Originally Posted by Fick
I'm looking for an 04 or 05 xfire and was looking for an automatic because the reviews I've read seemed to think the auto was a much better choice in this car. I find this unusual because the car magazines usually prefer the sticks. My other cars ( a Corvette and a Miata) are sticks but because of what I've read I thought an auto is the way to go for this car. My problem is that I found a great 04 6 speed with only 14k miles for a very reasonable price. I'm looking for some recomendations about the tranny's on these cars. Are those with 6 speeds happy with them? Any reliability issues with the tranny or clutch? The reviews seem to think that the gas milage is better with the auto, I have a 90 mile commute so this is important to me. Any feedback will be appreciated, I did a seach but didn't find the info I'm looking for. Thanks.
Since you make a 90 mile commute everyday then I'm going to assume you're on the Interstate highways. If you seldom run into "grid lock" then I highly recommend the 6 spd.
It allows a stock Crossfire to perform about 1/2 second quicker in the 1/4 mile. (I know, it doesn't seem like much, but it's noticeable). Drive a 6 speed and an auto back to back and you'll get what I'm talking about.
I have a Miata 5 spd, a Viper GTS 6 spd. and a Honda 5 spd. and even though the Crossfire's manual isn't as good as any of them, it's not that bad after you get use to it. Actually some drivers believe it gets better with age. So if the car you are looking at only has 14k miles, it's not even broke in yet.
Even though the EPA rates the automatic higher in gas mileage, I think in "real world" driving you will attain better MPG with the standard tranny. Do a search on MPG, lots of opinions.
If you're not into drag racing at all, then an SRT6 would be wasted on you IMO. The NA cars have a very low 1st. gear, and if you learn how to launch it properly, can surprise many a faster car at a stop light.
To me, the 6 spd. makes it feel more like a "Sports Car", and that's the reason I purchased mine with a manual tranny.