Inexpensive Sporty Car w/Manual Trans

[ChipButty]

14 hours ago, ftpjtm said:

It will be a second car, and we live outside of Bangkok in a relatively traffic free area. If we are obviously somewhere with a lot of traffic, we'll take the wife's car with the automatic.

 

That said, I like manuals because they are more fun and engaging to drive, IMO. I've been driving them all my life, drive them proficiently, and think they make a night and day difference in some cars, the automatics shift so poorly. And there's the added bonus that they typically cost a little less than the same car with an automatic.

 

No one has a recommendation of a hot hatch with a manual?

 

Depends how big you are, I had a Ford Fiesta 1600 sport that thing could fly the one we had was auto not sure about manual and less than a million baht

[elgenon]

For an oldster, I am shocked that manuals can be more expensive than an automatic. They're "special".

[pineapple01]

This Country is not a good place to find anything other than a Belly Button.

[pineapple01]

17 minutes ago, elgenon said:

For an oldster, I am shocked that manuals can be more expensive than an automatic. They're "special".

Cant be that Old . Jaguar charged about 2000$ to fit a Factory Stick Shift in an XJS.

[elgenon]

4 minutes ago, pineapple01 said:

Cant be that Old . Jaguar charged about 2000$ to fit a Factory Stick Shift in an XJS.

Amazing to me.

Sticks were for sporty dudes and poor people.

[CharlieH]

With modern tech these days sticks are for nostalgia and not much else in my book.You can still up and down the cogs just as efficiently and faster in a modern auto.

But hey, whatever floats your boat.

 

Only thing you cant do to it is "bumo it" !!  ????

[Coremouse]

Why all those sage posts about auto over manual. OP simply asked suggestion for a manual car, not asking whether autos are superior.

 

Me daily commute in Bangkok in a manual - my car got feather flywheel, uprated clutch, draggy awd drivetrain and track only dampers, not particular suited for street - and I would still pick manual over autos for Bangkok commute all day. Manuals offer much more direct, precise control which is safety bonus on my book.

 

Point 1. Manuals aren't any difficult to drive than auto. If you think clutch heavy just change twinplate or practice. Imo manual could easier control low speed with both legs is better than strain right leg alone. Many mid-low end autos got substantial unpleasant brake pedal effort as it operates both brake and tranny actuator. 

2. AT boxes will jerk foward when off pedal, this is usually very unpleasant / and a safety concern in Bangkok bumper-to-bumper traffic. 

3. Many states that modern auto could act like manual - not true. Tiptronic alike still governed by ECU in manual mode, and are sluggiish also could jump out gear when speed up/down. L gears usually have only 2-3 selections so very limited and awkward compare to proper manual. 

4. DCTs are not as reliable and a pita to fix if anything wrong.

5. CVTs couldn't handle proper sport car torque.

6. Bottomline not all autos are created equal, if you looking for budget under 900k - the AT boxes are still almost samey back 90s, 00s. And any manual would blast those auto tranny away with same engine power. Also much easier/cheaper to maintain and repair. 

7. Only thing I hate manual is potential money shift. Seen even expert made mistake in high-g. Keep all clutch things in good shape and stay vigilant. 

 

 

Edited April 24, 2020 by Coremouse

[Coremouse]

Can't gave suggestion to OP as I only have experience in cheaper car - never seen 900k in my life, but for 900k I would get a RX7 - yes could spend more in repair bills later, but style and handling points are off the chart. 

 

Or I'll buy a cheap oldie used car then use rest of the budget to perform restoration and rebuild. Only thing stay away from Toyota 3S engine cars(MR2 turbo, GT-Four) - or any car with tiny messy engine bay - totally PITA to work on

[The Word]

18 hours ago, LivinLOS said:

When you find a new, manual, rear wheel drive, sporty car for 900k.. 

..Please tell me, then 2 of us will know !! 

...in two years time!

[Coremouse]

Toyota's Yaris GR4 would be manual only( like last gen Toyota GT-4s also manual only no auto thingymajigs ) and 30k GBP, only ~1.2m THB. Of course if it would bloat several times if ever introduce to Thai market.

 

275hp 1280kg designed as true R5 homologation from ground up. 

[The Word]

3 hours ago, Rdrokit said:

I did an advanced search for you on one2car.com. Used any year, price max 900,000 baht, manual trans, coupe, 50,000km maximum milage. Good luck. Nice 350Z would be my choice. Parts redily available.

 

https://www.one2car.com/en/cars-for-sale?min_price=100000&max_price=900000&max_mileage=50000&transmission=manual&body_type=Coupe

Didn't he say that he wanted a new car, i.e. unmodified and new?  Cars with an average year of 1997 with high mileage and many modifications don't really fit his criteria!

[Rdrokit]

7 minutes ago, The Word said:

Didn't he say that he wanted a new car, i.e. unmodified and new?  Cars with an average year of 1997 with high mileage and many modifications don't really fit his criteria!

Yea he did but if you do a search there are no sporty manual cars under 900,000 baht unless you lower your expectation of what "sporty" is. 

[Airalee]

8 hours ago, overherebc said:

Dtbezn3nNUxytg04OWFLSsZPSQbVdSEtzxVmcf8eRwpNwX.webp 44.93 kB · 0 downloads

If you were a real American you'd call it a 'stick-shift' ????????

Only joking.

Look around and try to find a Mazda sport, won't be new but if you get a good one it will be a fun drive.

+1....except you won’t find a manual transmission NC for under a million in this country.  Rare as hell.  This super clean NA currently for sale (฿668,000)  would be a good choice though. 
 

https://rod.kaidee.com/product-353549277

 

[sirineou]

How about an MR2 . long ago i dated a girl who had one, it drove like it was on rails, and was Toyota reliable. It was always on my bucket list . I found two for sale  600-700K baht on:  https://www.one2car.com/en/cars-for-sale/toyota/mr2 I post the Atomatic because the picture is better, but there is also  a Manual.

 In none of the pictures or description did it mention the T-roof, (strange) but the one my girl had had a removable T-roof

Edited April 24, 2020 by sirineou

[ftpjtm]

11 hours ago, ChipButty said:

Depends how big you are, I had a Ford Fiesta 1600 sport that thing could fly the one we had was auto not sure about manual and less than a million baht

Fiestas are not available with manual transmissions in Thailand. Which is too bad, because the crappy dual clutch automatic destroyed its reputation here.

Edited April 24, 2020 by ftpjtm

[ftpjtm]

12 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

Sporty? 

Mazda 3 is heavier, less torque, bigger.

Mazda 2 is lighter , more torque (potentially a lot more) , smaller.

From what I've seen on the internet neither the Mazda 2 or 3 is available with a manual transmission in Thailand.

[ftpjtm]

13 hours ago, Skallywag said:

I owned a 10 year old 1974 Fiat 124 spider that was a blast to drive, 5 speed manual.   

 

You can find 10 year old BMW Z4 for under 1 million baht in Thailand. 

Cant think of anything "sporty" and fun for under 1 million baht new.  

 

I would LOVE to have that car over here!

[ftpjtm]

15 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

I'm claiming foul on this. Unless you have gone all bilingual. Isn't it called 'standard'?

 

More commonly called a manual transmission. 

 

Screen shot of a yearly article from popular US car magazine Car and Driver  chronicling the models still available in the US with a 'manual transmission';

 

And another of the 2020 Ford Mustang spec sheet showing that it's available with a 'manual'.

 

BTW, as an additional answer to the question "why do you want a manual", as an American who splits time between the two countries I can add that I think it's a fun novelty to shift with my left hand. It is something of an art to really shift a manual properly, double clutching and rev matching. There's extra satisfaction to be had doing it on the other side of the car with the other hand, the left feeling a bit more awkward. 

 

Edited April 24, 2020 by ftpjtm

[ftpjtm]

15 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

 

OP, Do you want it sporty or to look sporty?

 

I guess at ~900k for a new vehicle I'm going to have to accept "look sporty". 

 

But I definitely want a car, not a truck or van. 

 

Mazda 2 or 3, Fiesta, Suzuki Swift, MG3 all seem like they'd be fun to run around town in IF they had a manual. And none are available with one. 

[VocalNeal]

8 minutes ago, ftpjtm said:

I guess at ~900k for a new vehicle I'm going to have to accept "look sporty". 

 

But I definitely want a car, not a truck or van. 

 

Mazda 2 or 3, Fiesta, Suzuki Swift, MG3 all seem like they'd be fun to run around town in IF they had a manual. And none are available with one. 

Well I suppose I'll have to admit I've never had to look for a specifically manual car. Next one I'm still leaning towards a Mazda 2 diesel.

 

I do have a friend with a Fiesta 1600 something . He drives it quite aggressively and I've never heard him complain about it.

 

Another has a Subaru BRZ? but that would be outside your specified price! 

 

Life goes On.

[Crash999]

On 4/24/2020 at 10:02 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

How much are these little cars in Thailand?

 

You could get into an Elise for 1.8-1.9m. Probably less as it's difficult to sell expensive manual transmission cars here.

I had an Elise and Exige here. Only thing reliable was the engine. All the other bits routinely fell off. I once delivered the Exige to the dealer with a list of 6 things to repair. When I came to pick it up 3 were repaired, 3 forgotten, and there were 2 new problems- the more serious one being the trunk release wasn't working. Oops.

Very fun cars though. I do miss driving them. Sometimes. Best part was that after upgrading the brake fluid and brake pads they could be happy track cars all day long. The driver would get tired long before the car.

[VocalNeal]

There is a FIAT 850 coupe on Kaidee for 280,000 if one fancies a project.

[Sam Lin]

The Honda Jazz is one of the cheapest new cars still orderable with an MT in Thailand, at 555k THB. Brio used to be an option, but is now CVT only.

[DavisH]

On 4/24/2020 at 10:06 PM, ftpjtm said:

From what I've seen on the internet neither the Mazda 2 or 3 is available with a manual transmission in Thailand.

Not the new models. The previous M2 came with manual. You can still get a honda jazz mt. I think that will disappear with the new jazz. 

[DavisH]

On 5/6/2020 at 3:39 PM, Sam Lin said:

The Honda Jazz is one of the cheapest new cars still orderable with an MT in Thailand, at 555k THB. Brio used to be an option, but is now CVT only.

This is about the fastest mass market car with a manual box here. But the new honda city 1.0 turbo is still faster than that, even with a cvt. I couldn't bear to manually shift in BKK traffic. Been there and done that with 1998 honda city. Not again. 

[jmccarty]

On 5/6/2020 at 3:39 PM, Sam Lin said:

The Honda Jazz is one of the cheapest new cars still orderable with an MT in Thailand, at 555k THB. Brio used to be an option, but is now CVT only.

Jazz would be it if a new one is this price. 

[DavisH]

On 4/24/2020 at 11:10 PM, ftpjtm said:

I guess at ~900k for a new vehicle I'm going to have to accept "look sporty". 

 

But I definitely want a car, not a truck or van. 

 

Mazda 2 or 3, Fiesta, Suzuki Swift, MG3 all seem like they'd be fun to run around town in IF they had a manual. And none are available with one. 

The earlier swift 1.2 and mazda 2 came with a manual. Consider the manual honda jazz. They have very good resale, based on what they are advertised for online. Boy racers love them, so avoid second hand. Or buy second-hand and do a k-swap on the engine. 

 

 

[DavisH]

1 minute ago, jmccarty said:

Jazz would be it if a new one is this price. 

Yes it's 555K. No joke 555. This may be gone this year sometime, when the new model replaces it.