bgkast: i am in west palm beach, florida. i do not own a benz diesel, yet. i have researched exhaustively trying to figure out which engine/trans. combo would be best for me. i am still a college student and i need whatever vehicle i buy to be ultra reliable and just as economical. i have read so many good things about the 617.952 engine that i feel it has to be the right engine for me...but, i despise automatic transmissions. are there any real differences in performance between the 4 spd. trans. vs. the 5 spd. trans. (fuel economy, top speed, acceleration...)? thanks, again...