I love my 5 speed and never want to drive anything else.

There's only one problem - That damn squeeky spring

 

Alas, I reminsce the days when Toyota offered both five spds and autos for the 'Runner and pick-ups. I , before purchasing my Tacoma Prerunner (regrettably an auto as well) searched hard in all of San Diego for a 5-spd 4Runner but all the dealers say they were having trouble moving them off the lot so they ordered only autos. I purchased my prerunner instead of a 4x4 5-spd because the price was right. Now I eagerly await the next gen Tacoma and the next gen mill will be offered I hope they offer BOTH manuals and autos in whatever drivetrain configuration. There are pros and cons to both trannys but call me nostalgic, theres no substitute for the driving satisfaction of a five spd.

Toyota...BRING BACK THE 5-SPEED 4RUNNER!

 

I'm sure they still make them, anyone checked Japan. It's just that we don't import them I'm sure.

 

No need for that dude.

I'm just saying that I'm tired of the stereotype "soccer mom" category that so many women are thrown into...some of them use their cars for what they are made for and not for playing DVD's for their kids on the way to the mall.

That's enough of this topic...

 

History lesson:
Decades ago on the farm I learned to drive 4 in the tree (Int'l Harvester and grew up to drive 13 speeds. In the 80's I drove 5-ton military truck with a 5 speed automatic (very fun))

The good, the bad and the ugly:
Manuals and automatics are booth good transmission on a generic level. Remeber the CJ and early wrangler transmission with the Renault manual 5 speed. What a dog! Today the NV4500 is an awesome example of a heavy duty transmission.

An ice cream truck:
On the automatic side, TH400 is my favoriate heavy duty automatic. It costs more to fix but, it is a work horse. I also like the new Allison 5 speed automatic. It's a design cousin of the one a drove in the eighties.

Real world:
In town or in traffic I perfer an automatic. But, on the trail give my a t-18 or a nv4500 manual transmission.

Mileage ain't nothing if it brakes down or maintenance is too high.
So a good engine trans combo is they way to go.

:pat:

 

My auto gets better MPG on the highway then my manual does. The auto has a steeper final ratio so the RPMs are much lower in cruise. My manual spins at 3000 RPM at 80 MPH where my auto is around 2200. Much quieter and better MPG.

Of course there are those times where the manual is so much more fun to drive, except in heavy traffic.

It all comes down to personal preference, but today there is no way that a manual is more reliable then an auto. Luckly the current 5 Speed or at least the last one in the 4Runner was an excellent transmission and much better them most manuals made today.

Gadget

www.GadgetOnline.com

 

Well said Cody

 

there's a fix for that you know.

 

i usually have a standard for 3 reasons --not now though :cry:
a) they are loads of fun
b)power on demand
c)easy to start when the battery goes.

dont care about mpg with this truck--its better to ignore it & just keep her filled.

however my 4runner is an auto cuz my wife might need it once in a while and i couldn't find a standard with all the other options i wanted. if i did find it my wife would just "cab it" if her car was being serviced.

maybe oneday i can get a tundra in a stick!---hmmm

happy holidays