Imported Cars, Right-Hand Drive (MT)

Lately, when I drive my BMW 320i (MT), I often feel, “Right-hand drive manual imported cars are incredibly busy to operate when turning at intersections.”

Before, I didn’t really notice this because I was focused on clutch operation and driving smoothly, so it didn’t bother me that much.

But now that I’m quite used to driving a manual and can do it without much conscious thought, the operations involved when turning at intersections have become much more noticeable.

That’s because in right-hand drive manual imported cars, “the left hand handles both the turn signal and gear shifts,” so your left hand is very busy when turning at intersections.

In domestic right-hand drive cars, “the turn signal is operated with the right hand and gear shifting with the left,” so the tasks are relatively spread between both hands. Similarly, in left-hand drive imported cars, “the turn signal is with the left hand and gear shifting with the right,” so again, the workload is divided.

But with right-hand drive imported cars, when turning at intersections, “you use your left hand to signal, your left hand to downshift, your right hand to steer, and then your left hand to upshift,” making the left hand extremely busy.

When stopped at a red light at an intersection, there’s still some breathing room. You can signal while stopped, and there’s no need to downshift, so you just start moving when the light turns green. But turning right or left while driving through an intersection is a whole different story…

My husband has always said, “If you buy a manual imported car, it absolutely has to be left-hand drive,” and now I truly understand why.

左ハンドル？それとも右ハンドル？ それぞれのAT／MTを持つ立場から考察してみた。

Next Time, Left-Hand Drive

When I recently told my husband, “I really think left-hand drive is better for manual imported cars,” he said,

“Right? I really think so too. I don’t know if it’s still the case now, but when I first bought a Boxster manual from the dealer, I was wondering whether to get right- or left-hand drive. The sales rep, Mr. H, told me that if you order a right-hand drive MT, they have to get approval from their boss. They want to make sure you fully understand and accept the operational challenges before placing the order. Not sure if that’s still the case now, though.”

That made a lot of sense.

When the 718 Spyder and GT4 were announced, some people canceled their orders because “only right-hand drive was available.” At the time, I just thought, “Oh, really?” But for those used to left-hand drive manuals, I can see why that would be a dealbreaker. (Porsche Japan, please allow customers to choose right or left for these enthusiast models.)

If I were to replace my 320i, I would definitely want a left-hand drive. But I suspect there are very few left-hand drive manual cars I’d like available on the used market. It’s a tricky dilemma these days.