On delivery day, I actually thought, \u201cThis is not going well!<\/strong>\u201d and ordered the sticker below from Amazon. By the time it arrived, though, I\u2019d already got the hang of things, so there was no need to put it on. Maybe I\u2019ll save it for practicing in the GT3 Touring.<\/p>\n Then came day five. Feeling pretty pleased with myself, I decided to take the 320i on the roughly 40-minute drive from home to Mosaic in Kobe Harborland<\/strong>. Well, actually, my daughters had been pleading to go to the Anpanman Children\u2019s Museum<\/strong>, so I went reluctantly, thinking, \u201cIt\u2019s going to be packed\u2026\u201d haha.<\/p>\n You can get from home to Harborland without using the expressway, but the navigation system recommended the Hanshin Expressway<\/strong>. Since I was still getting used to the car, I decided to follow its advice. Come to think of it, this was my first time driving the 320i on the highway<\/strong>.<\/p>\n I checked that the ETC toll-payment device was set up, passed through the toll gate, and accelerated. The 320i has a 2.0-liter engine, so it isn\u2019t a large-displacement car, but being able to choose my own gears made for smooth, satisfying acceleration<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Wow, driving a manual feels great\u2026!<\/p>\n At first, I nervously stayed in the left lane. But once I\u2019d settled into the flow of traffic, it felt much like driving an automatic, so I tried moving into the passing lane. As you\u2019d expect from the 320i, it stayed composed and stable through the lane change at speed, with no body wobble.<\/strong><\/p>\n Traffic slowed to a crawl in a few places, but I left plenty of room ahead and managed the repeated first-gear starts. After leaving the expressway, I made it safely to Harborland.<\/p>\n After a full day of fun at the Anpanman Children\u2019s Museum and umie, we made it home safely with the kids fast asleep in the car. I haven\u2019t been driving a manual for long, but there are a few things I\u2019ve noticed since making the switch<\/strong>. I thought I\u2019d write them down before I forget.<\/p>\n Since switching to a manual, I\u2019ve naturally started leaving more distance between my car and the one in front<\/strong>. It\u2019s nerve-racking to think the car ahead might suddenly stop, and keeping a bigger gap makes it easier to keep moving smoothly without coming to a complete stop. Plus, following too closely means a tiresome cycle of \u201cstop, start, stop, start<\/strong>,\u201d haha.<\/p>\n When I drove an automatic, I mostly paid attention to whether the light right in front of me was green, yellow, or red. In a manual, I find myself checking the lights farther up the road, too.<\/p>\n If the next light turns red, I figure the one ahead of me will probably change soon as well, so I should \u201cease off a little and downshift<\/strong>.\u201d If the lights farther ahead are still green, I know I can shift up to around fourth gear and keep going<\/strong>. I\u2019ve started anticipating what\u2019s coming up and driving accordingly.<\/p>\n I tried to do this in an automatic, too, but with a manual I\u2019m still a long way from being able to shift and work the clutch without thinking. So I pay more attention to possible surprises\u2014someone stepping out, or another car suddenly pulling in\u2014and drive in a way that lets me react at any time.<\/p>\n When I drove an automatic, I didn\u2019t pay much attention to the car\u2019s sounds while driving. At most, I\u2019d think, \u201cThat engine sounds great<\/strong>,\u201d or \u201cWait, has the exhaust warmed up and made the engine sound louder than before?<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n Since switching to a manual, though, I\u2019ve started listening for subtle changes in engine sound as I ease off the clutch during a hill start. I also find myself thinking, \u201cThe car sounds like it\u2019s working hard\u2014I should shift up<\/strong>,\u201d or \u201cOh no, sorry! I put it in fourth instead of second!<\/strong>\u201d haha. I\u2019ve become much more conscious of listening to what the car is telling me.<\/p>\n Every now and then, you come across someone who doesn\u2019t pull away when the light turns green. They\u2019re probably looking at their phone or caught up in a conversation and haven\u2019t noticed the light change. I used to honk, but now I think, \u201cMaybe they\u2019re new to driving a manual and cautiously working the clutch right now<\/strong>,\u201d and wait for them to move, haha.<\/p>\n Of course, that\u2019s probably not what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n All in all, I\u2019ve started driving more carefully<\/strong>. A manual car does less for you than an automatic, and so much depends on your own inputs\u2014so you naturally stay more alert behind the wheel<\/strong>. I\u2019m also still getting used to driving one.<\/p>\n Most people learning to drive these days seem to get an automatic-only license. But I sometimes think it might be better to learn in a manual, even if you have to start that way. Maybe it helps you develop the mindset that safe driving depends on your own hands and instincts. (Though I went straight for an automatic-only license myself!)<\/span><\/p>\n Maybe that\u2019s why, the other day, while I was just driving normally around the neighborhood, an elderly man in a Lexus LS blew right past me<\/strong>, leaving me with a strangely unsettled feeling\u2026 haha. Still, safe driving is always the best choice, so I\u2019ll keep making it a priority in both manual and automatic cars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Taking a Manual BMW to Kobe Ever since my BMW 320i was delivered, I\u2019ve been driving it every day to practice. The first time behind the wheel, I stalled over and over. I was so nervous that my foot on the clutch and hand on the gearshift were both stiff as boards. I was left wondering, \u201cHow am I ever going to get the hang of this\u2026?\u201d But by the second day, I was getting...","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":10824,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=11507","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nocar-nolife","en-US"],"yoast_head":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/IMG_2881-800x600.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/IMG_2880-800x600.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nTaking the 320i onto the Hanshin Expressway<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/IMG_2848-800x600.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/IMG_2838-800x600.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/IMG_2849-800x600.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nWhat I\u2019ve Learned from Driving a Manual<\/h3>\n
I Leave More Space Ahead<\/h4>\n
I Watch the Traffic Lights Farther Ahead<\/h4>\n
I Drive with a \u201cWhat If?\u201d Mindset<\/h4>\n
I Listen More Closely to the Car<\/h4>\n
I\u2019m More Patient with Drivers Who Don\u2019t Move on Green<\/h4>\n
Driving a Manual Makes Me a Safer Driver<\/h3>\n