Automatics
- Thread starter Tee Hee Johnson
- Start date
I also only like cars with manual windows the feeling you get when you manage to smoothly roll it down just before you get to the toll booth nothing beats it. These one button push windows takes the skill and driver involvement away
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Interesting, not just me then!
There is a small part of me that misses manuals - but I have a hard time justifying not driving an automatic in this day and age. I can atleast on mine take some control over the auto if I wish though it still won't let you that far out of the auto-profile.
Soldato
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Drive one you might change your mind. I used to love it in the TT. Great fun.
Bit OTT in some cars, the AMG A45 springs to mind.
as autos get better and better we wont be the ones changing the gears. modern sports cars can already do it better than we can and faster. automatics are the future.
Driving it won't change the way it sounds though.
Lots of people seem to love a fart every time they change gear which to me is just... odd! Then again I can't understand this obsession with cars being mapped to pop and bang like its November 5th every time you back off the throttle either yet every modded car seems to do it now.
I'd love an auto for day to day driving but I honestly think I'd miss a manual box in my toy car. Yes it is old fashioned but that's what I like about it! I like my weekend driver to make me work, be under powered and yet grin inducing! In fact put two identical roadsters in front of me, one manual and one with a DCT which gets from 0-60 a second or two quicker and I'll still take the manual.
While people have made comparisons to wind up windows and the like I'll hold my hand up and say that yes, to me that simple mechanical action of clutch in, blip throttle, downshift, clutch up, power on or hanging on to the revs then dropping that slick up shift where your legs and left arm are all in perfect harmony to the point where you barely even break acceleration... just adds to the enjoyment of driving way more than simply pulling the paddle on the left or right.
My Navara sometimes sounds like it is the wrong gear which is a touch annoying hah but the engine never really acts like it is in the wrong gear - power delivery there when needed etc. I can also force it up/down gears to an extent so can still do a bit of downshifting for engine braking, etc. if I wished.
My current cars are both autos/dsg and I would have a hard time going back to a manual. Changes gear better than I ever could and makes driving so much easier. If I want to be involved I use the paddles, which being part of the PlayStation generation I grew up doing.
My Cupra will fart but only when I boot it and its a very addictive sound.
My Cupra will fart but only when I boot it and its a very addictive sound.
I used to prefer manual especially in trucks but these days I’d FAR rather an automatic.
GPS connection to the gearbox so the truck knows it’s coming to a hill and will select a better gear, it knows how heavy the vehicle is so its never in the wrong gear for the load being carried.
I took an old 57 plate manual out for a short trip the other day and hated it - despite a very light clutch and smooth action - give me an automatic anytime especially in stop start traffic.
As for a performance car, again give me an auto, one less thing to worry about whilst driving and most will change quicker than the best of drivers and with full mechanical sympathy.
Better mpg out of modern automatics too.
I wonder how long before we’re debating the preference between normal or autonomous driving?
GPS connection to the gearbox so the truck knows it’s coming to a hill and will select a better gear, it knows how heavy the vehicle is so its never in the wrong gear for the load being carried.
I took an old 57 plate manual out for a short trip the other day and hated it - despite a very light clutch and smooth action - give me an automatic anytime especially in stop start traffic.
As for a performance car, again give me an auto, one less thing to worry about whilst driving and most will change quicker than the best of drivers and with full mechanical sympathy.
Better mpg out of modern automatics too.
I wonder how long before we’re debating the preference between normal or autonomous driving?
Soldato
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Big engine, comfy car, auto
Small engine, sporty car, manual
CVT - ?????
Small engine, sporty car, manual
CVT - ?????
Totally depends on the car if you ask me, not that I personally care what anyone thinks of the external sound of my engine,
I wouldn't swap the CVT auto in my GS450h for anything else, and the car is quiet enough that neither I nor anyone else has to hear it's engine, and I get the benefit of perfect launches and super low rpm motorway cruising and better economy,
My old Fairlady Z32 TT however I wouldn't dream of having owned as an auto, and cherished the turbo flutter and "wavering" sound of the engine on a hard WOT gear shift.
Horses for courses , I wouldn't have wanted to do a 3.5hr commute in the latter, although I did ...
I wouldn't swap the CVT auto in my GS450h for anything else, and the car is quiet enough that neither I nor anyone else has to hear it's engine, and I get the benefit of perfect launches and super low rpm motorway cruising and better economy,
My old Fairlady Z32 TT however I wouldn't dream of having owned as an auto, and cherished the turbo flutter and "wavering" sound of the engine on a hard WOT gear shift.
Horses for courses , I wouldn't have wanted to do a 3.5hr commute in the latter, although I did ...
Soldato
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When driving "normally" I guess an automatic would make sense, but as a driver experience I just can't see how auto could be better.
when spirited driving, I use my gear to control the car speed in a way that I don't think is possible in an auto.
I also use engine breaking a LOT.
I haven't driven many autos though so probably not best qualified to be 100% certain about that statement.
when spirited driving, I use my gear to control the car speed in a way that I don't think is possible in an auto.
I also use engine breaking a LOT.
I haven't driven many autos though so probably not best qualified to be 100% certain about that statement.
Soldato
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I'm a manual snob, that's why i bought a manual Accord......But i do miss our old Automatic Accord, made my rush hour commute much more relaxing.
That being said, although very smooth auto transmissions Honda's automatics just suck the life out of the engine, for example my 2.4 Accord manual claimed 0-60 is 7.8s where as the auto is 9.5s...not cool.
That being said, although very smooth auto transmissions Honda's automatics just suck the life out of the engine, for example my 2.4 Accord manual claimed 0-60 is 7.8s where as the auto is 9.5s...not cool.
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Same here, I use engine braking a lot. Also rev matching and heel and toe (because why not). You can't do that with an auto.
You can engine brake quite happily in an Auto. A true TC auto will be less noticeable, but a DCT/DSG engine brakes just as nicely. I think some people fail to realise that DCT/DSG is technically a manual box changed automatically, as opposed to a conventional TC auto, which even these days, are very good (new M5 for example)
That sounds like the older method with a torque converter and fluid coupling and are big gas guzzlers, modern auto's do not work that way at all. My Toyota is classed as a CVT but does not use belts & pulleys but has a sun & planetary system where the drive is continuous with no actual gear changing from start to stop. The control lever also has an engine braking option you can flick on and off but I rarely use it unless going down a very steep hill in a convoy to avoid constant braking
Last three cars have all been auto, merc, Audi and now bmw. Have to say the bmw auto box is a dream. The merc felt really spongy, the Audi was good but always felt it shifted too late or too early depending on my driving style at the time.
The bmw is just perfect, boot the backside out of it in sport+ mode and it changes perfectly where I would have shifted on a manual.
Would never go back to a manual now, driving it just so much more relaxed with and auto. I did test drive a focus ST manual before I bought the bmw, the muscle memory came back instantly for the gear changes, but it just felt like too much effort especially at junctions.
The bmw is just perfect, boot the backside out of it in sport+ mode and it changes perfectly where I would have shifted on a manual.
Would never go back to a manual now, driving it just so much more relaxed with and auto. I did test drive a focus ST manual before I bought the bmw, the muscle memory came back instantly for the gear changes, but it just felt like too much effort especially at junctions.