A manual transmission is not hard to learn. It just takes practice. At some-point everyone had to learn to do it, none of us were born with those skills. The S2000 is no more difficult than any other car to learn. The clutch is linear and not easy to stall. The worst would be a car with a heavy clutch or one which grabbed all at once.

Having driven a manual transmission for over 20 years I can easily admit to stalling my car 2 or 3 times a week. I sometimes forget to put it in 1st at stop lights and usually have it in 3rd. The nice thing about the S2000 in this case is that it's quick to restart so others may not even notice My BMW requires you turn the key off then back on to restart so it's not so transparent

Once you've had the privilege of learning a manual you will never drive anything else given the choice. You will appreciate it's simplicity and being able to jump start it when your battery is flat, priceless

 

I can't see how anyone can learn to drive stick on a brand new car, and not expect there to be at least some long-term damage (glazing, hot spots) to the friction surface and/or transmission. I would put 5-10K miles on an older car considering how expensive switching out a clutch is. If you don't mind changing out your clutch earlier, go for it. my .02

 

No it would not be easy, my girlfriend has driven stick before and she could barely get my S moving. She stalled three times at a stopsign...on a flat dead end road with no other cars present. You could do it but your clutch would suffer

 

DON'T DO IT!!!!

If you learn on the S, every other manual tranny you drive from now until you die will feel like CRAP

 

in my opinion learn on a car thats more forgiving....the s can take the abuse, but a manual civic isnt picky at all what you do with it......if you get anywhere close to shifting right it's fine. my .02 cents...

 

i wouldnt do it on your s2k mainly because youre going to stall out a lot, and you dont want to destroy your clutch as soon as you get the car. my advice would be to find another friend with a stick and have him teach you in his car. going from car to car is really easy once u get the hang of it, and soon youll be doing it without having to look down.

 

the S2k is easier in some respects, but harder in others.

It is easier because the throws are extremely short. This is good for first timers, because they spend less time hunting for the right gear.

It is harder because this is a rather unforgiving transmission. If you screw up, it WILL let you know it. The S2000 also has a notoriously weak clutch, so first timers could fry it if they slip it too much. On the other side, if you dump it @ lower RPM and the rear tires grab, you can kill the rear differential.

As long as you already know the "basics" of driving a clutch, and can drive a sedan or other standard car fine, you will have no problems. If you are learning for the first time....watch out it can get expensive (my finance' learned on my '03 Mazda P5, and she KILLED the clutch within 2 days).

John

 

It'll be fine!!! I went from a Automatic Jeep Grand Cherokee to a s2000 as my next car!!!

btw i've never driven a manual b4 my s2000... but it was pretty easy to learn once you get a hang of it

 

Not in the S2000. 1st gear can be downshifted into for increased power in low speed corners (IE: auto-x).

 

My wife has never driven a stick before. To keep the peace (she's jealous of the S2K), I'm teaching her to drive it. She picked it up right away. Did much better on the transition to 1st than I did when I was young and first learned. Something could be said for learning this when already having lots of driving experience (on an auto) -- all other aspects of driving are therefore second-nature, and you can just focus on the new stuff (clutch and gears).