Thinking of buying a 2011 convertible V6. Have never owned a Mustang before. I love driving a shift stick, but my wife doesn't know how.

Is it worth the family angst to buy a manual, or should I compromise and get the automatic so my wife can drive it too? Would the automatic be a lot less fun to drive? I've never owned a muscle car - only Toyotas and Plymouths, usually with manual transmissions.

 

I was in the exact same situation and I went with the auto as a compromise. I get the Mustang, just not exactly as I wanted it. She has to put up with me having yet another toy, but she gets to drive it once in a while. It's a win/win situation.

 

sorry guys manual for me, my wife can drive her own car

 

teach her to drive a manual....

 

Probably most of this board will say "get the stick"...
And yea, it can be more fun as it's more input into the car... But really there's nothing wrong with the new automatic.

For me, I have the 2010 5 speed auto, and if I ever need to drop it into gears I can. It has a 1-2-3-D setup (and over drive) so you can put it into gears if you need a higher RPM band. And it moves into them pretty efficently. Normally I only use this in city driving, and keep it in drive on the highway, unless i drop into 3rd- or just turn the overdrive off.

If your wife is going to give you hell for not buying an auto
You may want to. Otherwise, just weight your options.

 

Manual is fun but it gets old fast in Orange County traffic.

I want DCT, or at least a decent sports mode with paddle shifters (like the BMW 335i).

 

when i had my 05 my family used to always give me crap that when it was needed they could never drive my car. what they didn't realize, i chose a stick since i knew they didn't know how. same thing will happen with the 2011 for me.

that being said, i'm not married so i don't have to compromise.

 

I've been driving automatics for the past three years and my 2011 is a manual. Definitely got to go with the manual. On the other hand, if I were getting a vert, I would consider getting the auto.

 

Driving in Philly traffic was primarily the reason I went auto, but the gf will need to drive my car occasionally as well, and there's no way she'd be able to drive stick.

When it came down to it, I'd rather just get the auto than deal with shifting in traffic.

 

easy

-is wife..."well maybe i could learn to drive standard"

-is wife..."you buy standard and your sleeping in dog house"

 

A couple of things:

You like to drive a stick shift, your wife should know how to drive the shift stick.

I had to put up with my wife's nagging for months after I told her I was getting a manual...I won.
She now has a 335i with Sports Pkg...I lost.

Go with what you are comfortable with, verts are about relaxing, maybe the Auto. The 2011 I order will be a 5L with Brembo's, I'm going manual. See the difference here?
Just enjoy!

 

It has been said by quite a few journalists that the new Mustang 6 speed manual would be one of the easiest cars to use to teach someone to drive a stick.

Everyone should know how to drive a manual trans car, you never know when some knowledge like that could be critical.

 

manual

 

I really like manuals, but I had a 1992 5.0 LX auto vert, and in a vert an auto was pretty nice!

 

Automatic for me. I have owned both types of transmissions, and have tried to teach my wife how to drive manual. She just can't get it down, and does not want to (she could probably get to the store, but that is it - and with much frustration). Personally, I still have a blast driving auto, actually I like it even more. You guys can say I am doing it wrong, and I am not doing it well, but I can drive way faster and deal with traffic and such better using an auto trans. These days only the top 5% of people will actually be able to manage heal-toe, rev matching, traction, steering, and everything better than a guy with an auto trans.
It depends on whether you really like want to drive manual because it is more fun (I concede it is for some, just not for me) or whether you just want to have a fast car. It also depends on whether your wife wants to drive your car and is willing to learn. People on this board can say "just teach your wife" like it isn't a big deal but only you know whether you wife will actually go for that.

 

I couldn't teach mine to drive a standard so I kicked her out and now I'm trading her auto in on a six speed.

 

So true, SpOnkey21. Back about 15 years ago, when we were in our 20s, I tried to teach my wife how to drive my Plymouth Neon 5-speed. It never really went anywhere. And now she's 41, and she has no desire to learn.

She isn't telling me I have to buy auto. But she says if I buy stick, we have to keep my old car, which is an auto, so that we'll have two cars (hers and my old one) that she can drive. The reason is, there are times when she does have to drive my car (let's say hers is in the shop). So if I buy a stick, I lose my $10,000 or so in trade-in value that I could apply toward a new Mustang.

 

Tell her to grow some ovaries and learn to drive stick !!

I taught my wife how to drive stick in a weekend, now she loves it!

 

I don't even care much about "fast car." I'm buying the V6, after all. I'm not going to be a race car driver, because that stuff doesn't matter to me (should I pay extra to buy a car that will go 160 MPH when I know realistically I'll never drive it above 80?). I've just always wanted a Mustang, and I've never even considered buying an auto version, because I love driving stick.

 

I sorta don't get this. All I had were motorcycles for many years and I sat through more rush hours than I could care to remember. One of my bikes had a very stiff clutch, but even that didn't make me wish for an auto. If you're rolling slow enough to be in first, no biggie. If you're stopped, shift to neutral till you move again, no biggie.

I just don't get how a manual is an issue in stop-n-go traffic.