Easiest car to learn manual on?

Posted by Ok_Today_475@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 100 comments

It's embarrassing to admit; 25M never *properly* learned to drive manual. I know, I know. My first car was a 2004 accord coupe, auto 4 banger that just fell into my lap for a price I couldnt refuse at 16 years old. Since then, I've owned a 2008 equinox and currently daily a 2016 F150 5.0 for work, so I haven't had the chance to really seek out a manual. I haven't avoided them either, just never came across one. With gas prices getting stupid, I'm considering getting a cheaper car and open to getting a manual top try something new. I love my accord but its getting pretty crusty and it breaks my heart but I'm going to have to say goodbye to it sooner or later.

I've tried manual numerous times. First manual car I drove was a 2003 TJ Rubicon- lifted with 40's and 5.13 gears. Needless to say, it wasn't super beginner friendly to learn on. It takes a lot of trial and error to find the sweet spot without letting the big ass tires rolling back. I also tried racing an 02 neon R / T on a dirt track last year- I got the hang of it no problem, because we never go past 2nd gear. I've driven a handful of other manual cars since then- mk4 golf 2.0, elantra touring, and an 8th gen civic. I will say that the golf wasn't that bad to drive. Granted, I haven't come across any hills or anything like that, or stop and go city traffic. I'm looking for something that is a) beginner friendly, b) easy to work on and source parts for (specifically replace the clutch, because I'm preparing for the worst lol) and c) not astronomically expensive to own. I've had great luck with my accord in terms of reliability, but they hold their value to a fault- I'm talking $3K for an accord that's just as clapped as mine. If anyone has any recommendations I'd love to hear them.

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docnsx01@reddit

any olds school Honda or Acura

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PL-Felix@reddit

I’ve never experienced anything quite as smooth as the Honda manual transmissions. From the clutch pedal feel to the way the shifter glides through the gears, it’s all just superb.

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jdubsilley@reddit

I second this. Honda/Acura have perfected the pedal-shifter feel thing. Learn on one and you can go drive anything.

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antaphar@reddit

Easiest is probably a V8 with good low end torque since they’re harder to stall. For example, a Corvette is a pretty easy car to learn manual.

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I_am_Forklift@reddit

Yeah an accidental corvette clutch dump in a crowded parking lot sounds fun

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antaphar@reddit

You don’t need to press the gas at all to start a corvette in first gear.

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Commercial-Slice-992@reddit

This is how I taught many customers to drive a manual. 💯 % Agree. CORVETTE? No, any 4 banger with a wide open parking lot.

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Cranks_No_Start@reddit

The perfect vehicle is a HD truck with a granny gear. You can side step the clutch, not touch the gas and it will go…even in a hill.

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Zapatos-Grande@reddit

Drove my buddy's 5.0L Mustang and it was super easy to drive with a manual. Granted, I had a manual transmission car of my own, but it was by far the easiest one I had driven.

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HobsHere@reddit

True, but easiest of all is probably an old Jeep. Lots of low end torque and low ratios means that even beginners rarely stall them out.

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xX_coochiemonster_Xx@reddit

My first driving experience was a clapped 83 CJ5. Hard to stall? Yes. Hard to drive for a beginner? Very yes.

A steering wheel the size of a paper plate with 4” of slop and gears that are 3 zip codes away from each other, I struggled a bit

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HugsDrugsShrugs@reddit

What every jeep I've driven feels like

https://giphy.com/gifs/aceventura-jimcarrey-whennaturecalls-shikaka-7FgYDJAbeIkUZ4tg2d

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Pete_Luger@reddit

If you can find one. Corvette discontinued manual transmission years ago.

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lanjiaolong@reddit

Or a diesel with low gearing, like a truck

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bratikzs@reddit

Especially when they’re still cold and idle higher.

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No-Relationship-2169@reddit

A tractor

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BarnBuiltBeaters@reddit

I was literally going to say this too. The BEST way to learn to drive stick. Nearly impossible to stall so you arent worried about it, rather focused on making it a smooth transition. Transfer directly to a car. A semi would be another good candidate but then your worried about the shear size of the vehicle lol

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Dougie1234@reddit

Semi trucks have non-synchronized transmissions, nothing like driving a normal manual transmission car

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TexCOman@reddit

Honda accord

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hangout927@reddit

Mid 2000’s jeep wrangler

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MiddleAgedHoon@reddit

VW Beetle. Beat that bitch up.

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bjective-coffee-345@reddit

Start with something low power and naturally aspirated with a light clutch, like a boring compact hatchback. The less torque and drama it has, the faster you learn actual clutch control instead of just being saved by the engine.

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Same-Breadfruit-3632@reddit

I learned on a 1983 Nissan Sentra. Do the same or you are less than.

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Old_Personality_6624@reddit

Newer vw bugs are real easy

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Capital-Stock5165@reddit

Civic

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Unique_Wolf4513@reddit

My friend, you've described a Miata.

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Fantastic-Antelope13@reddit

Current Miata will idle-up 100 rpm when you slide the stick into 1st. The car is actively helping!

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bc9toes@reddit

The Mazda 3 also has an insanely easy manual

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TheSSsassy@reddit

Volkswagen Beetle

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at614inthe614@reddit

At this point, any manual you can find is going to be the easiest to learn on.

For me, it was thr early 90's and I learned on a acr with an old-school friction clutch with hydraulic steering.

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AccomplishedNail3085@reddit

Get a manual truck. My friend learned on a colorado. You can get them for cheap, and they are cheap to fix. I learned on an audi tt and it DID NOT transfer to his truck

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Viking2151@reddit

Just hope he never has to deal with the dog shit 2 piece rotors they used on them trucks, I hated working on them, and the fuel tanks are nearly impossible to find for the 2004 to 20012 models and they all rot out the lock ring ears, I had to use a thick piece of plastic I cut and then used pretty much roofing screws to hold down the sending unit when I did a fuel pump on one, couldn't even get a used tak at the junk yard.... Lol

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AccomplishedNail3085@reddit

He already has

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Smokey_tha_bear9000@reddit

A jeep TJ is nearly unstallable. In the 2.5 L 4 cylinder, it was geared low enough and had enough torque that you could start from a stop in 5th gear 4 Lo

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bardiya_@reddit

Taught my wife in a tj by getting her to go from a stop around the parking lot without touching the gas pedal.

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bardiya_@reddit

Tractor

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Old-guy64@reddit

Ten years ago, a whopping 7% of new vehicles in the US were sold with manual transmissions. It has decreased since then.

You have nothing to be “ashamed” of not learning to drive a stick shift at a time when 93-95 of every 100 vehicles sold had/have automatic transmissions.

All of my kids are older than you. Only 4 of the six of them are proficient with a manual transmission. The last manual we had around here was a 1996 FFR.

That’s why we OG’s consider it an anti-theft device.

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lordjakir@reddit

Not a Spitifre

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athensslim@reddit

One of the cars I drove when first learning was a Midget with the Spitfire 1500 and I thought it was pretty easy to drive. Not sure if the transmission was shared with the Spit, maybe that’s the difference.

My dad’s ‘91 Grand Am with a Quad 4, on the other hand, was a bitch to launch.

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TheEstablishment7@reddit

I was actually going to say yes to a Spitfire! Take off the tunnel and watch the clutch engage. Great learning experience.

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TitanPolus@reddit

A cheap one where if you blow the clutch it's not a big deal. I'm fact I would argue that learning in a shitty one is better. I had to learn how to double clutch before I even knew what that meant because my 1st car was notorious for not wanting to go into third. Sometimes while I was going 30, it would try to shove it into first or fifth. And I'd have to learn to listen to it and correct it fast. The car ended up going to the scrap yard not because I messed up the clutch but because it was already a turd. But I only paid 400 bucks for it so...

And now I'm great and can drive anything manual

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SnooChickens4193@reddit

Yaris. I’ve got a hatchback. Fun little bugger as a manual.

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UnderwhelmingAF@reddit

Not the best car, but I learned on a Chevy Cruze and it was pretty easy.

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North_Moment_8425@reddit

A automatic

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ManaJozoka@reddit

i have a 2010 mazda6, i am most likely gonna teach my friends how to drive stick on it

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Ok_Today_475@reddit (OP)

I always find this gen for dirt cheap. Any major issues with them? I almost bought an 07 wagon but had a blown head gasket.

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ManaJozoka@reddit

i bought it off fb for $1000 as a beater, 225k miles, and miraculously have had zero issues. i just drove it cross country from florida to new york and all i did beforehand was an oil change and tires. my clutch is gonna need replacing soon but otherwise it's been an insanely reliable car!

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AlecsThorne@reddit

Not related to the topic, but I'm curious. How long did that trip take you? Also, how long is that distance? (EU guy here, so genuinely curious)

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ManaJozoka@reddit

just over 1100 miles, which google says is around 1850km. i slept in the car and only made stops for food and gas, and it took me from thursday morning until saturday afternoon, so just under 2.5 days.

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AlecsThorne@reddit

Thank you for the reply and I appreciate the effort to convert that distance into km too :D That's impressive. For reference, depending on your starting point, that distance would be a cross-continent here, since you'd be driving across half of Europe basically.

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ManaJozoka@reddit

that's a crazy concept! i've never been to europe but i hope i get to experience that someday!

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qkdsm7@reddit

That's a steal with a clutch pedal. Rarely see manual 6s for sale used, owners just love them into the ground....

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ManaJozoka@reddit

i was pretty surprised by it too, the first owner had it from brand new in 2010 until 2021, and kept every single piece of paper he got when he took it for maintenance lol. massive folder i had to go through. second owner beat the crap out of it and hit several signs and parking blocks. aside from fixing all that cosmetic damage it's in great shape thanks to the first owner.

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therealjohnsmith@reddit

Used to have an 07 wagon it was pretty sweet. Got it well above 100k with no major issues but don't recall the details.

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kdubstep@reddit

I learned on a 70’s Datsun 510. Banger car too

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chosman8@reddit

Tractor if you can find one or older Honda

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Rapom613@reddit

I had great luck teaching people in my old turbo diesel VW. Easy clutch action makes it easy to feel the bite point, good shifter feel making it easy to tell what gear you’re in, clutch is pretty light so not a big deal hold it for an extended amount of time, and the massive torque of the turbodiesel makes it very difficult to stall

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benicebuddy@reddit

You’re really overthinking this. It’s not so hard you need to pick an “easy” car. Clutch gas brake gearshift. They all work about the same.

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purplishfluffyclouds@reddit

I learned on a 1976 Datsun pickup truck. SUPER easy. I would not recommend something more sporty - not even my 2018 MINI Clubman JCW which has a turbo engine. It's not hard, but the clutch is just more sensitive in the 1st to 2nd transition. It's harder to get that smooth where as the basic pickup truck was just a no-brainer.

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Talentless_Cooking@reddit

New civics are very forgiving, they are pretty easy to drive, and have aome helpful features.

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DULUXR1R2L1L2@reddit

I test drove a new-ish one and it had an auto rev matching feature

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Talentless_Cooking@reddit

Hill assist too

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DULUXR1R2L1L2@reddit

Why is it embarrassing? You have to go out of your way to find a manual in Canada and the US. The vast majority of cars now are autos. If you want fuel economy, then go with an auto or a hybrid. Modern autos have 8+ gears or CVTs, so you're in the most efficient RPM more often. Hybrids are a bit more expensive, but come with decent fuel savings.

I learned to drive stick on a Corolla and it was very easy and very forgiving. I drove it for about 200k KMs and when I sold it at 360k KMs, it still had the original clutch. Plus the Corolla ticks all of your other boxes: cheap and easy repairs and parts, cheap to own, extremely reliable. Just look for something where the body is in good shape, because the power train will last forever. Even at 360k KMs, the oil from an oil change was still golden.

I have a WRX now, and even after 6 months, I still struggle to nail the shift from 1-2 and 2-3. Plus the clutch is heavy, and the accelerator is jerky, so it's a nightmare in heavy traffic. I'm currently in the process of selling it and buying another Corolla, Civic or Impreza.

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GreySFguy@reddit

Over the years I’ve taught a few people on my Nissans. The DOHCs had plenty of torque - don’t know as I’ve never owned the SOHC versions - and the clutch being hydraulic is quite forgiving.

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JealousPassage8213@reddit

I learned on an old toyota truck. Even though it was a 2wd first gear was so low you barely had to use the clutch. Once I got that down we moved to starting in second gear.

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FreePossession9590@reddit

VAG group diesel engines honestly

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NoNefariousness6718@reddit

Id go v8 coupe Less work to get it to move

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world_citizen7@reddit

These days so few cars are manual, so don't worry about it.

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Viking2151@reddit

I learned on a 85 Silverado I bought, could take off from a stop on 3rd, and half the time the clutch could be pressed in half way or full in the pedal travel and throw it into gear and was fine with it, was hard to stall as well. Drove my buddies 2002 cougar and I pretty much had to relearn it again, it was so sensitive lol

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ActuaryReasonable690@reddit

I bought my Civic in 06 (new). The hydraulic was, and still is, supper easy

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637_649@reddit

A motorcycle is the best way to learn, along with understanding what's actually going on inside the machine.

Out of my 5 vehicles, only one is a manual (4-speed), and I've taught my 17F and 15F daughter's how to drive it. The biggest problem they have is that as soon as the car starts to move, they dump the clutch. The next issue is simply remembering to listen to, and feel the machine, which means that I don't want them blaring the stereo while learning (especially when the 15yo was in her "sad girl" music phase).

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brokensharts@reddit

Somthing with more torque is easier. You can literally just release the clutch on a truck and it will start rolling in first. Once you have got the finnese down you can start it in third without killing it.

However, the clutch spring takes alot more leg strength

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IntheOlympicMTs@reddit

Autos have gotten so good that manuals are dying a slow death. I wouldn’t be embarrassed since you’re pretty young. That said a diesel pickup up is pretty easy. They’ve got some much low end power you barely need to slip the clutch from a stop.

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qkdsm7@reddit

MK4 vw TDI is cheating....

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aWesterner014@reddit

Find yourself a 10th or 11th gen civic sedan or hatch. I successfully taught my kids how to drive on them.

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0peRightBehindYa@reddit

Something that has a cheap and easily replaceable clutch.

But seriously, the older the car, the more worn in the clutch will be, and the more forgiving it's going to be. Trucks and non-sports cars also tend to have more forgiving clutches than, say, an Ecoboost Mustang.

I learned on a 10 year old 4 cylinder Ford Ranger, and it was actually quite easy. It's just a balancing act between your left and right feet. If you can walk a reasonable distance without tripping over your own shadow, you can learn a manual.

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TheKiddIncident@reddit

Personally, I would go for a used Honda or Toyota. When learning, a smooth shifter with good clutch pickup makes it easier to learn. I've driven a couple of manual Hondas and they have great shifters and easy clutches. Toyotas are generally bullet-proof but I don't know how many manuals you will find out there.

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Efficient-Shallot684@reddit

Ford Fiesta ST

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teachthisdognewtrick@reddit

Find an old VW diesel. Crazy torque, hard to stall.

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FunSignificance3034@reddit

I found that granny gear trucks are easy to train with

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TextJunior@reddit

My brother, literally any economy vehicle. They're all designed to be easy to drive daily, at least they were. I don't know if you can even find a cheap commuter with a manual anymore.

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ScallionSmooth5925@reddit

Som old shitbox with zero driveing assist

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Ambitious-Coffee-175@reddit

Hyundai Getz

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buenobeatz@reddit

All the newer manual cars are easy cause of auto rev match, and they have enough power to move on their own without blipping the throttle, but honestly I learned on a Miata.

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Gladiz1972@reddit

I am 62 have absolutely no idea how to drive a manual or a stick shift

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throwingales@reddit

An air cooled VW Beetle. Perfect to learn on.

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I_am_Forklift@reddit

Ford Fuckin Ranger

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buttbreat@reddit

Vw Beetle, doesn’t matter what gear you start off in

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LivermushEater@reddit

I learned with a '66 at 12 years of age. It had to be forgiving to handle that.

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therunningjew1@reddit

A second gen Ford Probe with the V6 engine is one of the easiest to drive of the cars I've driven. I learned on one, and taught a couple friends on it. I found the 6 cylinder a little easier than my friends honda prelude as it had more torque and a smoother power delivery at low rpms, and the clutch wasn't difficult. That being said the prelude was fairly easy manual as well. Most difficult car for me was a Mazdaspeed 6, not a lot of power until the turbos, and the clutch was like a switch, either grabbed strong or no grab at all, no matter how slow and gentle on the clutch you tried to be.

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Immediate_Truck1644@reddit

Lookup all the cars made with a clutch delay valve and then get anything BUT that. I could not believe how trash my Honda Fit was till I did some research and discovered this stupid component that just ruins drive feel. If you want to learn manual properly it CANNOT ever happen with a stupid delay valve in place.

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A43BP@reddit

Anything with 1.9TDI

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attractivekid@reddit

The VW is the easiest, you already drove one yourself and discovered that

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CoffeeandaTwix@reddit

Any diesel engine because of the torque curve.

In a lot of diesel cars, you can easily pull away from stationary without the gas pedal. To be fair, you can also do this in many petrol (gasoline) cars too but it's easier in diesels.

Also, at road speeds (as opposed to highway) you barely have to change gear in a diesel; you can do a lot with the first two gears only - first to basically start from stationary and then second upto, I dunno, 30mph.

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Special_Initiative17@reddit

If it’s about getting good at manual transmissions I second an older truck, I let my friend’s kids learn in my 2nd gen dodge, you can’t stall it unless you’re deliberately trying to, its the most forgiving manual transmissions I’ve ever driven. Not exactly sporty or fun but readily available, easy to work on and a very forgiving transmission that can compensate for driver error so you can drive it confidently and get practice in the world without worrying about stalling at an intersection.

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Miserable_Job2892@reddit

It’s not hard to drive a manual car … it’s all in your head … I have you Frida manual car in 10 minutes

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jkk023@reddit

Older RSX, or an Integra, if you can find one. Maybe an old Boxter(986). Those are all really easy to learn on. The 986 Boxster is an underrated fun car, that you can still get for relatively cheap. Not necessarily “easy” to work on, but not too bad either.

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