I am probably going to sound like a dinosaur with this post but here goes nothing. Simply put, manual transmissions are better in just about every way.
Of course there's two caveats: 1) If you're not dealing with stop and go traffic; and, 2) You're not too preoccupied with setting lap times. Assuming those two issues aren't of merit, the choice is simple. Get a manual!
When seeking to really experience a vehicle and make a connection with it, there's no better way. It changes everything to just have that extra bit of control.
That said, the folks at Autocar recently posted an interesting video. It featured one of its players behind the wheel of an E46 BMW M3 CSL with a do-it-yourself transmission. There's just one thing: CSLs were only shipped with the universally hated SMG gearbox.
The manual completely changed the CSL.
This got me thinking, Spies: If YOU could change one car from an F1/DCT/automatic to a manual to make it infinitely better, what vehicle would that be?
The BMW M3 CSL (the 2003 E46 3 Series, code-name fans) is widely regarded as one of the greatest BMW M cars, like, evs. We think so too, as you can see in our mega Autocar Heroes triple test (linked below) where we pitch it alongside an M2 Competition and an E30 M3.
But it was hampered by one thing: its SMG robotised manual gearbox.
Now, one engineer and a specialist from 'Everything M3s' in Banbury, UK, has sought to set things right, by making an M3 CSL SMG to manual conversion - and offering it for sale.
How does it change BMW's legendary, if flawed, gem?