Actually, on delivery day, I thought, “This is no good!”<\/strong> and bought the sticker below on Amazon, but by the time it arrived, I had gotten used to it, so I didn\u2019t need to put it on. Maybe I\u2019ll save it for practicing with the GT3 Touring.<\/p>\n Then on the fifth day, feeling confident, I decided to take the 320i on a roughly 40-minute drive from home to Mosaic at Kobe Harborland.<\/strong> Well, actually, my daughters begged me, “We want to go to the Anpanman Museum!”<\/strong> so I reluctantly went thinking, “It\u2019s definitely going to be crowded, ugh,” but off we went\u2026 haha.<\/p>\n You can get to Harborland from home without using the highway, but the navigation said “It\u2019s better to take the Hanshin Expressway,”<\/strong> so at first I decided to follow the nav\u2019s advice and took the expressway. Come to think of it, this was my first time driving the 320i on the highway.<\/strong><\/p>\n I confirmed the ETC was set up, passed through the toll gate, and accelerated. With a 2000cc engine, it\u2019s not huge displacement, but because I could control the gears myself, I was able to enjoy smooth, powerful acceleration.<\/strong><\/p>\n Wow, driving a manual feels so good\u2026!<\/p>\n Once on the highway, I nervously stayed in the slow lane at first, but once I got into the flow, it felt like an automatic, so I changed lanes to the passing lane. As expected of the 320i, lane changes at high speed were stable without any wobbling.<\/strong><\/p>\n There was a bit of stop-and-go traffic, but I kept a safe distance, used repeated first-gear starts to get through, and after exiting the highway, I safely arrived at Harborland.<\/p>\n After playing hard at the Anpanman Museum and umie, I managed to get the kids home safely, where they fell fast asleep. I haven\u2019t been driving a manual for long, but I\u2019ve noticed a few things since I started driving a manual.<\/strong> I thought I\u2019d jot them down here before I forget.<\/p>\n Since driving a manual, I\u2019ve naturally started keeping a greater distance from the car ahead.<\/strong> It\u2019s scary to think the car in front might suddenly stop, and keeping distance helps me drive smoothly without having to stop the car abruptly. Also, if you\u2019re too close, it becomes a hassle of \u201cstop-start-stop-start\u201d repeatedly, which is annoying, haha.<\/p>\n When I drove an automatic, I only focused on whether the light right in front of me was green, yellow, or red. But with a manual, I started looking further ahead at the next traffic light.<\/p>\n If the light ahead is red, I think, “The light in front will probably turn red soon, so I should ease off the speed and downshift.”<\/strong> Conversely, if the light ahead is green, I know “I can safely shift up to around 4th gear from here.”<\/strong> I\u2019ve become more aware of reading the road ahead.<\/p>\n I was conscious of this even with an automatic, but with a manual, since I\u2019m not yet at the point where I can operate the clutch and shift gears with my eyes closed, I drive with a \u201cwhat if\u201d mindset\u2014wondering if someone might suddenly pull out or cut in\u2014and stay ready to react at any moment.<\/p>\n When driving an automatic, I rarely paid attention to the car\u2019s sounds or voices while driving. At most, I\u2019d think, “The engine sounds cool,”<\/strong> or “Hmm, did the exhaust get louder than before?”<\/strong><\/p>\n But since switching to a manual, I\u2019ve started listening carefully to how the engine sound changes when I ease the clutch on a hill start. Also, I notice things like “The car seems to be struggling now, so I should shift up soon,”<\/strong> or “Oops! I accidentally shifted from 4th to 2nd!”<\/strong> (laughs). I try to listen to the car\u2019s \u201cvoice\u201d as I drive.<\/p>\n Sometimes I come across drivers who don\u2019t move when the light turns green. They\u2019re probably looking at their phones or chatting and haven\u2019t noticed the light changed. I used to honk at them, but now I think, “Maybe they\u2019re a beginner manual driver nervously trying to engage the clutch right now,”<\/strong> and I wait patiently until they start moving (laughs).<\/p>\n Well, probably that\u2019s not actually the case.<\/p>\n In short, I\u2019ve become a safer driver.<\/strong> Because there are fewer things the car can do for me compared to an automatic, and I have to rely more on my own actions, so I drive with more focus and care.<\/strong> Also, I\u2019m still not fully used to driving a manual.<\/p>\n Nowadays, most people get an automatic-only license at driving school, but I think it\u2019s better to get a manual license first, even if forced. That way, you develop the mindset of \u201cdriving safely with your own hands and senses.\u201d (\u2026though I myself got an automatic-only license without hesitation)<\/span><\/p>\n Maybe because of this kind of driving, the other day while driving normally around the neighborhood, I got overtaken from the side by an old man driving a Lexus LS,<\/strong> which left me with a strange, mixed feeling\u2026 haha. But well, nothing beats safe driving, so I\u2019ll keep aiming to drive safely, whether in a manual or automatic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Driving to Kobe in a Manual Since my BMW 320i was delivered, I\u2019ve been driving it every day to practice. The first time I drove it, I stalled repeatedly, and I was so nervous that my foot on the clutch and hand on the gear lever were stiff as a board. I thought, “What on earth am I going to do from here\u2026” and felt overwhelmed. But by the second day, I got much more...","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":10824,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/www.panamera-life.com\/?p=11507"},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"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 on 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 Since Driving a Manual<\/h3>\n
Keeping a Safe Distance<\/h4>\n
Watching Traffic Lights Further Ahead<\/h4>\n
Driving with a \u201cWhat If\u201d Mindset<\/h4>\n
Listening to the Car\u2019s Sounds<\/h4>\n
Being Patient with Drivers Who Don\u2019t Move at Green Lights<\/h4>\n
Driving a Manual Makes You a Safer Driver<\/h3>\n