To learn to drive automatic

[TopangaD]

My family will laugh at me but I want to learn quickly is automatic so bad? Worried about driving in snow etc need to do motorway driving for work should I just do full course or auto?

I drive an automatic. I’ve never attempted manual but I’m crap at doing two things at once so I just had a feeling I’d struggle with it .

I went straight to automatic as I desperately needed a license quickly. Took me 3 months - started end Dec beginning of Jan and passed my test beginning of March.

I did this. I was pregnant and wanted to be driving before my first baby came along I passed in a few months. I drove for the next 4 yrs with a automatic but did a few more lessons in a manual tgen took a manual test as we by then had too many kids to fit in a small car and the car we wanted was quite hard to get in a automatic.

YANBU. The number of people who have told me they drive a manual because they "like to be in control" ....and then drive off, car screaming. I am astounded that so many people are unable to hear when they need to change gears.

You’re probably the sort of person who never exceeds 2500rpm and thinks that exceeding 3000rpm will somehow break it. Some of us like using our car’s potential and enjoy both the performance and noise accompanying a pull to 8000rpm+. Often it is necessary to ensure you’re still in the powerband after the upshift.

I'd try manual first. See how you go. Some people take to it really easy, and having a manual licence is really useful for the rest of your life.

If it's not suiting you after 5 or 6 lessons, switch.

I bought an automatic second hand car this year. I've always driven manual, but at least half the reasonable-price, mid-size family cars were auto. So I tried a few. Yes, some autos have a horrible gear lag, but there are some really good smooth ones too now.

I'm really pleased with it, and might now drive autos forever, but I'm glad I have a manual licence just in case. I'll try and keep up manual practice with friends cars/ holiday hire cars, in case I need it one day.

MargaretCavendish, in theory they exam standards should be the same, although the driving techniques are a little different. I wouldn't be surprised if overall pass rates are lower in an automatic because people tend to take the test in an auto if they are either in a hurry to get their license or had difficulty driving a manual.

You do have a lower chance of passing if you use a car without dual controls (ie your own car not a driving school car), if that's what your friend is doing. It's because the examiner will have to intervene verbally sooner than if they had their own brake to rely on.

I took my driving lessons in my own (automatic) car as I live in the back of beyond and the local driving instructor only had a manual dual control car. I then sat my test in my own car, so everything was really familiar. My husband has a small collection of American 'muscle' cars, 8 cylinder V8s and the like - and they're all automatic. I don't think he sees them as somehow 'lesser' than manual cars.