Dear BMW: Please Sort Out Your Manual Gearbox

After driving a manual BMW, and again being left utterly disappointed with the gear shift, I think it's about time we called on BMW to make a manual worthy of the brilliant cars it makes
Dear BMW: Please Sort Out Your Manual Gearbox

As a car enthusiast, I love a good manual shifter. Modern automatics are so good these days that you can be very happy with a performance car that shifts cogs itself - and in high performance cars an auto really is the only option - but there’s something inherently more engaging about changing gear with one hand on a stick and one foot on the clutch pedal.

You see, cars are more than just objects. To the kinds of people who care about things like manual gearboxes, cars have character, and getting in tune with your car is half the fun. A manual shift allows you to do that, as it gives you ultimate control over your vehicle, and requires focus and coordination between your hands, legs and mind to get right.

Dear BMW: Please Sort Out Your Manual Gearbox

So when you make fantastic enthusiast cars and offer them with a manual - which many manufacturers are ditching, so kudos for that - the initial response is to say “good on you, BMW, for caring about real drivers.” The problem is, shifting gears in a manual BMW is not particularly satisfying, and is the one aspect of the driving experience that lets down the package as a whole. In fact, until BMW completely changes its manual transmission, I’m left with the only option of recommending the automatic equivalent of any given car (if you can afford the premium).

Recently I spent some time driving both an SMG and manual E46 M3. Both cars were great as a whole, but the one thing that let the pair down was their respective gearboxes. Fortunately, the SMG is no more and has been replaced with far more up-to-date technology, but I can’t say the same for the manual. In the E46, the throw was too long, and offered little feedback when selecting a gear. It was just all very vague, but I put it down to the fact the car was over a decade old.

Dear BMW: Please Sort Out Your Manual Gearbox

However, this week I spent time with both a 2016 M235i and 2011 1M Coupe, and the manual problem persists. First up the new car, and immediately on moving the thing around a car park I noticed that changing gear required a bit of force. (In fact, finding reverse requires you to almost punch the shifter across past first, so why not just use a lift or depress of the shifter like other manufacturers do?)

Once you’re going at speed, the problems are exacerbated. The throw isn’t as long as in the old E46, but it’s anything but short. Worst of all, changing gear requires you to really concentrate and ram the shifter into place; the action of moving the stick doesn’t inspire great confidence as to where exactly you are in the gate, and when you push the stick into a gear, you have to get past an initial resistance. It’s almost like the stick is catching on something.

The 1M, despite being older, is actually a little better, but it’s far from perfect. I found with both cars that the shift action is vastly improved by rev matching, so perhaps the problem lies in the syncromesh? When giving the 1M stick in Sport mode, braking hard and applying a heel-and-toe blip of the throttle as you downshift improves things immeasurably. Unfortunately that’s not very practical in most driving situations.

Dear BMW: Please Sort Out Your Manual Gearbox

It’s frustrating, because in all other aspects you make fantastic cars, BMW. Sure, the interiors hardly ever change between generations and the orange dials feel hopelessly outdated in 2016, but it all works nicely. As a driving experience, you’re on top of your game in chassis feel and engine performance - if you could fix arguably the most important feature of tying everything together, you’d have 10 out of 10 cars.

I think if you spent a bit of time with some of the elites of the manual world, you’d see where I’m coming from. In a Honda Civic Type R, every movement of the stick is purposeful and it feels solid underneath. You know exactly where you’re going and there’s a satisfying slotting action. The king of this is the Toyota GT86. It almost feels artificial in its brilliance, as it’s like the stick is sucked into place with a pleasurable thunk. The merest suggestion of a shift and you clunk quickly into place. It’s a wonderfully tactile experience and it means that when you’re really pressing on you’re not taken out of the moment because you’re having to focus so hard on making the gear stick.

Dear BMW: Please Sort Out Your Manual Gearbox

With the new M2 imminently upon us, I can only hope that you’ve addressed this issue. That car has so much potential - like the 1M it’s the perfect size and power output for a road car - but a dodgy manual shifter could easily put a dampener on proceedings. I take heart from one early reviewer, who said “the manual is even pretty good…it’s a tighter and more precise shift than we’ve come to expect from BMW.”

Please, let this be the turning point for BMW’s manuals. For a company that once proclaimed to make the Ultimate Driving Machines, you’ve been seriously lacking in one vital department. The one thing that makes good cars great: a quality manual shift.

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Comments

Anonymous

Is this guy for real? The gearbox in the E46 M3 is amazing. I’m thinking the “genius” writers at CT need to find some real news to write about.

02/18/2016 - 14:13 |
4 | 4
AudiR8isBae

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

you do realize the founder of CT owns an E46 M3, and 2 Editors also have BMW (an E46 330CI and E36 M3) so I don’t think they are hating on bmws…

02/18/2016 - 14:48 |
4 | 0
InjunS2K

Three words, short shift kit.

02/18/2016 - 14:18 |
78 | 0

So the shift is shorter. Shorter =/= better.

02/18/2016 - 22:39 |
2 | 2

100% agree with you. This is a very common upgrade, and it doesn’t even need to be aftermarket. Z3 oem shifter, 330 zhp or 545i E60 shifters are commonly used as an OEM upgrade and I’m happy with mine. Takes no more than 30 mins, and with a zhp shift knob, you have a quality oem upgrade for around $150.
Also, Darren seems to be only one to gripe about reverse gear engagement procedure. Maybe it’s because right hand drive make it harder to engage since you have to push away and up instead of pulling towards you and up like the rest of the world does.
Personally, I think it’s one of the best in the business. Better than the ones where you have to lift a ring or push down; and reverse is in a better location and not like right below below 5th

02/19/2016 - 01:37 |
6 | 0
Anonymous

I feel like the shifter in my 2002 is more direct than these, based on what you’ve said. I’ve driven a manual E46 M3, and the shift was longer than I’d like haha

02/18/2016 - 14:23 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Short shift kit, gearbox fluid change and a heavier gearknob sorts these issues out. If you read any good bmw forum these issues are known and solutions are found. These cars are made to appeal to the masses and not everone is a racecar driver nor would they want fast throws as most people just dont drive that way. Autos are good but alot can go wrong with them compared to a manual. Btw iv driven and own both auto and manual bmw’s. 6hp26 auto box is not great, the newer ones are better but very expensive when things go wrong not to mention an abundance of new car owners have complained about auto gearbox whine and bmw are replacing the whole autobox to sort these issues under warranty. A guy outside of warranty would be shelling out 5k for such a replacement. When you compare that cost to a new clutch and flywheel its minor. I would even say bmw know about these issues hence why they sell a short shift kit with a heavier gearknob. Manual ftw! Please do some research before posting such a useless topic.

02/18/2016 - 14:41 |
16 | 2
AudiR8isBae

to the people who are mad about this post, this is a guy who reviewed more than a dozens of cars -to be conservative- so I think he probably has enough experience to say HIS OPINION about the transmission.

02/18/2016 - 14:45 |
16 | 4

You are absolutely right, but you forget that he dared to criticise (one aspect of) a BMW, and this is apparently against the community/fanboys guidelines.

If you notice, it’s full of “in MY EXX it’s perfectly fine and I like it, so you’re an a$$hole”. First of all, everyone is entitled to their opinion. We are not entitled to judge him only by the fact that he dislikes a gearbox. And his opinion can be interesting given he tests cars and drives them for which I suppose it’s his job, so he has enough experience to put things in perspective.

Once I tried to criticise certain aspects of the DSG gearbox (which I own in an Audi Q3) in an Audi forum and people where nearly throwing insults at me. This isn’t a BMW forum and I really hoped CT would be different.

02/19/2016 - 11:13 |
10 | 0
Flostalgico

I prefer the punch the shifter across past first better than a lever that releases the reverse…

02/18/2016 - 14:47 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

So Mr Cassey, you want BMW’s to be more Audi?
Im sorry but this is a feely thing, arguing impossible .

02/18/2016 - 14:54 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Except it’s not “mediocre”. You’re not going to change my opinion on that. I own an E46 M3, and it’s great. There’s nothing for BMW to acknowledge.

02/18/2016 - 14:58 |
0 | 0
hotch370z (Z Guy)

I heard the VW GTI has a nice shifter. I’m curious how good the shifting is in the Abarth? Anyone drive one? I want to get one as a daily.

02/18/2016 - 15:05 |
2 | 0

I have a Mk4 GTI and I love how it shifts. The throw is decently long but I like having a longer throw. The gates are very precise as well, and you’re never left wondering which gear you’re in.

Haven’t been in any manual 500s yet though, so sadly I can’t help you out there.

02/18/2016 - 23:06 |
0 | 0

The Abarth is wicked fun. relatively short throws too.

02/19/2016 - 02:54 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

I think the syncros might be the issue, a friend of mine has a 2014 BMW F30 335i M Sport 6-speed and it’s believed that the syncros are already starting to wear out since it clunks into gear sometimes, although he does drive it very hard.

02/18/2016 - 15:07 |
0 | 0