DD fairly new driver - should she get an automatic car?

[Dietingalways]

DD hasn’t exactly taken to driving very easily, she passed her test last November but hates driving and will literally only go 2-3 miles around our local village and that’s only if she has to.
Ideally she needs her own car due to work commitments. She thinks an automatic will be easier as it’s one less thing to think about (gears).
Im not sure it’s a great idea, she’ll lose the skill of manual driving surely?

any thoughts? I’m tempted to let her do what she wants and get an automatic if it means she’ll get out and drive more

On my car (VW up!), it's just very gently with the accelerator which you get used to. On other automatics there's a creep function where it moves very very slowly if in drive or reverse and your foot isn't on the brake or accelerator. My friend's Hyundai i10 has it so she only needs to use the brake when reversing.

Once you've passed your test you don't really forget how to drive a manual. I didn't drive a manual for years after my test and when I had to drive someone else's manual car it just came back to me. Automatics are great though.

My automatic creeps in reverse or drive. If you need to reverse faster then gently squeeze the accelerator.

I recently had to drive a manual after driving auto for 15 years. It was fine. I do love my auto car!

My car is automatic DHs was manual mine was more of the family car (nicer) so I hardly ever drove manual on the rare occasion I needed to it was absolutely fine, including abroad with the gearstick etc in the other side, I'm not sure why people are saying you forget how to drive manual! We only have one car now as DH cycles to work lovely rather than commuting, so brother of us had driven manual for over a year, I have no doubt I could still drive one and parallel parked my mum's manual car a few weeks ago when she thought she couldn't get it into the space.
More and more cars are auto now and if it makes her feel comfortable why not

This. My auto’s engine won’t start unless it’s in park and you have your foot firmly on the brake, so no chance of zooming off anywhere.

This.

Thank you! I bottled it once I realised I had no clue but keen to have a go again!!

My daughter had a manual car for 6 months after passing. She hated driving and didn't go out much. We changed to an automatic and now she is totally independent and really enjoys driving. I say go for it!

We love automatic cars and would never go back to a manual.
Its easy to hire one when abroad. You can even hire vans/moving vans that are automatic these days.

My son passed his test on a manual but both our cars are automatics. My car is a hybrid and when he's home from university I insure him on my car. He much prefers not having to mess about with gears.

With the move to hybrid and electric, manual cars will die out gradually. I can't see any issue with new drivers making the change right away.

There is a low chance that he might one day have a job where he had to drive a manual pool car but I think the chance is very low, and he could always have a couple of refresher lessons if he needed them.

So probably rules out hire cars on holidays abroad, for example

DH only ever drove an automatic after passing his (manual) test. We haven't hired cars overseas that often but getting an automatic has never been a problem.

Manuals are on the way out but are you sure it's manual/automatic which is the problem? She's obviously driven a manual well enough to pass a test in it.

But there are so many threads on here by people who won't drive on motorways, won't drive in the dark, won't drive more than X miles from home, won't drive somewhere they haven't been before.... and it's not a gears problem, it's an anxiety/confidence problem. It all sounds a bit "I'd be fine if only I didn't have to change gears" whereas I don't think that's necessarily the case.

I’d look at an electric rather than an automatic.

are automatics still more expensive? What’s the insurance like?

That would be the major thing holding me back, if I’m paying for it she’s getting a cheap run around that’s cheap to insure and it’s not a big deal if it gets a couple of dints or knocks.

dd is also more confident driving an old banger as she isn’t so worried about it.

Really manual cars are only necessary for places with hills and places affected by severe weather/ snow. Most other driving is fine with an automatic.

Personally I find it a useful skill, but if she really only wants to drive an automatic and is happy with that choice then I don't see why that's a problem.

She just has to be aware of how hard it will be to switch back to a manual in the future and she might not be able to go to remote places as easily.

I think it's a valuable skill to be honest.
I considered automatic when I passed, but persisted with manual, I can switch between both

So probably rules out hire cars on holidays abroad, for example

I've never hired a car on holiday. I only switched to automatic because I moved to New Zealand. Automatics are really common over there and I bought an old auto estate car that was 20 years old for the equivalent of £200. Lasted me 2 years and only needed new tyres.

As a basic idea it's fine - I think the only issue you may have is that it's harder to find the smaller run around type cars that new drivers tend to have as Automatics - but they are out there.

On both of the automatics I’ve owned you can’t put the car into reverse unless you put your foot on the brakes.

Exactly this. Manual just won’t be a thing for much longer. Far more important that she gains confidence and proper driving skills than worries about changing gear - that’s not what driving is about.

I.passed my test in Manual car but have no derived automatic too. I can drive both. You don't be forget how to change the gears. Automatic easier for DH knee so we have automatic now.

My daughter has had an automatic ever since she passed her test (she got my old car, and I've driven automatics for nearly 30 years). I know several people who have not driven a manual in years and have no intention of doing so. I really don't think she needs to be driving a manual if she doesn't want to. And as PPs have said, electric cars drive like automatics, and they are the future.

Yes, but soon all cars will be automatic or similar, and having the skill to drive a manual, in the long term, will become unnecessary.

Most of the decent 4x4s designed for those conditions are automatic

Don't be ridiculous, of course you can go back to driving a manual if needs be, also, you can hire automatics too.
God, there's some tripe posted on here arm.