Mmt Or Not To Mmt?

[knewmans]

Hi

I'm thinking of having my 1993 corolla scrapped by the Government and getting new. Has to be an auto and the Yaris has to be considered. Has anyone driven a 2009 Yaris with MMT. I believe they think they have made improvements but I would like someones opinion.

Thanks

Ken

[T V O R]

It comes with a flappy paddles on the steering wheel, looks very cool but not sure how it performs. You don’t get the top/Start with the MMT.

[Mikey Mechanic]

i work for toyota an mmts are horrible lol they are they ***** an the clutches burn out a bit quicker aswell an its expensive if out goes wrong so it not so many words buy an auto or manual lol ;)

[Nerfie]

I sometimes wonder if I'm the only person that still just doesn't consider automatics... It's the first thing I look at in a car... I can never honestly see myself owning one, unless I'm forced to for whatever unforuntate reason.

Manual all the way!

[knewmans]

Decided against scrappage. Bought an 05 T Spirit with a proper auto box. Very pleased so far.

Ken

[Seventy One]

I sometimes wonder if I'm the only person that still just doesn't consider automatics... It's the first thing I look at in a car... I can never honestly see myself owning one, unless I'm forced to for whatever unforuntate reason.

Manual all the way!

Can only assume you are under thirty. Autos are the best by far in today's big city traffic and allow for a far more relaxed style of driving. There are too many other distractions on the road and anything that reduces a need to concentrate has to be good.

All the same, as a new Yaris user, I have to say that the CVT gearbox leaves much to be desired and is nowhere near as easy to handle as a traditional automatic car. I guess this is all down to manufacturing costs in the small car market.

[Vitz_man]

Auto's tend to be harder on the brakes aswell as being a bit slushy in my opinion. I've only driven a few, but from my experience they never do what they are told, more control with a manual! ;)

[knewmans]

Can't see the need for more control of the gears 95% of the time. Automatics don't need to be told what to do, that's the point. Yes they are are bit 'slushier', so what. Judging by the Corolla auto I just sold they aren't necessarily hard on brakes, the last pads did over 40k miles.

I bought an automatic when I worked out that driving my then primary aged daughter to school 1.5 miles involved 40 gear changes. Now she walks but this just made me realise what a silly waste of my effort changing gear was, especially round town. I don't need to be 'more in control' of the gears. I do need to be more in control of the steering, brakes, etc. avoiding the people who aren't in control.

The auto is certainly less stressful. This study http://tinyurl.com/o6853u suggests the stress experienced while driving an auto is much less than a manual, about the same as being a passenger.

Conversly this one http://tinyurl.com/o5ga5g suggests that drivers with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) are more attentive in a manual. Since boys are perhaps 3 times more likely to have ADHD are boys more likely to persist with a manual because it stops them crashing?

[Vitz_man]

For performance driving you cannot state that an auto is superior to a manual. Pushing an auto box round a corner will result in it staying in gear until the corner is finished then when you floor it out of the corner it will kick down. If you want to suggest using a selection setting or "flappy paddles" to change the gear yourself, how is that better than a manual? You still have to change gear. Manaul change down before the corner, more power in the corner, more effective engine braking if needed and more power coming out of the corner. Fine, city driving, no problem with an auto, i'd probably pick one myself, but twisty roads and my inability to resist a good pressing of the right pedal mean that the manual is a much better option for me.

As for brake pads. My father has a '92 Mitsibishi Pajero Auto Box - it'll be lucky to do 5000 miles on its front pads due to the fact that you are on the brakes much more than a manual. Manuals benefit from engine braking, as well as being a more efficiant method of transferring power from the engine. Fuel consumption is increased on most auto's, although granted some autos are actually more economical than manuals.

Why is it such an effort to change gears yourself? Clutch in, change gear, clutch out, three very small movements which use such little energy that it cannot be considered a needless waste of effort.

[Cyker]

The impressions I got about the Toyota MMT is that it's awful; A few people here like them, but even they admit you have to adapt to it. It is a lot more efficient than a torque-convertor auto (i.e. a 'Real' auto), but if you don't adapt your driving style you'll probably fry the clutch.

I've always wondered how you can do a slow crawl in MMT, e.g. in traffic, doing manouvers; Is it like an auto where you just have to lean on the brakes and ignore the shuddering engine, or is the computer smart enough to feather the clutch?

I'm deffo a manual driver 'tho; Really dislike driving autos (Not driven a semi-auto like MMT 'tho). I spend a lot of time in slow moving traffic and I just can't do the slow crawl tricks I do in my manual - All the autos I've driven idle much faster than manuals, so if you want to go forward slowly you end up leaning on the brakes. It might be easier because you don't have to change gear so much, but I'm sure it can't be healthy having the engine fighting the torque convertor and brakes like that, esp. with the habit of many auto drivers who sit at red lights in D with their foot plastered to the foot brake!

I'd like to see an auto box get 600 miles to a tank in a car like my Yaris D4D!

Still, each to their own - My parents love their auto car; They can't understand why I like my manual more!

It's a pity there seems to be a decline in real autos, but I suspect it's because they need bigger engines which have higher emissions etc..

I'd like to try a VW DSG semi-auto one day 'tho; Apparently they're very nice to drive, even for a semi, and much nicer than the MMT!

[knewmans]

Utter waste of effort. I agree a manual isn't much effort by why do it if you don't need to.

With the brakes, just anticipate and use that lack of engine braking to your advantage. You don't need to be on the brakes much more. Modern cars cut the fuel completely on the overrun so you can minimise the difference in fuel consumption by just adopting a slightly different style.

I would probably be the old fuddy duddy who suggests if you're close enough to your limit to need the difference between the manual and auto you shouldn't be doing it on the road but if that's the way you drive the manual would suit you better. I just want to arrive as relaxed and as easily as possible. The driving isn't the important bit, what you do at the other end is and in todays traffic I'll take anything that makes driving less hassle.

[Cyker]

Well eventully we'll have computer driven cars for you so you won't need to worry about anything to do with the car, just the destination

(That'd be nice actually... extra bit of kip on the way to work :D)

I must admit, I *like* driving. I didn't realise it could actually be enjoyable until I got this car (Used to hate driving... even took the bus half the time just so I didn't have to! ).

Now I'll just whizz around for the sake of it - Nice twisty A-roads through the countryside, just taking in the view, going for an exploratory wander to nowhere in particular,maybe stopping over in some random village for lunch (Always amazed at how much nicer people are than in London! )... it's nice :)

Don't have the opportunity much (Ah time, that elusive currency!), but any excuse for a little runabout I'll take :)

Heh, I'm starting to sound like a generic car advert now!

[knewmans]

Nice twisty A-roads through the countryside, just taking in the view, going for an exploratory wander to nowhere in particular,maybe stopping over in some random village for lunch

I can and do do all that I just don't change gear and don't want to.

[alfiejts]

I have the VW DSG gearbox in my Audi A3, we have a manual Yaris and I've tried the MMT (both the original version when we were looking for our first Yaris in 2000 and recently when we replaced it in 2008...)

The DSG box is a similar concept as the MMT (its a manual gearbox controlled by a computer), but it has two cluches instead of one. So when you want to change gear, it only has to dip the clutch and bring the other clutch in - whereas the MMT single clutch gearbox has to do just what you would have to do in a manual gearbox. It has to dip the clutch, change the cogs in the gearbox and bring the clutch back in again.

Inevitably that takes a bit longer and isn't as smooth.

However - its still quicker than you doing it manually in a manual gearbox. The only reason you think it is slow is beacuse you're not doing anything - you're just sat there waiting for it to happen.

Whats my view?

Sometimes I love my DSG gearbox and sometimes I hate it - when the computer can't decide what gear you want approaching a roundabout for example....

On balance, I'd have been quite happy to get a new MMT Yaris. I left it to my wife to choose and she chose the manual because she didn't couldn't get used to the idea of having to tell the car to change gear by adjusting your foot on the accelerator pedal, as the salesman was trying to show her....

I was happy to go with a manual because its one less thing to go wrong.....

From a driving perspective though, I was quite happy with the MMT. Just down to personal choice I think.

I really like the "automatic" mode of my DSG box and leave it in that most of the time - which is great - the ease of an auto whilst still giving the economy of a manual box - and going across a mountain pass road using the flappy paddles to go up and down the gears is real fun now and then - but do you know what? Last week I left the A3 in the garage and took my wife's manual 1.3SR for a road trip - because that's just as much fun and it was really nice to be using a real manual gearbox again, using my own skills to be in the right gear at the right time.....