AIBU to think DD might as well learn to drive on an automatic car?

And if you cannot manage that you shouldn’t be on the road

www.evanshalshaw.com/blog/difference-between-full-mild-and-plug-in-hybrid/

It's a mild hybrid. Not the same.

Actually, as posted further up the thread, 55% of cars for sale on auto trader right now are automatic, so technically speaking most cars for sale are already automatic. And only a quarter of new cars are available with a manual transmission…

It's not online, I'm afraid.

Dd has an automatic only licence. She tried to learn in a manual and couldn’t get on with it, to the extent her instructor refused to get in a car with her. Swapped to automatic and took to it like duck to water. Yes, she had to have an automatic car and it was more expensive/less choice but not the end of the world.

I remember someone on another manual v automatic thread saying “I prefer to actually drive rather than just steer.”. I thought it was hilarious.

Could you link to the article please @PrimitivePerson ?

I am really loving the parochial comments from people bristling to tell us all that driving is a 'basic life skill' and how 'its €20 a day extra to hire an automatic so your daughter should learn manual'.

I love it. It's like an automatic (excuse the pun) identifier label has been placed over the narrow minded on the site. Leaving the rest of us to deal with the real world where hiring an automatic abroad isn't an issue, and where automatics aren't priced as they were in the 2000s and are actually affordable.

Acc to car deal magazine, 41% of used cars are automatics, though this varies by area so in the SE of Eng 65-75% are autos; in 2023 73.1% of new cars registered were autos, so the used car market will likely change to reflect the higher number of automatics that will have already have begun to enter the used car market.

So depending upon the area, OP’s DD should easily be able to buy an automatic new or second hand should she prefer to do so. At the moment the OP does not have a manual car, so chances are her daughter will start her independent driving in an automatic. Despite what some PPs say, driving an automatic is definitely easier - I drove a manual for 5 years before switching and will never go back. Hill starts/clutchwork etc make driving a manual more challenging. If you are ND (ADHD in particular), nervous, etc an automatic will also be easier. I will never have to drive a manual again - I’ve hired auto vans for furniture moves, or just opted for a man with a van. There is no real advantage these days to being able to drive a manual when autos are massively available.

What it should come down to is does OP think her DD would learn more easily in an automatic and will DD be in the market to buy a car very soon after passing her test? If not, will she only be driving the OP’s car? If so, then learning in an auto makes sense. Is OP’s daughter ADHD, likely to be a nervous driver, easily distractible, or have any other factor where she will find focusing on driving less natural? If so, then again she may prefer to start learning in an automatic. If at some future, hypothetical date OP’s daughter regrets it, she can have lessons in a manual and upgrade her licence.

Yes, in "5 or 10 years time" most secondhand cars might be automatic, but right now they're definitely not, and limiting yourself so much right now doesn't seem very wise.

All the cheapest new cars on sale right now are manual, I recently wrote a magazine article about them.

People are getting caught up by the cars going electric debate. A number of manufacturers now no longer sell new manual cars in the U.K. I expect that more will follow. Now this means that in 5 or 10 years time the second hand market will be dominated by automatic whether you like it or not. See also hire cars etc.

Thing is, none of that is particularly difficult, especially hill starts in modern cars. It takes a small amount of effort at the start of the learning process. I was a really nervous and reluctant learner, but gear changing was never my problem. It's interacting with other traffic that made the whole thing so hard for me. That's the same, automatic or manual.

It’s not just operating the gear lever though is it, it’s clutch control, avoiding stalling the engine,hill starts (you can’t stall the engine or roll backwards in an auto).

"Eventually".

Assuming that other techologies such as hydrogen cars - some of which are manuals - and indeed ICEs don't ultimately co-exist alongside EVs as well.

It's barely, barely any harder to learn to drive a manual compared to an auto. So why limit yourself, unless you are just completely incapable of operating a gear lever?

Exactly, manual vehicles will be common for years to come.

I've been driving since 2013, and I've already bumped into several situations where an automatic licence would have been quite a problem. I'm glad I have a manual licence.

The key word here is eventually. Not now.

All electric cars are automatic and eventually, all cars will be electric. So there’s no point. I got my automatic only licence in 2010 and haven’t regretted it for a second

I have 10 year old Audi A3 TFSI Auto, got it when it was two years old and even then the road tax was just £30 and it still is.

Is it though? Why? If we're moving towards hybrid/electric, it's going to be a completely unnecessary skill.

Although, OP, the vast majority of people I know don't practice in another car between lessons. So don't let that be the reason you choose automatic.

FWIW I passed my test in an auto 9 years ago, and it's been an issue for me 0 times since, despite people telling me it would be.

Soulless?

We're talking about a vehicle used for going to work, the supermarket, carrying kids and dogs around, picking up potting mix? And it's meant to have soul?

If you're lucky enough to forgo all that drudgery and are spending your weekends zipping around Lake Como with an Hermes scarf tired around your hair, good for you I guess. You might be interested to know that Ferrari and Lamborghini don't make manuals with clutches anymore.

Good for you. Not entirely sure how this is at all relevant when I was buying a 2023 car though.

Yeah- I mean some carmakers including Subaru, Volvo and Mercedes don't even make manuals anymore. I'm pretty sure I read that you can also no longer buy a new manual Fiesta so I think the trend towards automatics will massively accelerate due to the choice just not being there- in 2024 only 90 models in the UK were available as manuals vs twice that in 2018.

The switch to electrics and hybrids are accelerating it but even numbers of manual ICEs are being reduced.

You couldn't find a manual hybrid ?
You obviously never looked that hard ! I have a manual hybrid and it's a Ford.