Quote:
Originally Posted by bradleyland
No conspiracy is required to explain what you've observed. Besides, were BMW to have hamstrung MT cars, it would have shown up in dynamometer runs performed by the large enthusiast community.
The reasons an auto feels faster are many. You enumerated a number of them, but I think you're thinking of them from the wrong perspective. The faster, no-effort shifting of an automatic is available all the time, not just during maximum acceleration runs. Think about the difference in driving stoplight-to-stoplight in an auto versus a manual.
When I had my 6MT 135i, I can remember plenty of times when driving in traffic, it felt like every soccer mom on the planet was racing past me in her Dodge Journey crossover. When driven casually and smoothly, manual shifts take a looooooong time. While I was shifting, the grocery getter next to me was still accelerating.
I wasn't out to race everyone at every stoplight, so I didn't particularly care, but it was a stark contrast to my DSG equipped 2006 GTI. That car only had 200 HP, but stoplight-to-stoplight, it was effortlesly quick. With nearly zero effort, I was leading the pack out of a stoplight because of the DSG transmission and the low end torque of the turbocharged engine. That car was 100 HP and 100 lb ft down on my 135i, yet it felt much faster in daily driving.
The truth is that for around town jaunts, an auto is going to feel faster when driven just a bit more aggressively than casual. The effort required to drive a manual quickly ramps up very quickly. The difference in feel is 100% transmission, and 0% engine power output.
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I agree. Great post! Loved my GTI BTW. Was a 6MT also.
