Good starter car for learning stick

Hey guys, I am needing to relearn how to drive a stick and the truck i learned on was sold to a junkyard (not my choice) and so I am looking for a cheap and yet easy 5 speed to relearn on, smaller and cheap, sedan - small truck

? Whatever's cheap.

Relearn? It's not something you really forget.

Jeep or a small motorcycle.

Kenny_McCormic wrote: Relearn? It's not something you really forget.

This!

I agree it's not something you forget. A coworker recently bought a FR-S after not owning a manual car for 30 years and rarely driving one. I think the last car he drove with a manual before buying the Scion was my '64 RHD Mini about 2 years ago.

But as far as "easy to learn on" cars go, my '03 TDI is by far the easiest manual trans car I've ever driven. All that low end torque is very forgiving, but the general lack of power means you don't really abuse the clutch very much.

I haven't been on my bike for a couple weeks, but I'm fairly certain I don't need to relearn how to ride it. If you once knew how to drive a standard, you still know how to do. It may just take a little bit to get used to it again, but I don't think it is something you really forget and have to relearn. I would buy whatever you can afford and like.

I've been away from manuals a few times. You'll lurch it or kill it a couple times, and then you'll be fine.

In my experience, front drive VWs are super easy. Suzuki trucks. My CR-Z. Tiny engines in tiny cars are easy - you're not trying to join an unstoppable force to an immovable object.

Jeep.

My dad's TJ was MILES easier to learn on than the RSX-S I inherited.

you don't forget … you might lose some smoothness … but it comes back almost immediately ….

my 90 yo Mom hasn't driven a manual since the '60's and she drove my new Sonic 6mt around the neighborhood the other day … a couple of jerky starts, and killed it couple of times, and if she was out on the highway it would be tough for her to remember that there are more than 4 forward gears … but in an emergency she could get in it and drive away

beans wrote: Jeep. My dad's TJ was MILES easier to learn on than the RSX-S I inherited.

learning on v. re-aquainting ones self with a manual are 2 distinctly different things

My Grand Am is an easy manual. But, the S10 with the 4.3 required zero gas to get rolling. I could just let the clutch out and go.

Whatever car has an easy and cheap clutch to replace...

Like said, you'll probably have it mastered again in a few days (at most).

Old twin-cylinder John Deere with a hand clutch. Really easy to watch the belt drive drum and observe how clutch slip changes translate into forward motion. And the throttle is set with a lever so you can just dial in a semi-fast idle and not have to focus on a throttle pedal during everything else that's going on. I learned when I was five and dad put my on his '49 B.

C6 Z06

/thread

Anything with a fair amount of torque down low is easy in my experience. My Insight (remember the insta-torque from the electric motor) is MUCH easier to drive than my wife's Saab 9-3. The Insight is lacking in a lot of other areas but starting off is really easy. Mazda2 is terrible for starting. MR2 Spyder is awesome. Hmm... I would find an S-10 or Chevy 1500 with the 4.3L or V8 with manual. Should be real cheap in 2wd variation and easy to launch.

I learned on an Isuzu RS Turbo by driving it about 3 times when I was 15. my first car was an auto but in my first year of college I bought my second vehicle - a 1969 F100 with a big block and 3 speed trans. You could roll it from a dead stop without ever touching the gas.

In THIRD.

Think light weight OR lots of torque OR low gearing AND cheap parts. Something like a small pickup would probably be ideal.

Miata.

Since nobody else said it.

I don't recommend a van with 3 on the tree.

Air cooled VW, but there are some things you never forget...

"Honey, my business trip was so long that I didn't want to forget how. I swear, I was only with her so I would remember how to treat you when I got back."

JtspellS wrote: C6 Z06 /thread

Fun story: My neighbor had a C5 Z06 that he never drove. We are pretty close with these neighbors--they never had kids, and my brother and I helped out with their dog a LOT. Well, the Mr. was away on a business trip, and my little brother and Mrs. Neighbor decided that it should get driven. So the two of them set out, my little brother who was 12, and my neighbor who hadn't driven a stickshift since a Beetle in the 1970's. They came back with icecream and a huge grin on both their faces. Needless to say, she didn't forget, although she had lost some of her touch.

Probably just skip this one: