Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

I've been thru this site and have found it incredibly informative thus far. What I haven't seen is... what you all think on manual vs auto trans.

I have an opportunity to buy a nice 5 speed Delica but have seen a few REALLY nice vans with auto trans which has caused me to second guess myself. I was wondering if anyone knows how the top-end revs compare on the highway between the 2 as well as fuel economy and "off-roadability".

If both trannys were readily available, what would your choice be?

Thanks all!

I was surprised to read that the automatic are better on the hwy (lower rpm) than the 5 speeds. I too was considering the 5 spd for what I thought would give me better fuel mileage but changed my mind for an auto. Some people prefer the 5 spd for offroad... Your choice.

Check out this post...http://www.delica.ca/forum/standard-or-auto-1368.html. It should help you out.

-Mark

Thank you for pointing that out DelicaMark! Must've selectively overlooked that one. Some good info there. Evidently the trans combinations are application specific. If you off-road and don't use the highway much, the standard is the one but if you are a regular highway commuter that wants to get to work on time - altho, who would in a Delica? - and have reasonable fuel economy, the automatic is much better.

Interesting because past experience (with other vehicles) dictated the 5 speed was the right choice for commuting. Perhaps the Delica's rally roots are the reason for this.

So far I've seen more people complaining of issues with manual trannies and clutches than auto tranny problems, so it seems they are reasonably reliable, and I think I read somewhere that they were used on Jeeps at one point.