and the engine "sound" to know when to shift. I am a non mechanical person and I can drive one like a pro. So you can do it, I am sure, with a little practice. I test drove a manual Insight, but it is different than others I have driven. The engine is so quiet. I couldn't "hear" when to shift. I was unsure when to shift. I used what were the gears and mph I thought to shift, but didn't feel certain I had it right. I think think 1st and 2nd have a wide mph range, but 3rd, 4th and 5th were narrower than I remember other cars having. So I was in 2nd going 25mph on a side street, rather than 3rd. I bought a CVT which is on it's way, instead, but for different reasons than the transmission.
I found a forum to read about how to drive a standard/manual shift car. It's http://www.standardshift.com. Maybe reading will help with the reality. Good luck!
