have you got many accessories on your rig?
i must be getting old but i'm starting to wonder if i'd have preferred an auto in the long run, my economy is a bit worse and i've always been a manual man, only auto i've ever owned was a 68 Chev impala!
missus hates auto's too but i had an auto d40 as a loan car in perth and it was very good.
Not really a lot of accessories, I use my ute for work.
Both utes were set up the same running factory 17's and a alloy nudge bar,fog lights, ARB canopy and a home made cargo drawer in the back. I do however have all my tools and bits and bobs I require in the drawer weighing in at around 700kg when fully loaded.
Only other mod's I have is a blocked EGR, a green air filter and CB radio. (old ute runs spring helpers and new one has overload springs.)
Both my 07 and my new 12 are auto's (I choose auto because of the km's I do. average closer to 60k a year.) and I have to say the new auto is so much nicer than the old one although it does still have some down falls.
The auto in the old one has a high stall torque converter from factory and as anybody on here will tell you they tend to slip a fear bit and the lock-up isn't very strong and only happens in 5th.
The new one however feels lower and the lock-up is a lot stronger and happens in all gears.
One down fall for the new one is for some reason when traveling down hill it sometimes wants to drop back a gear when you get to the bottom of the hill and try to accelerate away. ( It may just be me not used to the tranny yet).
Another down point to both is the fact that when in soft stuff (mud, sand, river crossings around 300mm deep) the converters tend to slip a bit so you have to rev harder to get momentum.
mines a 2.5 6speed.
