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Original poster

Have you bought an automatic car after driving a manual?

130 replies

MyCatTibby · 07/03/2025 21:58

Can you tell me you experience of driving an automatic car after driving a manual car? I’ve driven a manual for 32 years and am thinking of buying an automatic. I’ve no qualms at all driving an automatic but I’ve only literally driven one a couple of times. I’ll be buying it on PCP over 4 years and I’m probably being silly but I’m worried I’ll be rusty after four years if I go back to manual then.

OP posts:
ShockedandStunnedRepeatedly · 08/03/2025 07:26

DeltaAlphaDelta79 · 07/03/2025 22:10

I bought an automatic after 20 years of a manual, as I needed a car quick as mine had been written off and I had just started a new job and they had one available in the showroom.

Never again! Higher MPG, less control over acceleration and in poor weather, no engine braking and more wear on the brakes.

My pcp deal is up in the summer, and I'll be paying it off, shifting it on and going back to a manual asap.

A poor quality automatic is a nightmare. We test drive loads before we bought mine having had a bad experience in a hire car.

A good automatic though is amazing. Changes gear more efficiently than I ever could. I’m not a natural driver and I need all the help I can get. One less thing to think about makes me a safer driver.

Haribo16 · 08/03/2025 07:26

@DancingDucks I believe they are safer from the point of view of keeping both hands on the steering wheel and eyes on the road.

ParaParaParaphrase · 08/03/2025 07:27

So much better. Especially in traffic.

All automatic gearboxes are not created equal though.

blackheartsgirl · 08/03/2025 07:28

I have an auto after nearly 30 years driving a manual. So so easy to drive. Took a day or two to get used to it. I still drive manuals every week, I have a van as well and my dd2 car is also a manual which I regularly drive.

ShockedandStunnedRepeatedly · 08/03/2025 07:29

mathanxiety · 08/03/2025 02:05

As others have said, I don't think they're significantly more fuel efficient any more.

For someone regularly driving long distances on the motorway it might make sense to have a manual. But the stop-start-slow driving of a built-up area is not conducive to fuel efficiency in any vehicle, and the ease of driving an automatic in that environment negates any small advantage in fuel efficiency a manual might offer.

I drive in an urban area and find the automatic makes it far easier for me to keep on top of everything going on around me - skateboarders, kids on bikes, other drivers, squirrels with a death wish. It was fantastic when my DCs were young to have that space in my brain that would have been occupied by just the mechanics of driving.

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This is how I feel. I don’t have the kind of brain that copes well with distractions so when there are passengers in the car I’m grateful to be able to let the car do the grunt work.

In my case, it isn’t like riding a bike, after 14 years of automatic I really struggle now with a manual especially if it is abroad ie other side of the road, so I will pay more for automatic. They’re becoming more common now thankfully.

ExcessiveNumberOfNinjas · 08/03/2025 07:33

Yes and I would never, ever go back. Honestly, three days in an auto car and I defy anyone (unless they see driving as a competitive sport) not to feel the same.

Modern automatic gearboxes are much more responsive than they used to be so you won't even notice the difference in terms of building up speed or pulling off from roundabouts quickly etc. Day to day around town driving is a dream. I would find all that gear changing, hill starts and clutch control on slopes such a faff now. I took some persuading when DH first suggested it because I was worried I would feel not in full control of the car, but that fear was put to bed within minutes of being behind the wheel. Four automatic cars later I won't even drive a manual hire car now.

Darkrestlessness · 08/03/2025 07:34

I wouldn't choose auto petrol - too annoying, I've hired a few and some are awful. Get electric - I bought a Tesla (I know but it was 5 years ago when Musk was slightly more sane) it drives like a dream - so easy, no gears at all in electric. And I occasionally drive a manual now and it's fine I haven't forgotten how.

ShockedandStunnedRepeatedly · 08/03/2025 07:36

One thing to note tho - I’ve just gone from a stately boring but comfy big diesel to a petrol hybrid, both automatic, and there are slight differences in how the car behaves. The new hybrid jumps forward like a giddy thoroughbred as soon as you take your foot off the brake - you need to be careful! So not all automatics are created equal, indeed. And EVs are essentially binary on/off… there isn’t the gradual buildup of speed. At least that’s my impression. Not an engineer!

LennyBalls · 08/03/2025 07:37

I have driven manual for over 30 years. Bought my first automatic last year and oh my goodness I would never go back. Wish I did it earlier. So much easier to drive.

LennyBalls · 08/03/2025 07:38

And forgot to say I do drive my son's manual occasionally with no problem. It's muscle memory.

Ilovemyshed · 08/03/2025 07:38

I drive both and switch no problem. Love the auto, its lazy driving.

ExcessiveNumberOfNinjas · 08/03/2025 07:46

I've tried switching and I can't do it. I stall and gear grind all over the place. I just don't enjoy driving manual any more so I don't force myself to do it. It's annoying that automatic hire cars are so much more expensive and in short supply though.

Darkrestlessness · 08/03/2025 07:47

Of course there's a gradual build-up of speed - you don't go 1-60 in 0 secs. And you control the level of acceleration with your foot and if you can't do that you shouldn't be driving.

isthesolution · 08/03/2025 07:58

Yes. I'd only ever driven a manual for 20 years. Love my automatic- will never go back. HATE driving husbands cars now - changing gear is such an effort!!!

Keepingthingsinteresting · 08/03/2025 08:00

Very easy to drive. Took a bit of getting used to as I kept reaching for the gearstick, but I now mostly drive the auto and occasionally a manual but don’t seem to forget. It is much less tiring if you’re in traffic as yo7 don’t have to keep changing up and down, though sometimes I do disagree with the car about when to change gear!

Karatema · 08/03/2025 08:12

I used to switch between my manual and my DH's auto but, since April, I've had an automatic.
I drive a manual when I borrow my DSs or DiLs car, but wouldn't go back to manual as my everyday car.

Toddlerteaplease · 08/03/2025 08:13

I had one for two months as a hire car. I did like it. I've got my manual back, the only time I miss the automatic is when sitting in heavy traffic, having said that I probably will get an automatic next time I get a new car.

HelpMeGetThrough · 08/03/2025 08:13

I believe they are safer from the point of view of keeping both hands on the steering wheel and eyes on the road.

Eyes on the road?

How does a manual stop you doing that? You don't need to take your eyes off the road to change gear.

DeltaAlphaDelta79 · 08/03/2025 08:21

SpringIsSpringing25 · 08/03/2025 00:02

It would be interesting to know once you've done that whether you missed your automatic or not, even though right now you don't think you will!

My David commute was getting worse and worse with stop start traffic for over an hour and it was absolutely killing my knee, so I swapped from a manual to an automatic.

It is much easier, but I'm a driver and I really miss driving the car! After a few years of having the automatic, it still feels like one of those kids cars in Disneyland.

Now I'm not doing the same commute I am contemplating getting a manual again, but I don't know if the novelty will wear off quickly and I'll regret it.

I have always been in a position where I have to drive other cars and never had any problems swapping between manual and auto except for someone else said my hand drifting over towards the gear stick then remembering I don't need it to. 🙇🏻‍♀️

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We have 2 other vehicles in the household which are manuals. I can switch very easily between the auto and manual, and much prefer the manuals to the auto.

I did have an automatic company car (in between several manuals) about 16 years ago, and drove about 2,500 miles a month then. I didn't particularly enjoy the automatic then either and was happy when it got changed for a manual.

LennBob · 08/03/2025 08:23

HelpMeGetThrough · 08/03/2025 08:13

I believe they are safer from the point of view of keeping both hands on the steering wheel and eyes on the road.

Eyes on the road?

How does a manual stop you doing that? You don't need to take your eyes off the road to change gear.

Exactly, I wonder how many of these 'safe' automatics also have a big iPad type thing that does need the driver to take their eyes off the road.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 08/03/2025 08:26

After driving a manual for many years, I found driving an automatic pretty much a piece of cake when we rented one (month long U.K. holiday from abroad.). After that dh rented an automatic every year and I always found swapping from my manual back home very easy - I hardly even had to think about it.

Byebyechicken · 08/03/2025 08:36

The hardest part about driving an automatic after years of driving a manual is not using your left foot!
It takes a conscious effort at first not to use your left foot at all.
One person I know ended up doing an emergency stop in the middle of a roundabout because they got momentarily flustered and forgot they had no clutch, so pressed the brake with their left foot instead.
Until you get used to it, it requires a lot of focus not to use your left foot imo.

pilates · 08/03/2025 08:39

I have been driving automatics for 10 years and would not go back. It is so easy.

suburburban · 08/03/2025 08:44

MyCatTibby · 07/03/2025 21:58

Can you tell me you experience of driving an automatic car after driving a manual car? I’ve driven a manual for 32 years and am thinking of buying an automatic. I’ve no qualms at all driving an automatic but I’ve only literally driven one a couple of times. I’ll be buying it on PCP over 4 years and I’m probably being silly but I’m worried I’ll be rusty after four years if I go back to manual then.

Yes love auto

Would never go back to a manual

HelpMeGetThrough · 08/03/2025 08:48

it requires a lot of focus not to use your left foot imo.

I just tucked my left foot behind my right leg for a couple of days when I got mine, didn't go for the imaginary clutch by doing that.