While we enthusiasts always ask for manual transmissions, but do we buy them?
Well, well, well, we enthusiasts have been asking non-stop and now some automakers have listened, not only did Toyota decide to sell the GR86 and Supra with a manual transmission but even Land Rover sells some Range Rover models with a manual transmission (outside of Malaysia). So are we buying these manual cars?
Before we answer that, it should be noted that only the bottom-spec Evoque S D165, which isn’t available in America, but is still listed in the UK for £40,800 (about RM243,085), powered by its 163hp 2.0-liter diesel engine, it manages the century sprint in a leisurely 9.5 seconds, which is lethargic at best has the manual gearbox option.
Moreover, this is also a similar strategy that was employed in Malaysia up until a few years ago in which only the base-spec models of most cars were offered with a choice of manual or automatic transmissions but clearly nobody was buying those since they are “low-spec” so what about newer “high-spec” models.
So why bother with a low-spec manual transmission car? Well on the one hand it allows Land Rover to advertise a lower price point and because the front-wheel drive layout saves weight, the base Evoque is also the most eco friendly Evoque. However, in a world where EVs are quickly becoming the trend, is this going to work at all?
Though still not great, it does put the manual into a lower company car tax bracket, but it’s hard to see why any UK ‘user-chooser’ business drivers would pick it over the PHEV Evoque P300e petrol, unless their boss said the plug-in’s £9k (roughly RM53,685) premium was a stretch too far. Not likely though.
On top of that, most new cars, especially here in Malaysia, which are not “low-spec” and still have a manual transmission are either expensive or come with very high road tax prices due to their higher displacement engines and Malaysia’s archaic road tax systems. So even though there are high-spec manuals, very few people, if any, buy them.
Of course, there is also the issue of convenience as many Malaysians see manual transmissions as “ancient technology” and either choose to drive an automatic transmission anyway or just never learned how to drive a manual in the first place. Well, it is a nightmare to drive a manual in heavy traffic so this is understandable.
So the short answer is, despite there being manual options, nobody buys them, and we enthusiasts are wrong to be asking for something we will not ever buy so let’s just stop asking. We got all this from Carscoops and their full article is linked here. Thank you Carscoops for the information and images.
