Celica Forums General Discussion General GTS Auto

Dam everywhere I read people are saying that the GTS Auto is really really slow. I mean come on, how slow can it be? Is the 2005 Auto slightly faster than the previous ones or the same?

Come on why would Toyota make such a slow Auto? And make it cost more too. I just dont understand.

I was planning on buying a auto GTS but now I have second thoughts. I live in SF and theres a lot of hills and I live on a pretty steep one, it will be hard learning manual on flat surface, let alone steep hills. So I have no choice but get a auto, plus I use it for daily driving and theres tons of traffic.

I have a GTS auto.

It's 15 months old, and I'm already selling it for a stick.

It really is "that slow"... because it's a car that needs to be kept in the higher RPM range to be fast. You can't keep it there with only four gears. Period. 00-05, it's the same story with every model year.

Get a stick, or get a car with a bigger engine (V6 or larger). Don't waste your money on an auto like the Celica with a powerband so high on the tach.

I honestly don't know why you'd want an auto on a car like the celica, they seem to be like polar opposites to me.. autos belong in big exec cruisers and stuff, not fun cars like the celi

I have an auto GT. I wanted a stick, but then thought about shifting during traffic (California traffic can be pretty nasty sometimes). But, the main reason why I got an auto was because...

I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DRIVE A STICK and I'm too lazy to learn!

new a/t can be faster than m/t, but not for celica at least. some USED TO BE RICH DUDE played pro racing, he tried a a/t Ferrari 335 or something and a m/t Ferrari 335 (same car) on track. a/t faster by 20 car spots (altho tat's only a lil more than .5 second). but i think those aren't normal A/T rite? it's those F1 shifter or ... at least some sport or special ones

a/t is not necessary low rev, i mean it IS lower than m/t but ... you can boost a lot from the way you control the pedal. and if tat doesn't satisfy u, do wat i do with my a/t camry MANUEL sport shift, use the a/t stick and shift up when redline

To start off I will do my best and try not to get biased on the this topic and will try not to state a lot of the many differences between the two tranny's it's going to get too extensive. It's personally going to be based on preference. The people who believe the car is slow are the ones who like to use the motors capabilities more often. The GTS auto is not slow it has the same motor as all other GTS but you just can't control the RPM's like a GTS manual due to these tranny differences... I will say it is slow due to the fact that the tranny is built differently. You always have the option of swapping tranny's if you're really concerned.

The Auto GTS is equipped with buttons on steering wheel that allows you to upshift and downshift. Almost like a Ferrari with paddle shifters. Real great added feature which is why it's more expensive. Bad side torque converter. Shifting points are set lower which causes controlled slower shifts making the car slower.

Manual is 6 gears and a lot of fun you can bust all sorts of combinations 1-3, 4-3, 6-4, 5-3 etc. You can maintain lift a lot easier and hit the top a lot faster. Bad side never do the 6-1 combo. MIS-shifting is crucial to the very fragile GTS tranny. .

Stick is good if you can get past the shifting in stop and go traffic and less expensive. If you're a beginner with the GTS manual don't try any combo's you may MIS-shift and blow the tranny and be one of the many who accidentally get on the list of replacement tranny's under warranty. Remember GTS tranny is fragile to abuse.

If driving habits and safety is a concern I'd get the auto GTS. It is a lot more expensive but less stressful in stop and go traffic. Lift is very hard to stay in if at all possible to control with the Auto GTS . You still can control the rpm's but to a limit. This is what it sounds like to me. You plan to use the car for highway use and safe driving condition. It won't be a waste of money and it's not like the car will be auto crossing or doing any dragging down the road. Sportshift is a great feature very fun to have.

Concerned about accelerating faster at higher speeds get a GTS manual. Have you ever considered a GT?

...who cares... just buy it and learn to like it. it's life, you learn by experience not from warnings or information.

You may want to consider the GT because of its lower end torque. The GTS has only 5lb-ft more and it comes in several thousand revs higher, you with a GT you'll have more pull around the hills. Also, manual is not that hard to learn. I bought my car 2 months ago, and I had never once driven a stick. Now, I don't even realize it, and I have to sit in stop and go traffic everyday after school (500 cars leaving school, several hundred coming to school, all through one street.)

i have an auto..i love it...i especially love the look. but in about a year i will be getting a GTS 6spd.

Better off getting a gt but its your car so get what suits you and what you like better.
If at the end you dont like it just trade it in for something else.
Have you considered something with a V-6 or better low end power like the Hyundai Triburon

If you want an Auto get a GT. Just think about what YOU would want. I live around your area so I know what it is like driving around there. I used to drive an Auto GT and it was fine for daily driving, now that I have a 6 speed, it takes a bit of patience and skills to get around the city, lol. Is better to go out and purchase a car that you like to drive instead of getting stuck with a stick shift and hating to drive it because of where you live. If you have a friend who drives a stick shift, drive around with him in the city and see how he handles it. If you think you can handle that, then purchase a stick shift.

But yeah, if it is an Auto, save yourself some money on gas and etc. and get an Auto GT. Looks the same, just debadge.

No matter what, all Celicas are fun to drive, auto or manual, just decide which is best for you.

i have an auto GTS ...
how difficult and expensive would it be to do a tranny swap?

I have heard that it is hard and expensive. People say that it is better to just sell the car and purchase a stick shift. Supposedly the car will not be as reliable as if you were to compare it to a regular stick shift.

if you want auto, get an auto.. hell its still a celica.. thats badass in itself.. get what ur comfortable with and makes you happy ..

If you cant Decide just move to another State without hills

Dont listen to me

Learning stick isn't very hard. I bought my GTS before I even knew how to, and the salesman taught me for about half hour. I was good to go after that, and drove home about 20 miles without stalling once. Sure it's a bit harder where you live, but you can always go out late at night when there's nobody on the road and practice on hills. They're not as bad as you think. As long as you give the car enough gas, it's not gonna stall, and you won't go rolling backwards down the hill.

If still think you need an auto, though, you're better off saving money and getting the GT. It's faster than the auto GTS since it has a better powerband (GTS is optimized for 6spd only), and is also more boost friendly if you ever decide to get the TRD SC or an aftermarket turbo. Hell, with the money you save by getting the GT, you should be able to afford the TRD SC, which will help a ton with off the line power, which is probably the worst aspect of NA auto Celicas. The TRD SC is also covered by warranty if Toyota installs it, so if anything goes wrong, it'll be fixed for free. It should probably bump up the 1/4 mile times close to manual GT times, too.

EDIT: BTW, the salesman that taught me stick was originally insisting that I get an auto. I test drove an auto GT before I bought my GTS 6 speed, and it felt about as powerful as my old auto 89 Camry (150hp V6). The manual GTS' experience is a world apart from the auto GT, and I'm very happy I chose the manual car instead. Besides, modding (intake, header, exhaust, etc.) actually improves performance on manuals, but on autos, sometimes modding can acutally make the car slower. I've heard more than a few stories from people who added a CAI to their auto GTS and actually added a couple tenths to their 1/4 mile times.

Thank for the input guys.

oh man i cant even imagine driving a manual on SF hills. its even scary with an auto!

Good luck with which ever you buy

I know

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ThX RookieGTS

I guess you're lucky. Just imagine driving stick in half a feet of snow in Chicago when it's 10 degrees below zero with half an inch of ice on the street under the snow and doing all this through a blizzard. Made me think twice about getting a manual.

And also a GT is not that slow. I seem to roll pretty well in mine & I roll in 18's.

Hmm..I wanted a stick, but i had a really good offer on a 2000 gts w/ only 26 k. So i kinda jumped at that, but id say, i still have a shit load of fun w/ my car, even though i dont have as much control over the rpm's. I woudlnt trade it in just for a stick, but id prefer a stick over auto any day.

Was driving around Sunset District to see my little cousins, and I had a workout with my leg on those damn hills, lol.

yeah been there done that. fun. exciting. that's when I learned how to use the parking brake to get started so I wouldn't smash into the car already wisely 20 feet behind me.

I have been driving sticks since three on the tree in my 67 Chevy Truck. Hell I tried to shift my girls Auto on her old car, that was funny. But either way I drove a GT 5 speed and a GTS 6 Speed.

I think the GT 5 is super easy to drive, The GTS 6 which I have is a lil harder to drive. The gears are really not friendly and seem notched weird at best. Hope this helps.

Get whatever you want

Yeah, from 02 on, Toyota altered the shift gates so it would be harder for people to misshift. 3rd gear was moved over to where 5th gear used to be, and 5th gear is all the way out in right field. Lots of people hit the gate between 1st and 3rd when reaching for 3rd, since the shifting patter is very wide. I'm just glad I never misshifted my 00, since Toyota changes the shift gates to 02+ style along with repairing/replacing the engine.

^^ ditto. my '00 gts is sometimes a pain because the shift gates are so narrow..but i'd still take it anyday over the new ones.

and for the record..a 5-spd gt can beat the automatic (4-spd) gts. kinda ironic, huh?..but thats the advantage to driving a manual.

have to resurect it one more time...

GTS sportshift OWNZ ALL!

^^^as you wish~ lol

Wow never knew that.

So much flaws, why cant Toyota make one perfect vehicle?

I think you can learn a manual. It just takes practice, like your English needs.

I have the auto GTS, I would definetly use the sportshift on the San Francisco hills. That would give you more control in terms of gears and give you the power you need when you need it.

If you dont know how to drive a stick learn, or just buy one and then learn. Youd be amazed how fast you learn when you have to be to work the next day at 8am. Just what ever you do done buy an auto-tragic

i think it's funny how people make the statement "my auto (fill space here) is so slow"...well...DUH!

of course the auto gts iwill not be quick off the line. it's a 4-banger with a 4-speed automatic transmission that was meant to have a 6-speed manual.

people who buy autos have their reasons. but if an auto owner is complaining about how slow his car is then "i pity da foo "...LOL

yup, i miss shifted a few time when i first got my car...