To book automatic driving lessons for DD

Not all automatics are electric though - you're comparing fuel with transmission type which is apples and oranges.

Well that is a separate question, as they say all electric cars are automatic, but not all automatic cars are electric...

Electric cars are far cheaper to drive, if you charge at home. Mine is around 2p a mile.

1. Manuals are more fuel efficient
2. Manual cars are more effective if you need to accelerate quickly i.e. to avoid a crash
3. Manual cars are more 'fun' to drive, i've had both
4. If you can drive manual you can drive automatic, not so other way around...

Driving lessons are SO expensive now. It took me a very long time to learn to drive when I was young. I have no doubt (I now drive an automatic) that I’d have passed far more quickly if I’d been learning to drive an automatic instead of a manual. It’s so so easy to drive, so no anxiety about stalling and hill starts etc.

My DD has a manual licence but after two years not driving then bought an automatic. What she says is...

The manual licence is useful when she needs to drive her office pool car (she also uses the pool car to keep her manual skills), and

The manual licence is useful so she can be on her partners manual car insurance (she rarely drives it but maybe if they've gone out and he's decided to have a drink, or the vehicle needs moving and he's not home)

Whilst she loves her automatic and thinks that's what she will always buy, having that extra ability to.drive a manual she finds useful.

I think it makes a big difference between a teenager passing their test and driving at 17, to someone who’s held a licence for many years, or even a new middle aged driver choosing automatic.

yes I’d probably say if you’re 30 don’t want to learn manual do auto only.

the difference is the insurance. When it’s parents buying the car, paying for maintenance, insurance etc then the most cost effective is manual.

most independent adult have the means to buy and insure and automatic. Anyone under 25 is likely to struggle.

if it’s me paying for my dc they can learn manual. If they want to learn auto only they get a car when it’s affordable, which will take much longer.

Are they very well off, most new drivers wouldn't be able to afford these cars whatever their beliefs were

I think it's difficult to know what's best at this stage. Our decision has been made, in that we've just replaced our car with another manual, so DD will have to learn manual if she wants to be able to use our car. It may well turn out that she never drives another manual after that, but we don't know. I'm told that vans are more likely to be manual, so it may be more difficult to hire a van with only an automatic licence.

Learning to drive is going to be quicker (and hence cheaper) for an automatic licence, but possibly not that much, and the extra supervised experience is probably no bad thing.

I battled through my manual driving test (I was a late, nervous learner driver) because my EXH told me I’d be mad not too. My kind, current partner saw I was still struggling years later and suggested I try an automatic, it was a revelation. I’ve never driven a manual since, and suspect I never will. It’s honestly never been a problem.

I think it makes a difference if you ever want to drive a van for example (handy when moving home for example) and you are limited when renting or buying cars - perhaps not such an issue in the future but if you are relying on the second hand market you will be limited for a while.

Purely automatic makes sense for people who might struggle with manual, but why wouldn’t you go for manual as then you can drive either? You have far more flexibility, particularly given that most of the used car market, particularly smaller cars are manual transmission. Same goes for the rental market - vast majority are still manual. At least if you learn those skills you have them for life. Why restrict yourself?

I passed my test in a manual car many years ago but hated driving and never drove again. Finally decided to try again a couple of years ago and already had my licence but knew I needed a lot of refresher lessons. Decided to go auto this time and am so glad I did. Auto is so straightforward, I honestly don’t know why anyone would want a manual car. All hybrids are auto and increasingly all new cars will be. Highly recommend auto, so simple to manage and the driver can just focus on driving safely without changing gears and all the malarkey.

I think it is limiting, manual cars will always exist.
I know i'm a petrol head and so are all my friends, but some came to it later in life and wouldn't be able to own the fun cars they have had if they couldn't drive manual.

My horse lorry is also manual so i wouldnt be able to drive that, when i hired a van recently, manual was the only option.

Just seems daft to restrict. who says when they can afford to buy their own car, that they'll always be able to find an auto in their price range too? My SIL has an auto only licence and it was a pain to find an auto car sub £4k

I'm in two minds. I totally agree with you that as new petrol (and diesel) cars are phased out in the next decade there's absolutely no need to have a manual licence.

I have had an automatic car for 7 years now and won't go back to a manual, but I enjoy it when I do. The only manuals I drive are either hire cars or courtesy cars, but those are becoming more and more auto too.

So, I agree it makes sense, but I (clinging on to the past) would say it's a shame to miss out on the ability to drive a manual.

My only peeve is that automatic cars are much more expensive and tricky to fix if the gearbox goes wrong. I’d like the security of being able to drive both. I learnt in a manual and I think it’s a half decent skill to acquire, albeit not being very necessary in this day and age.

Learning in a manual and having the option to drive auto seems the most sensible to me, but that’s obviously because I’ve never just had an auto license so I wouldn’t know if there are any implications. As in, when I’ve needed a courtesy car, I was given an auto. If you drive auto and they only have a suitable manual available when you need one, you won’t be able to drive it.. but that’s unlikely to happen I guess 🤣

I passed in a manual so I have a manual/automatic license. I drove a manual briefly before going over to an automatic, never again will I drive a manual.

To those who say “just in case of an emergency, you can drive both/what about if you want to drive abroad” I’ve never been in a position where I have been forced to drive a manual before and I’ve driven abroad, with the preference being automatics in those places.

I have always preferred automatic and have owned only automatics for myself for more than twenty years.

However, in the last 12 months alone:

• had to drive a rental van to move some large furniture. Manual only;
• my father died abroad and I spent over ten weeks there in several trips sorting stuff out. I could have rented an automatic each time, but his manual car was just sitting there;
• while my own car was on a recall I got given a courtesy car, manual only;
• I was chaperoning on a school trip and the teacher rolled her ankle, meaning I had to drive the (manual) minibus back;
• my wife's manual car broke down a long way from home and she had to leave it there. It was much easier for me to go and retrieve it and ferry it home.

See when you learn manual it becomes muscle memory and you do it without even being aware.

I struggle with automatics as once I hear the engine hit a certain note I reach for the gears. Completely subconscious and I find it really frustrating to hear the engine, know it needs changing up and nothing happens for ages!

I also struggle with breaking as again I completely subconsciously depress the clutch. When I first started I kept using my left foot without realising and ended up stopping in the middle of a dual carriageway before I figured I had my foot on the brake not the clutch.

if I practice it becomes more natural as with anything.

Agreed, it’s usually other factors that will cause a fail. Autos will certainly be easier initially, though.

I passed my first test abroad, where TBH it was easier, but had to take a U.K. test after a year back here. Thought I’d have zero trouble - was already a confident driver. However, I took a few lessons to be on the safe side, and the instructor (ex police) once made me do a hill start over and over.
I couldn’t understand it - I thought I was doing it perfectly.
Eventually he said, ‘You didn’t look over your shoulder. That would be an instant fail.’

He was definitely worth the money! I did pass.

I have always driven automatic cars and have no interest in driving a manual car - DH, too. I do not have the patience for them!

Not strictly true.

While it's true that of brand new car registrations in the UK, about 60% are automatic. But of the entire car "population" out there, a bit over 70% of them are manual.

I've never driven an automatic, and none of my family currently do either. I'm certainly not opposed to them. My best friend has an automatic and swears she'd never go back to manual now. Another good friend with dodgy knees also swears by his automatic.

It's less of a clear-cut choice than it used to be, but I would still learn to drive manual at the moment unless it really is the difference between passing your test or not.

It just gives you more options being able to drive a manual, especially when it comes to buying cheap cars for first time drivers, hire cars, courtesy cars etc.

I would, but my daughter will want to drive horse boxes - which are manual.

It is worth considering if your child may have reason to need a manual license, even potentially, in the future.

I learnt on auto as my parents only had auto cars (this was in a different country where they are much more common, and your license automatically becomes a full one allowing you to drive a manual after a year or two). When I moved to the U.K. my DH persuaded me that we should buy a second hand manual and that I'd be able to pick it up after an hour or two of practice. It took many, many, many more hours than that (plus a lot of shouting on both sides!).

I can do it now but I still think the gear changing is super annoying - when you are dealing with a tricky three lane round about with traffic lights or heavy London traffic, there is enough to concentrate on without also having to waste a portion of your concentration on changing up and down between first and second all the time.