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I love driving a manual transmission, that's what all of my cars have been. One good reason to know how to drive manual is that in many countries around the world, most rentals are manual transmission so if you know how to drive it, you won't have to worry about about the possibility of not being able to get a vehicle with an automatic transmission.
It looks really hard and unsafe to drive a manual. How do you know which gears to shift while driving and how do you make sure you shift correctly while keeping your eyes on the road and hands on steering wheel? It looks like driving manuals is hard work, do people actually enjoy driving a manual?
2 of my vehicles are standards, one is a JeeP Wrangler and the other a replica of a 65 Cobra.
I have owned a few other standards as well and I used to drive a box truck that was standard. The last time we visited Ireland the rental car was a 5 speed and that was fun, number one driving on the wrong side of the road and shifting with my left hand. I missed a few gears here and there but we managed.
Driving a standard is easy once you get the hang of it and it can be fun but what is difficult is talking on the cell phone and drinking a coffee while you have to shift the gears. That can be tough.
I drive a 10 speed (10 gear) manual transmission Volvo big truck for work. It's the only manual that I've driven regularly in my life. Yeah, it took some getting familiar with for a few days. Even then all of the trucks at work don't drive the same even when they are manual transmission. There's always an adjustment period to how the vehicle wants to be driven (Where the gear is relative to your speed and rpms)...... Once you learn that, you will be on your way. It's not terribly difficult once you get some practice. You will mess up a little bit during practice. Don't worry about that.
I also used rotary-dial phone, hand-crank windows, and non-motorized push mowers.
However, I wouldn't want to go back to using any of those items.
Yes, those items operated as they were designed but they all had room for improvement.
Arguably, the automatic transmission was an improvement on the manual transmission because:
1) it is more reliable,
2) it reduces human labor (although it is minimal, shifting gears is still requires physical exertion), and
3) it allows for safer driving (even though you may be the exception, most people still take their eyes off the road to glance down when shifting gears and everyone takes a hand off the steering wheel or keeps a hand off the wheel for gear shifting, which is less safe than two-handed steering).
The original version of an item is not always its best iteration.
Who told you an automatic transmission was more reliable than a manual? That is totally backwards.
It looks really hard and unsafe to drive a manual. How do you know which gears to shift while driving and how do you make sure you shift correctly while keeping your eyes on the road and hands on steering wheel? It looks like driving manuals is hard work, do people actually enjoy driving a manual?
It looks really hard and unsafe to drive a manual. In general no, they aren't. Some are easier to drive than others. Different types of cars may have shorter throws for performance and a wider power band.
How do you know which gears to shift while driving and how do you make sure you shift correctly while keeping your eyes on the road and hands on the steering wheel Typically a driver uses RPM's to up shift, not miles per hour. Typically a driver will use miles per hour to downshift, not RPMS. It depends on the situation. A driver only uses first gear to start off. Most cars today can be brought to a near stop and use second gear to get going again provided the vehicle is rolling a bit. A driver needs to feel what the car is doing. When in doubt push the clutch in to avoid stalling.
It looks like driving manuals is hard work, do people actually enjoy driving a manual? It can be if in traffic. I enjoy driving stick very much.
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