Manual VS Automatic cars.

[HJWT]

AIBU to tell my DH we have to get an automatic? iv only ever driven one once but I just assume it is such a better drive when you don't have to change gear!!

We are getting a 'new' (newer used) family car soon and are spending our savings, id much prefer an automatic but he is the one that knows all about cars! 😁

Tell me your opinion on driving an Automatic VS a Manual....

I currently drive a manual, but have only heard good things about modern autos. Id consider getting one. My friends who have them wouldn't change back, and my older family members who have made the switch (and who are pretty clued up in their cars) say the same.

I didnt drive for years. Now i need to. We have an auto after struggling with a manual as i just couldnt use the clutch well any more without needing refresher lessons. Didnt have time for lessons. Will have 4 kids soon i just have to concentrate on the road not the gear changes. Its amazing

I’ve got an automatic Audi A3 and bloody love it. Would never go back to a manual.

They can use a lot of fuel. Its worth researching.

Ive never enjoyed the few times i drove an auto. Ive heard the new ones are better.

Autos are used by manufacturers to fudge mpg and emission ratings as they can set the gear changes.

The idea that certain high performance cars are only available in auto seems wrong

I have only driven automatic cars for the past 20 years. I would no more want to drive a manual transmission than I would want to have to manually wind my window down.

I know there are those who prefer to have control over the transmission. I suspect some drivers had reservations about the introduction of electric indicators, central locking, automatic headlights etc.

Manual transmission will soon become a historical/niche feature, e.g. on classic cars.

I prefer manual; it is what I learned to drive on and I'm very used to it. We have one of each, and I find my manual much more comfortable to drive. In my case it is probably familiarity that drives my preference, but I enjoy it.

I've driven manual and auto in city streets and long drives and find that I am forced to pay more attention in the manual on long country drives. It is safer for me.

Automatic and electric. Love it!

I didn’t have a preference either way with our recent car change, but looking at the car we wanted and the money we had available, cost of insurance, tax etc etc it was more financially viable for us to buy a manual than the auto. The car we bought wouldn’t have had a fancy pants auto gearbox so would have been less economical, more expensive to tax and also more expensive to insure. For me it was important that we didn’t swap something very economical, cheap to tax and insure just with a few too many miles on and a bit old, for something that was more expensive in all respects. It meant by choosing a manual we managed to buy the car we wanted space wise, average 55-60mpg even on the short runs we do and it only cost £30/year to tax and the same as the previous car to insure. My husband doesn’t like autos but for the most part it was that they were considerably more expensive with our requirements.

I bought my auto in September. I can’t see me ever going back to a manual. I drive to work on country roads, but live in a heavily congested town. Best decision I ever made in my 24 years of driving. I don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner 🤦🏼‍♀️
Dh is now a convert, and my dB will be buying an automatic. It’s so much more relaxing. I don’t have a gear lever in the middle it’s a stick behind my steering wheel R and D, off I go 🚗 💨

I have an automatic, and that's all I'll ever buy. I love it!

I agree with everyone else about left-foot braking in automatic cars. I tried it in my BMW and had a sore neck for days afterwards. If you want to find out how powerful the brakes in a modern car really are, go ahead and give it a try. Just make sure the road is dry and there’s nothing behind you first...

Thought i would have trouble adjusting to an auto but was a breeze i would never go.back if i can help it.

Oh and i live very rurally and never had a problem.

I drive my dad’s auto VW Golf a lot and love it, especially in town. I have a manual Audi just now and my next one will definitely be an automatic

Automatic! Would never go back...

We have auto and manual cars and I switch between the both no problem. I drive the auto more often but make sure I take the manual at least once a week.

I have a slight preference for auto, I'm not a rally driver and I quite like the lazy aspect. The fuel consumption is slightly higher in my auto. It's quite powerful however I can drop down to third gear to overtake or get up a short steel hill by pressing a button on the selector.

Automatics are fabulous. Press to go, press to stop, piece of cake. I’d always advise that learners get the full manual licence, tho.

Make sure you get a proper automatic not something like a VW which has a DSG gear box or a semi-automatic
Pish. This may have been true a while ago. Frankly having driven a Honda automatic a few months ago I hated it. Had a VW Scirocco with this “improper” DSG gearbox for 3 years and it’s the best damn car I’ve ever had the pleasure of driving. Like shit off a shovel. An ASG e.g, VW Up, hideous, I’ll give you that, but it’s not the same thing.

We've got an automatic BMW 220 Active tourer. There's absolutely nothing sluggish about it at all. You don't notice the gear changes, can change between economy and sport if you want a bit more power. I never do but DH does. 🙄 I love it and will never go back to a manual.

Prior to this we had a Golf DSG which was great and an automatic Nissan Juke which was bloody awful, completely gutless and took ages to change gear. We only had it a year before we got rid because we felt it was dangerous.

"I agree with everyone else about left-foot braking in automatic cars. I tried it in my BMW and had a sore neck for days afterwards."

I suppose the problem is that your left foot is conditioned to pressing the clutch down to the floor in a split second when changing gear - then it tries to do the same thing with the brake pedal...

I've driven both and hate automatic cars - they just feel weird and like PP have said I never feel properly in control.

I also quite enjoy driving and like the feeling of changing gears etc. that comes with a manual car.

I have driven an automatic for the last 10 yrs and I wouldn’t go back to a manual. I drive rurally and thought it would be difficult but it is so much easier driving in country lanes without constantly changing up and down gears. Until having children I had always enjoyed driving but the distraction of a mob of whining/noisy/ unpredictable hooligans in the backseat proved too much of a distraction. I think automatics are so much safer.

Autos cost more to buy, use more fuel, cost more to fix and may be harder to sell, because fewer people want them.

I don't see the attraction at all.