I realize this will be tainted asking a car enthusiast community but...

Buying a Manual Transmission for a Male Teen? Considering a Mazda Speed3 Hot Hatch...

A. Great Idea - good to learn, may make him an enthusiast, will keep his hand off a phone, make sure he's not distracted, Stolen Less because 5% of thieves know stick, etc.

B. Pass - It's hard enough to drive as a teen

All constructive comments welcome as always...

 

I agree with your good reasons, but I would take it a step further and make it something like a Miata.....stop laughing, there's method to my madness:

1) powerful enough, but not too powerful for a new driver
2) can really learn driving dynamics
3) since it's only a two seater, he can only have one boneheaded friend with him at a time because the stupidity of teen boys increases exponentially with each additional friend present....heck, my stupidity increases when a few of my dumba$$ 40-something friends come around.

 

Definitely manual. It will make him a better driver, period.

 

My first car was a stick (datsun at the time) and was a great car to learn on - one thing I have read recently is that the of all the more recent technologies, stability control is the most helpful technology for saving teens from accidents, so my son is getting a car with stability control in it - you have to go pretty new with imports, but the germans have had it for ever, so early 2000's Mercs, audis, BMW's you can get with manual and stability control as well as AWD which is a nice to have in the rust belt.

 

My first car was a stick. Hes going to beat the snot out of whatever car he gets. Make it less powerful. Maybe a normal Mazda 3. Practical for college or sports or whatever.

 

No reason not to go with a stick. As fun as a Miata would be, I'd want something a bit bigger for a first time driver. Just want more metal.

 

Guess I'm the outlier here, I vote against a stick. Driving is a cognitively complex task. It's difficult enough for new drivers to process the road, traffic controls, hazards, and other drivers. Adding additional tasks of managing the clutch and gearbox reduces the attention available for these other, more important tasks. I would first focus on developing the skills to control the car, assess traffic and hazards ahead, respond to stoplights and such, use the mirrors effectively, and maintain steady speed. Once the basics are mastered, add the additional tasks of driving a standard. If you've ever been to Motorcycle Safety Foundation training, they use this incremental approach and it's far more effective than dumping the entire workload onto a new rider all at once.

I think the most important lesson is the phone goes in the trunk while driving, every time, no exceptions.

The MS3 is far too quick and powerful for a teen male driver. Not a good choice IMHO. I use a Focus ST for daily commuting, so have some idea how much trouble one can get into in a sport compact.

Caveat: I'm old enough to have some life perspective, but never had kids. If I were a parent, I'd ignore advice from people like me...

 

My first car was manual. It's a great skill to know, and I don't think it made my learning how to drive any harder. I started out small in the parking lots then side streets. It's second nature once you catch on. My c63 is actually my first automatic. As far as the speed 3. I had one for 5 years as my daily. It is a very reliable car but quick stock and even faster modded. I will tell you if I had that car when I was first learning I would have been in trouble I would agree go base 3. I'm sure he will hate that idea cause I couldn't understand why my dad wouldn't get me a v8 mustang for my first car lol. I got a Saturn btw😆

 

I would get him a stick to learn to drive on as well.

 

I am a firm believer that everyone should know how to drive a manual transmission..even if its a honda or mazda. It could be a safety issue..what if there was an emergency and the only thing available was a manual transmission?? He would be stuck.. Any son or daughter of mine would be taught how to drive anything.

My first car of choice for a new teen driver would be a used honda civic..very cheap to buy and own..safe and reliable and your teen can do all kinds of mods to it if they wish.. they like that crap. It would give me peace of mind as a parent.

Or you could buy him a C63 for his first car...

 

Definitely a manual. He will appreciate your gesture in the future when manuals would be an extinct species. I believe that learning how to drive a manual with smoother shifts and devoid of any jerkiness makes one a better driver.

 

I thought the same thing for my son to buy him a stick for his first car, but opted for automatic for the following reasons:

- Too many things to focus as a new driver
- Not to many manuals left
- Kids today are different than when I learned to drive not to.say they can't learn like it did manual with no power steering....kids today are softer...

I bought him a 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid. Great car with tons of saftey features like backup camera, blind spot, etc. It also gets 41 mpg city/highway and car is not a rocket.

He will pay for auto insurance and gas.

Love idea of phone in the trunk.

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I agree with you.

I learned to drive a Volvo station wagon. 4 speed with electronic OD.

Too slow to get into trouble. Reliable. Very safe

 

Is your male teen into racing/modifications? If so, yes. He will appreciate having a manual to start off with as he grows into the scene.

If not, no to the manual transmission.
It's a dying technology and not many cars come with a manual anymore.

 

Being the parent of teenagers, I am definitely in favor of a milder learning curve. I say automatic. Sticks are almost a dead issue anyway.

Ideal 1st car for a teen? Boring sedan, automatic, no more than 150 hp, weighs about 5,000 lbs., at least. Guess that means shopping for an old Caddy.

I do recall when I was 17 any car would have been great. An old Pontiac, which was my first car, was craptastic.

 

Because none of us on this board like to mod our cars and I'm sure most of us aren't teens

I'm on the fence with this one. I agree that they should know how to operate a manual, but if you live in a congestion heavy area (like Los Angeles), thats just torture. I never owned a manual car, but I definitely learned to drive one.

 

I have a manual car myself and quite frankly the manual is dead technology and unless he is actually interested in learning a stick I see no reason to buy one. Let him focus on the road and things that make him a better driver.

This forum is going to be heavily skewed stick as the demographic of people that can afford a C63 probably learned to drive on or once owned a manual car.

 

Thanks... so far this feedback is as split as my friends and neighbors.

I test drive the speed3 today and after not driving a manual for 20? Years... picked up confidently after a few minutes once I found the gears.

I'm still very torn... it was a really fun car, looks really really great in white, way better in person.

Another negative I know remember is if your injured or suffering from soreness from sports, having to press that clutch another 40 times on the way home really sucks.

Because these, especially in white, are rare, I put a blocking deposit down while I figured this out. My son returns tomorrow from a trip and we need to really check his commitment to a manual learning curve (which is s strong memory of anyone who has learned).

Also, surprisingly, as early as 2013, there is still no back up camera on this model.

Just for giggles... here is a pic of it.

 

I think the 3 is a nice choice.

I don't want to sound like a d-bag, so don't take this with offense.

I am relatively young [and don't drive an AMG] but in reality heres what the biggest thing is:

You know your son.

Sure they can hide stuff, but if he gets good grades and stuff you could probably rely on him.

If your son is a d-bag (once again dont take offense) then he might be the problem.
A LOT of people are sh*t drivers. I could drive 150 and am safer than some idiots who drive 35.

 

I cant believe I didn't consider when, as I type this, I have been wearing a walking boot on my left leg which would have completely prevented me from driving a stick.

 

Lol... my going in position was too buy him and beater car, teach him humility, etc.

His grades are the best ever now, he hasn't driven a mile over the speed limit yet... and somehow this all flipped my switches to.. "he's a really good kid, I can get him something he'll smile getting into, etc"

He is a d-bag to his little brother sometimes but I can't see him cocky enough to screw around in the car... all the power in this is in the top end where he won't have the confidence to be in for a long while.

 

He sounds like he could be trusted.

I do a lot of highway driving, idk if he will be doing so when he gets to college.

Your insurance might offer a teen monitor thing, which shows top speed this month or data like that, idk. Do it without telling him, and if you see something you could always tell him. This way you don't "invade" privacy or anything. Just a thought.

Siblings are always bad to each other when they're young anyway arent they, haha.

 

Manual all the way - the best way to develop a real feel for what your vehicle is doing.

Too much go is a worry for first time drivers (in Australia we actually have restrictive laws on what you can drive for the first 3 years). My priorities were ABS and multi airbags etc for my son. A 1.8 litre turbo VW Polo GTi was a nice balance of sporty handling and good go without crazy power and 4 accident free years on it is still serving him well save it now has a large front mount intercooler, 3"exhaust and tune

 

Don't underestimate the bravery of a teenage driver.. My parents once told me that i could not drive over 100 mph and that I would not be able to control the car.. That was a challenge to my 16 year old ears.. I undestand now that my parents were just trying to protect me but it was like the gauntlet had been thrown down and I had to accept the challenge. I had an 84 Iroc Z28 at the time...

 

I understand the young bravery thing... I did the same in my parents cars... eventually... you wonder what it's like to drive a little faster...

In a lower power car... it just takes longer to make that mistake so you have at least a few more seconds to reconsider