I highly recommend taking this tour. Our guide, Hudson, was excellent. He was entertaining and informative. He gave us all kinds of interesting history and information about Denver and all of the other places along the way to Pike's Peak. His driving was safe and comfortable. He recommends places in Manitou Springs for lunch and gave us some tips on how to spend our time there.
Garden of the Gods was beautiful. The rock formations were so interesting and unique. Manitou springs was a quaint little mountain town to spend lunch. It had all sorts of restaurants and shops. We had about an hour to spend there.
Pike's Peak was awesome. The most breathtaking views I've ever seen! We were able to get all the way to the top because the weather was good that day. (The Park closes various levels of the mountain depending on the weather). We had plenty of time to walk around the top and take in the sights.
While you could drive yourself all of these places, I think it's more enjoyable to be able to relax and look at the sights whole someone else drives. There's also things that people who do it regularly are aware like having to keep your brakes from getting overheated as you go back down the mountain, because they often stop cars to inspect their brakes and make you pull over and wait for them to cool off if your brakes are too hot.