Poll: Poll please: Do you drive an auto or manual car?
- Thread starter Morba
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![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
I have driven both manual and automatic cars and as a result am finding the choice of transmission for my next car rather difficult.
I've driven several BMW's with the Steptronic gearbox and actually, it's really rather nice. In automatic mode, the cars are a pleasure to drive around town. It really takes very little effort at all and makes traffic far less tedious.
It also means that when you engage sport mode and stamp on the accelerator pedal at the traffic lights, your car does 0-60 in the time the manufacturer states, every single time, with no brutal clutchless gearchanges required.
And then when you get out onto the open road, slide the car into Steptronic mode. This then gives you manual control over the gearchanges and it is actually very good - it changes more or less when you ask it to, and will hold the car at the redline for a while but changes up of its own accord if it thinks you've forgotten. Excellent.
But... the downsides. Firstly the fuel economy is often considerably worse with the automatic version, secondly there is the worry of repair costs should the box fail - a replacement Steptronic gearbox costs thousands and thirdly although Steptronic is good, and it offers you manual control...
... its not a manual. It comes oh oso very close but just isn't the same as nailing the perfect gearchange coming out of a corner.
Plus you need a proper engine with proper power otherwise autoboxes just suck, and the box needs to be decent. A 2.5 V6 Mk2 Mondeo, for example, a reasonably light car with a potent 170bhp V6, has its performance crucified by the autobox, it's slower than the manual 2.0 16v. As for autoboxes in small engined cars, waste of everyones time.
I've driven several BMW's with the Steptronic gearbox and actually, it's really rather nice. In automatic mode, the cars are a pleasure to drive around town. It really takes very little effort at all and makes traffic far less tedious.
It also means that when you engage sport mode and stamp on the accelerator pedal at the traffic lights, your car does 0-60 in the time the manufacturer states, every single time, with no brutal clutchless gearchanges required.
And then when you get out onto the open road, slide the car into Steptronic mode. This then gives you manual control over the gearchanges and it is actually very good - it changes more or less when you ask it to, and will hold the car at the redline for a while but changes up of its own accord if it thinks you've forgotten. Excellent.
But... the downsides. Firstly the fuel economy is often considerably worse with the automatic version, secondly there is the worry of repair costs should the box fail - a replacement Steptronic gearbox costs thousands and thirdly although Steptronic is good, and it offers you manual control...
... its not a manual. It comes oh oso very close but just isn't the same as nailing the perfect gearchange coming out of a corner.
Plus you need a proper engine with proper power otherwise autoboxes just suck, and the box needs to be decent. A 2.5 V6 Mk2 Mondeo, for example, a reasonably light car with a potent 170bhp V6, has its performance crucified by the autobox, it's slower than the manual 2.0 16v. As for autoboxes in small engined cars, waste of everyones time.
I currently drive a manual (obviously) though when the Elise is paid off I will be buying a luxobarge as 2nd car (I like the idea of a Saab* at the moment) and that will definitely be an auto. Recent autos I've driven have convinced me that they are the way forward for motorway munching.
*Can anyone point me towards a good Saab forum?
*Can anyone point me towards a good Saab forum?
Del Lardo said:
You know funnily enough motorway use was one of the areas where I didn't see the advantage of the auto. You simply engage 5th and off you go.
Try http://www.vvoc.co.uk
Get a real luxobarge.
Soldato
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driven both, prefer manual but then come around to automatic when I get used to it.
Don't mind either way, like the easiness of the automatic, but also the control of the manual
Don't mind either way, like the easiness of the automatic, but also the control of the manual
[TW]Fox said:
"Steptronic" It's a marketing weasel-around allowing people to pretend they're manually changing gear imo. Just leave it in "Drive" tbh. Why?
Steptronic does what you tell it, but only if it's in the mood. It doesn't always follow directions as any real manual transmission does.
It does not keep the transmission in one gear even if you've told it to do so. If it feels like downshifting it will.
The Steptronic lacks Mercedes' one-touch ability to send the transmission to the lowest safe gear. With steptronic you need to "jerk it off" gear-by-gear till you get there, this I find infuriating.
The steptronic could be likened to a BMW motorcycle's autobox, except the motorcycle never shifts for you in manual mode as steptronic does. For instance, if you have steptronic in 5 and come to a stop it brings you down to 3. Take off and and it stays in 3. It's more work keeping track of what Steptronic is doing than it is trying to second-guess any traditional automatic. You have to take your eyes off the road and peer at the dashboard, a bad thing.....
As for the "Sport" mode, that just seems to let the engine rev right into the red-line, way past peak power & torque, which is plain daft imo, BMW claim it is the way there designed to operate and this trait will not harm the engine of gearbox, I'm not convinced.
If I want to go fast, I'll disregard Sport mode completely, and use the manual, I just hope the gearbox will behave itself! My Dads complained of the same issue with his e39 Steptronic 528i.
Steptronic, very good, but just a bit to clever for its own good. That said, I'd not have a problem with buying another thus equipped BMW.
Kreeeee said:
I'm a man, I own a dirty great station wagon with a 5 litre 4-barrel carb'ed V8, more torque than most people know what to do with, and yes - an automatic gearbox. Oh yeah, and my daily driver is a small Fiat with a manual 'box.
Automatic gearboxes have their place - mainly on big family cars, motorway cruisers and muscle cars. Most people who say that they're rubbish have probably driven cars with bad auto 'boxes (some of the cruddy kit that Ford fitted to their range outside the US springs to mind....), or cars where the auto really didn't suit it at all (hands up all those who would buy a Mazda MX-5 if it came with an auto only?
)Spanker said:
Imo, thats all it does, it seems to take an age to eventually change up in sport mode, much better if just left in "D"
Sport mode just seems to make the thing redline & locks out 5th gear, despite my previous gripes, I still rate it as a fine automatic gearbox don't get me wrong, I'm critisising it against a manual transmission, its leagues ahead of my previous experiences of an auto, that was a Granada Scorpio with fords "A4LD" 4 speed box, a piece of junk by direct comparison.
A guy and I was talking about snowing in New York recently and he was telling me about how useless auto is on ice or snow (New York Taxis).
I have never thought of it, how do you deal with auto - eg slowing down without braking or dropping down a gear?
I have never thought of it, how do you deal with auto - eg slowing down without braking or dropping down a gear?
Soldato
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Drive a manual here, never driven an auto but can imagine it being good in traffic. Must admit though i don't really get bothered by having to change gear all the time in traffic, mum's meganne has got quite an easy and lazy gearchange tho so you don't really have to be forceful with it.
