Hatchback CVT vs Hatchback manual 6MT

[Gruber]

Driving through traffic is part of the driving experience. A true auto enthusiast loves to drive, period.

So is getting a flat tire, a ticket, or in a accident. (all parts of driving experience) You gotta love it if you are a true car entusiast.

I will submit a new fresh thought for discussion: for me rowing the stick ad nauseam distracts from the true driving experience. Because the real spirit of driving is slicing through landscape without preocupation with gear ratios or rev hangs...The true spirit and art of driving resides in the steering wheel not in the pedals.....

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[Partinrn]

So is getting a flat tire, a ticket, or in a accident. (all parts of driving experience) You gotta love it if you are a true car entusiast.

I will submit a new fresh thought for discussion: for me rowing the stick ad nauseam distracts from the true driving experience. Because the real spirit of driving is slicing through landscape without preocupation with gear ratios or rev hangs...The true spirit and art of driving resides in the steering wheel not in the pedals.....

I’d agree...but I love being in full control of the gears in addition to the driving.

 

[notatyper]

Get a Hatch Sport 6MT. I’m loving mine. So much power, especially with the K Tuner, and I still get 39 mpg on the highway.

 

[gtman]

Get a Hatch Sport 6MT. I’m loving mine. So much power, especially with the K Tuner, and I still get 39 mpg on the highway.

Kind of cool black and red theme you have going on. It might look even better with some red pinstriping in the lower lip area. Something like this:

 

[Moopy62]

The Civic is a budget commuter car, not a sports car (SI and Type-R excepted).
If you are using it every day to commute through heavy traffic, shifting won't be as much fun after a couple of months.

One thing to note, VERY few people buy manuals any more because most don't know how to, or care to learn how to drive them. It really isn't that hard to learn how, but most people can't be bothered since the vast majority of the cars today have automatics.

When you go to sell the car down the road, it will be VERY difficult to unload it if it has a manual unless it is a "sports" car like the SI or the Type-R. Expect that you will sell it for thousands less and it may take months to unload. I see manual transmission cars for sale gathering "internet dust" in online classifieds all the time. Despite the popularity of manuals at an "enthusiast site" like CivicX, there just is no market for them.

There are other negatives with the manual like "rev-hang" as well.

I am not trying to discourage you from buying a manual, but there are disadvantages that the other posters have not pointed out. If a manual is right for you, then go ahead and get one. They cost less to buy, are more engaging to drive and they usually last longer than an automatic transmission.

I test drove the CVT and just didn't care for it. I live in the suburbs so I do a mix of stop and go traffic and highway. My preference Was definitely for a manual. I ended up getting a 2018 civic sport hatchback with manual. I spent the extra $800 and got a ktuner and had Vittune tune it. It's like a whole different car and super fun to drive. Don't regret a thing. Rev hang, throttle response, and overall performance are fantastic. I'm not an aggressive driver (54 yrs old and just having fun).
To NotSerious 's point about resale of a manual I tend to agree. Although I think my sport hatch falls into that category. Getting a standard sedan with a manual might not have a lot of demand in the aftermarket when you go to sell.
Very fun car.

 

[VarmintCong]

Love the 6MT in my Sport, which now has 36k miles. It's not actually a Civic of old which requires lots of shifting - the engine is so torquey you can cruise on the highway in 6th for hours and never have to downshift. You can start the car moving in 2nd, sometimes even 3rd - I mainly do that by accident. And you can move at very low speeds in 2nd or 3rd gear in traffic. So you get the fun of a 6MT without the heavy volume of shifting which can get tiring.

I don't think the CVT is faster in anything except 0-60 time, which the 6MT lags cause it has to shift right before 60.

 

[VarmintCong]

When you go to sell the car down the road, it will be VERY difficult to unload it if it has a manual unless it is a "sports" car like the SI or the Type-R. Expect that you will sell it for thousands less and it may take months to unload. I see manual transmission cars for sale gathering "internet dust" in online classifieds all the time. Despite the popularity of manuals at an "enthusiast site" like CivicX, there just is no market for them.

One look at used 2017 Civic Sports will disprove that theory. You'll get the same money for a used manual, and you paid less for it when you bought it.

It might be easier to sell autos, but you'll often get more money for the manual.

 

[NotSerious]

One look at used 2017 Civic Sports will disprove that theory. You'll get the same money for a used manual, and you paid less for it when you bought it.
It might be easier to sell autos, but you'll often get more money for the manual.

"The report from U.S. News and World Report show only 18 percent of U.S. drivers know how to operate a stick shift. It says that because of advancements in automatic transmissions and fuel economy, only about 5 percent of vehicles sold in the U.S. today come with a stick shift. That’s down from 25 percent of cars in 1987.

The third pedal is also bad for re-sale value, on average selling for $2,000 less than cars with automatic transmissions."
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2016/10/11/report-only-18-percent-of-americans-can-drive-manual/
"

 

[justinjspog]

Hello, CivicX community.
I am new here and I will be glad to ask for a help before I buy my Civic X.
I can't decide what car to buy - the Manual 6MT or CVT.
On one hand, the CVT acceleration is faster, better fuel economy and it's more convenient for daily use. On other hand, the manual is more fun and can handle more power.

I must say that in my country I can't really find places to drive faster than 150 kmh, and average daily speed outside of the town is 110-90 kmh. Another thing is that I am not planning to upgrade it too much, maybe only ECU tune and maybe few other small stuff.

With all this information hope you can help me to decide and replace my old FD .

Ty very much

It really prends on which trim you’re getting. I usually drive a MT, but I got a CVT this time in my Sport Touring. While not as exhilarating as the 6-speed would have been, I get a few more features, my resale is going to be better, and I still have tons of fun. The Sport Touring also has a fake manual mode with 7 speeds, so I can drop it into that and use the paddle shifters when I feel like it. It’s not the same as a real MT, but still fun. There are definitely times I miss my old MT, but I honestly really appreciate the slow-speed follow in stop-and-go traffic. I just use my thumb to hit resume. I do a lot of city driving, so my CVT is definitely better suited than my old MT was for this.

If you do a lot of city driving and are going with a sport trim, get the CVT. Otherwise, get the MT. Especially get the MT if you’re not getting a Sport trim. Otherwise it’ll be superbly boring. BUT if you plan on reselling down the road, get the CVT. Only get a lower model MT if you’re leasing. I had a nightmare of a time selling my last owned MT. It was in immaculate condition, but I still got much less than I had hoped and than what it was worth. Lost about $3,500 and it took 7 weeks to sell it. (My last car was also MT, but I leased it, so I didn’t have to worry about the resale.)

 

[justinjspog]

Oh if he’s going to tune it, he’ll NEED the manual. Tuning the CVT is pointless and increasing the torque via tuning will rip apart the CVT.

 

[gtman]

Oh if he’s going to tune it, he’ll NEED the manual. Tuning the CVT is pointless and increasing the torque via tuning will rip apart the CVT.

Pointless? You're going to have to explain that in more detail to the hundreds of members with tuned CVT's, including me. Hondata and Ktuner dial back the torque on the CVT for safety sake but the additional mid range power is very noticeable in the CVT models. Sure if someone pushes the torque to idiotic levels the CVT is toast. And guess what? Those +9 tunes people run on those manuals will likely destroy the stock clutch. That's a fact.

Please don't scare people off from getting a tune just because they have a CVT. A tune does involve some risk, CVT or manual. But, I believe the base tunes up to +6 psi are reliable and pretty safe running 91+ octane.

 

[justinjspog]

Pointless? You're going to have to explain that in more detail to the hundreds of members with tuned CVT's, including me. Hondata and Ktuner dial back the torque on the CVT for safety sake but the additional mid range power is very noticeable in the CVT models. Sure if someone pushes the torque to idiotic levels the CVT is toast. And guess what? Those +9 tunes people run on those manuals will likely destroy the stock clutch. That's a fact.

Please don't scare people off from getting a tune just because they have a CVT. A tune does involve some risk, CVT or manual. But, I believe the base tunes up to +6 psi are reliable and pretty safe running 91+ octane.

I wasn’t aware that the Hondata and Ktuner were ready for the CVT. Thanks for letting me know! How much of a change have you noticed in average fuel efficiency after the tune? I’m interested in trying it out myself.

 

[nouseformonkeys]

So is getting a flat tire, a ticket, or in a accident. (all parts of driving experience) You gotta love it if you are a true car entusiast.

I will submit a new fresh thought for discussion: for me rowing the stick ad nauseam distracts from the true driving experience. Because the real spirit of driving is slicing through landscape without preocupation with gear ratios or rev hangs...The true spirit and art of driving resides in the steering wheel not in the pedals.....

I’m by no means a speed racer, but I’ve been driving manuals for 30 years. True driving involves not just steering. It’s also how you control the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle. You might as well just turn on the cruise control if all you’re interested in is steering the car.

 

[justinjspog]

I’m by no means a speed racer, but I’ve been driving manuals for 30 years. True driving involves not just steering. It’s also how you control the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle. You might as well just turn on the cruise control if all you’re interested in is steering the car.

Wow lol. This whole thing is becoming almost political in its polarization.

First of all, MT is hands-down fun. If you don’t know how to drive/have never owned a MT, you don’t understand. It is, by far, my favourite setup.

That being said, MT has certain drawbacks. I’d ideally have one of each in my driveway, but I have neither the money, nor the driveway space for two vehicles.

Secondly, CVT has some pros and cons. CVT is not as sluggish as older automatic transmissions, it can decently replicate MT with the paddle shifters (which are actually pretty decent, despite the lack of a third pedal), it is more efficient than old automatics AND MTs (and don’t give me the argument that it depends how you drive. I’ve driven MTs for years and years and even a seasoned MT driver like me will never be as efficient as a CVT.)

I don’t have the Si or the Type-R, but the Sport Touring, with its tuning and recommended premium octane of 91+ is plenty fun with a CVT. I, too, never thought I’d be pleased with any form of automatic transmission, let alone a whiny CVT, but I’m very pleasantly surprised. The 1.5T CVT and the tuning of the Sport Touring make an otherwise potentially bland setup pretty peppy.

 

[Charley-TX]

If you think about it is really pointless for anyone to put a post up - CVT or manual, or which one should I buy?
It is a very personal choice and often depends on your driving situation or need.
Should I buy chocolate or vanilla ice cream, whatever you guys like (or the car magazines suggest) is what I will buy? Right? No.
It seems when people post replies, whatever they currently have, manual or CVT, will defend it to death; but it may not be the best option for the next guy.
The "manual fun factor" may wear off after a few months. For me, it wears off every day after a long 10-12 hour work day. Not so for others, like that 50 y.o. semi truck driver that just wants to keep clutching all his life. Great, I respect that.
Will the manual trans last longer? Could be true... if that is your goal when buying these cars. Lifetime purchaser?
However as it seems, most/some Americans will ditch their car for a better newer version in few years time when some new gadget is added.
These threads definitely have the "entertainment factor".
Godspeed ya'll.

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