Flint Journal review: Manual vs Auto!

[Ahnuld]

Review below compares the manual and auto in two Sky Redlines...

http://www.mlive.com/business/fljour...020.xml&coll=5

Cut to the chase... Highlights....
Saturn Sky's manual tranny offers stirring performance
I like the manual version because the driver can leave it in second or third and wind it up a little higher before shifting. Plus, the engine sounds better when accelerating.

The manual transmission has short throws and snicks between gears smoothly.

It's fun to downshift, too. All this gets a little more out of the available power.

Saturn Sky's manual tranny offers stirring performance
First Look
FLINT
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Thursday, October 05, 2006
By James M. Miller
jmiller@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6318

MILFORD - It really was the transmission.

Earlier this year, I test drove a Pontiac Solstice, a little two-seat convertible, for a few days. Then, I had the Saturn Sky, another little two-seat convertible, for a week. (This job can be really rough sometimes.)

I liked the Sky better and said that probably was because the Solstice was an automatic, the Sky a five-speed manual.

In a sports car, I like to stir my own gears.

Now I had the chance to do a head-to-head comparison, with automatic and manual versions of the Sky Red Line, on a short course at General Motors' Milford Proving Grounds.

No contest.

The manual is more fun.

The Red Line version has a 2-liter four-cylinder with direct fuel injection. It's a cousin of the 2.4-liter in the base model of the Sky and Solstice, but it's been turbocharged to deliver 260 horsepower - 83 more than the stock engine.

Those extra horses take the Sky from a nice little sports car to something that's seriously fun to drive.

GM says the Red Line will go from zero to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds, while the base model does it in 7.2 seconds. Quarter-mile times are 15.7 seconds for the base model, 13.9 for the Red Line

I like the manual version because the driver can leave it in second or third and wind it up a little higher before shifting. Plus, the engine sounds better when accelerating.

Those who don't like to shift for themselves will find good performance from the Red Line with the automatic.

The manual transmission has short throws and snicks between gears smoothly.

It's fun to downshift, too. All this gets a little more out of the available power. Of course, if you drive the car like this, your mileage probably will be less than the EPA's estimated numbers.

If you drive more sanely, there's no penalty for those extra horses. The Red Line version is rated at 22 miles per gallon city, 31 highway, for the manual version. The base model is rated at 20 city, 28 highway.

The Sky and Solstice are wide for their size. That and the wide tires give them slot-car road-holding. A driver can confidently accelerate through an expressway on-ramp or a long curve.

Building on that, the Red Line has a performance tuned suspension, GM's stability control system and a limited-slip differential.

When the cars came out, a GM guy told me that the Sky and Solstice probably wouldn't cut into Chevrolet Corvette sales that much because they are different segments of that sports-car niche: The Corvette costs more, is bigger and has more horsepower.

But the cabin of the smaller cars is very close to the Corvette's in size, and the addition of the Red Line takes away some of that horsepower difference. Some buyers might decide the less-expensive Red Line - about $16,000 less than the base model Corvette coupe - is all the "Corvette" they need.

Cup holders in the Sky and Solstice are mounted in the bulkhead between the seats, too far back to be practical. But with a car like this, your hands should be busy steering and shifting. Leave the coffee cup at home or wait until you get to work.

It's more fun that way.

[KappaMan]

Discussion of this article here:
Review: Manual vs Auto!