Automatics

On the actual subject, if you've not gone auto yet and are running an older car etc. then fair enough. However you have to wonder what all these manual users are going to do going from a manual box, to an EV with no gears at all, they'll have a melt down. :D
 
I dont think that an auto or manual is so far better to the exclusion of the other. They both have benefits.

Yes, a manual is good at times such as the open road, but stop start, its tiring.

Autos are better in stop start, mediocre in open road when left to do what they want, and really quite fun if you have a flappy paddle setup so you can set which gear you want for the corner. A lot of the more modern autoboxes with their lock up clutches now drive quite similar to a manual when the lockup is engaged.

Overall, I prefer an auto these days, but quite like having a drive in the wife's mini which is a manual.
 
DSG daily driver is utter bliss. My drive to work is so nice with an auto. Plus the relatively narrow power band of a 2.0 diesel coupled to a box which can get through the gears very rapidly gets the best out of the engine.

Still more than happy with a manual for my fun car though, a nice bitey paddle clutch and 100% control of the gears.

I'd never go back to a manual daily driver though.
 
ttaskmaster said:
Nope. Mine have been and gone, but I still prefer manual.
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Neat. Do you still prefer manual sunroofs, manual lights and manual windows too?:p

Acme said:
I used to hate the idea of owning an auto, but the tech has moved on. Modern auto's are largely very good, at least in the more premium marques.
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I have a 20 year old Civic with a 4spd auto. I haven't even driven a decent auto like a ZF but would still take the old auto over a manual.
 
I've driven quite a few Autos & own an old torque converter (2002) auto, I don't like any of them.

It's not the speed of shifting or how they shift, it's when they shift, they just frustrate me as they can't predict what i'm going to do or what I want them to do.

If I had a lengthy commute however my views may change but I almost never find myself sat in traffic & don't commute to work in my car.
 
Iamzod said:
I've driven quite a few Autos & own an old torque converter (2002) auto, I don't like any of them.

It's not the speed of shifting or how they shift, it's when they shift, they just frustrate me as they can't predict what i'm going to do or what I want them to do.

If I had a lengthy commute however my views may change but I almost never find myself sat in traffic & don't commute to work in my car.
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This is one thing I feared when buying an auto. I've found with my dsg over time, you learn how to manipulate the throttle to make it change gear when you want. Plus flappy paddles for a complete override for preparing to overtake or engine braking.

I've driven plenty of autos that aren't so easy to manipulate though. Like my car, if I floor it and let off close to the redline, it'll just change up to the appropriate gear. I've driven mercs where you do that and it just holds that gear revving it's nuts off.
 
Manual for me. Just prefer being more "involved" with the whole driving experience. I do have some commute traffic, but it doesn't bother me that much that I feel the need for an auto. Most of my commute is motorway driving sitting in 6th gear, so it's really only when I get into the city when I get into the stop/start traffic.
 
andy_mk3 said:
This is one thing I feared when buying an auto. I've found with my dsg over time, you learn how to manipulate the throttle to make it change gear when you want. Plus flappy paddles for a complete override for preparing to overtake or engine braking.
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yep, takes practise, but if you're stubborn and just prefer manuals because it makes you feel more manly or more in control, you're going to struggle:p
 
You know, it's a question that is almost never discussed on a motoring forum, same with :
Front wheel drive or rear wheel drive, which is best ?

For me, an autobox driving the rear wheels.
 
I've just moved jobs, shifting from a 3km commute to a 13km (8mi) commute which is taking me 50 minutes through Liverpool City Centre in my manual Fiesta. Right now, I'd snap someone's hand off if they offered me even a 1.4 Fiesta with the 4-speed slushbox.

I'll take any auto over a manual, and that's not just a reaction to the new commute, it's just much more relaxing. It's very Victorian to have to change gears manually now.

EDIT: Oh, and jumping on a comment made earlier in the thread, yea, I hit 30 a few months ago but the desire to change to an auto has been around for a year or so before that. So definitely around the late-20s/early-30s!
 
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loltim said:
Neat. Do you still prefer manual sunroofs, manual lights and manual windows too?:p



I have a 20 year old Civic with a 4spd auto. I haven't even driven a decent auto like a ZF but would still take the old auto over a manual.
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I wouldn't go there because your probably going to find his answer is yes. Honestly as someone who went there with a similar conversation, save your self the time.
 
A4 B9 Stronic 2.0l petrol, with a DTUK box and a TCU Tune, which I installed to handle the 400Nm torque better. Lovely for driving in traffic, just use the Traffic Jam Assist and I don't get anywhere near as fatigued as I used to, especially when going through the tunnels. If I wish to have a more involving drive I just switch to manual change.
I used to think automatics were the devil's spawn as well, now I wouldn't go back at all...
 
Always thought I'd stick to manual until my commute that was for years a fairly pleasant being mostly back roads has recently been impacted by several housing estate developments and now a coach firm with 20 vehicles stationed right smack in the middle of my commute (and a quaint village too)!

So I took the plunge and bought an EV several months previous and yeah I wouldn't really consider a manual now or even an ICE car for commuting. So easy to one pedal drive and listen to the H K sound system on route. Even driven through Bath a couple of times recently right in the rush hour and hardly thought about it.

Still got a weekend car though and if you know what it's like to drive a car with a T56 gearbox you'll have some sympathy. Keeps my left foot from atrophying at least!
 
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smilertoo said:
My only issue is that i heard autos cost a fortune to fix if they go wrong.
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Which is rare tbh, not to mention a manual gearbox isn’t exactly cheap to strip down and rebuild either.

The big issue with a lot of automatics isn’t the gearbox itself but manufacturers like BMW insisting the gearbox is sealed for life and requires no servicing, which in some respects is true, to BMW and the fleet buying market - a cars life is usually no more than 5 years before it’s replaced so the fact that ZF who make the gearbox recommend an oil change is ignored because once the old oil fails and kills the gearbox the car is long out of warranty and frankly not their problem.

In the U.S. for example where car maintenance appears to be viewed very differently to over here,you’ll find your gearbox fluid will get changed as routinely as your engine oil and the result is transmissions that out live the car.

Like any mechanical device, if it isn’t serviced properly it will fail, it’s just a shame manufacturers omit things like gearbox oil changes from service schedules in the interest of making a car appear cheaper to run over say 3years in a fleet managers eyes rather than having a view to the longevity of the car itself if that makes sense.
 
Sealing it and saying it never needs servicing is just dumb. Eventually it's just going to eat itself. In a manual you can usually feel when the oil (or something else) is bad and don't continue to force it in to gear. But the first sign in an auto might be when it explodes all over the road.
 
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