Does the technological overdependence of this instant gratification generation mean that the manual transmission is going the way of the Dodos?
Allow me to elaborate. Over the past two months, I’ve had the pleasure of exploring the outer reaches of the respective performance envelopes of two driver-oriented rear-wheel drive cars on some pretty inviting mountain roads. The cars in question are the BMW 330i, and the much more focussed Nissan 370Z (featured in this issue). Both cars are extremely precise instruments with which to quickly navigate a sharp bend, but both were also missing some vital driver-involvement tools – such as a clutch pedal, and a manual gearbox. The 6-speed automatic in the BMW has counter-intuitive paddles mounted on the steering wheel that require you to press down on either one to change down or pull to change up, and that’s provided the electronics actually listen to you in the first place. The Nissan, meanwhile, fares much better with a 7-speed auto that at least has proper paddles mounted on the steering column – with the paddle to up-shift on the right, and the one to downshift on the left. Add to that an automatic transmission that’s actually quite responsive and I must admit that I didn’t miss a manual gearbox quite as much. Nevertheless, the 370Z is a proper sports car, which means that I want to be as involved in the driving experience as possible. And that, in turn, means that I need a manual gearbox!
Incidentally, the 370Z also comes with the worlds’ first manual transmission that features what Nissan calls a ‘synchro-rev matching’ system that automatically blips the throttle on the down-change to make for a smoother shift. But, if I’m honest, I don’t want an auto rev matching system any more than I want an auto-box – no matter how good it is. Even if it’s a dual-clutch transmission that pre-selects the gear I’m about to choose, and shifts faster and smoother than I’ll ever be able to – maybe if I’m going for absolute lap times on a track, but not if I want to make the most of a twisty mountain road. I take pride in the fact that I can match revs for myself. There’s an art to braking hard for a corner and going down through the gears by heel-and-toeing each time to ensure that the changes are seamless. The thrill of mastering the evasive art of a perfect downshift, while matching revs for yourself, can in no way be equalled by a silicon chip that does the same. I want the visceral experience of hearing the revs rise each time I downshift, and blip the throttle in the process. But more importantly, I want to know that I’ve affected that behaviour in the car myself – however clumsy it may or may not have been. I relish the playful, and skilful, ballet in the footwell during a downshift (the drivers’ footwell that is, whatever else you do in the car is your business). And I believe that to truly enjoy driving a performance car to its limits – and to feel at one with the car – you need to learn to do that for yourself. At the very least, you need to make the effort to learn how to properly row a manual gearbox before you go out and buy yourself that 600 horsepower supercar.
It’s a real shame that, in the near future, even lust worthy machines like Ferrari’s and Lamborghini’s will no longer be available with manual transmissions. If I’m driving a Ferrari or Lamborghini, I want to be as much a part of the mechanical experience as possible. And when I magically acquire my own Ferrari or Lambo, I want the traditional metallic gear lever and shift-gate that I’ve dreamt about since I was a young boy. The still bigger shame is that now even attainable performance cars, such as the VW Polo GTi that was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March this year, will only be available with some form of an automatic transmission or the other – albeit in this case VW’s impressive dual-clutch DSG. |
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So, am I living in the past? I don’t think so. I just happen to believe that the driver should still count for something. Driver skill should be an art that you have to master, not one that you should be able to acquire by being able to write out a check. Okay, this is a bit of a rant, but look at the title of this column – it should give you some sense of how highly I rate this particular (disappearing) aspect of
the driving experience!
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