AIBU automatic cars are easier?

[FondOfOwls]

I've been toying with an idea of getting an automatic car, when we swap our car soon. I was surprised how polarising this seems to be!
I am not a keen driver, in fact I dislike driving. I have an old manual car that makes do, but I never really got 'used to' it. I guess I just don't drive enough. I am finding it a massive pain in the arse trying to concentrate on the road, constantly changing gears in heavy traffic and trying to make sure my kids don't kill each other in the back seats.

I though getting an auto will be a way to make driving easier, DH wants to test drive one too. However DFIL, neighbours and some other people seem to think that I will be speeding in an auto (as you don't have to manually change gears) and get careless? I don't speed and we live in a heavy traffic area with roundabouts stacked on top of each other.

Apparently it's all due to my lack of experience in driving and I was told I just have to keep practising, drive every day to get used to it etc. AIBU to think I don't NEED to do that, as I don't really care to drive a manual?!
I chatted to some friends who drive autos and they love them.

YABU manual driving is a skill and getting an auto is lazy
YANBU if you don't love driving, there's no point sticking with manual for the sake of it!

Also, I would argue that driving an automatic in high traffic areas is way better than manual! Literally stop and go and no worry about shifting up and down gears! Was a revelation when I switched!

I feel your pain, OP. My teenagers are learning to drive in automatics because I fail to see how or why manuals will be a thing in the future, and everyone and their dog has an opinion on how they aren’t sitting a ‘real’ test.
I drove manuals for years and since I switched to automatic a decade ago, manuals just seem such a faff. It’s like refusing to accept remote controls because people got up to change the channel by pressing buttons back in the day!

Electric cars don't had automatic gearboxes. They don't have gearboxes full stop.

I’m quite happy driving either and my latest car can be driven in automatic or manual. I bloody love nipping around town in it in automatic mode. I very rarely bother with the manual gears to be honest.

I have been driving for 45 years. Love driving, love interesting cars. But for every day, I will always choose an automatic. Much smoother especially in town, No roll back on hills , etc Even in snow the auto is easier.

When I learned there was a lot of inverse drive snobbery about automatics, and way back then the transmission was pretty poor. But not now.

Was very worried switching to an electric car after driving manuals for 35 years what a revelation it turned out to be. Absolutely not going back.

We have 3 cars and all of them are automatic. When I was learning, my partner said there was no point learning stick as 1. all our cars are automatic and 2. stick will become obsolete with hybrid and electric cars. I still went for manual because I though it was "proper driving" but ended up with an automatic car anyway.
I can't stand all the driving snobs who apparently LOVE changing gears... ok, I have other engaging hobbies. I don't need this shit. I don't speed, you can speed with manual car too. And what is the point of practicing more to get comfortable with manual transmission. I can probably brush my teeth with my left foot if I practice enough, but why would I?

E-pedal? Sorry but what is it, how it helps? Is it just in electric cars? Thank you!

I got my first automatic car recently and oh the joy of not worrying about getting used to the biting point in a new car!!!

I love it and I’ll never get a manual car again.

My Honda automatic is easier on hills because there's no balancing of clutches to be done. Low speed control is very good. I once found myself having to do a hill start in reverse up a 1 in 4 - no problem at all.

Reverse parking is all about visibility. Get a car with good visibility, it's easier to reverse park. Automatics can come with parking sensors.

I have been driving manual 30 years but automatic feels so luxurious to me and my next car will def be auto!

If I had an open choice of cars I'd prefer an manual, just because I'm more used to it. But I fairly regularly drive my mum's automatic and it doesn't bother me at all or take any time to adjust to. If I needed to replace my car and the most suitable car in my price range was an automatic, that's what I'd buy.

The stuff about speeding if you drive an automatic is just the kind of nonsense families were created to spout. There is never any reason to listen to a father-in-law's or neighbour's opinion on anything unless they are an expert, which 99.99999% are not.

I used to drive a manual on the M25 every day. 90% of the time, traffic was slow and my left leg really ached from depressing and releasing the clutch so often.

We have an auto hybrid now and it’s so much easier.

Automatics are easier to drive.

There are some people out there who are of the opinion that if you don't have enough spare capacity to deal with the demands of manual driving then you probably shouldn't be on the road.

However the law thinks differently.

Automatics are still rarer on UK roads (at least in petrol versions), more expensive to buy and can have some horrible repair costs in the event of gearbox failure (which is generally more common as they are more complicated).

Dangerous! You still need to turn wheels if parked on a steep slope as a precaution. The automatic parking brake and "park" can still fail. Our car was written off because the pillock opposite parked his automatic car on his drive and somehow either didn't set the parking brake or didn't put it into park and it rolled down straight into our parked car. We have an automatic ourselves and once it rolled a bit after parking in a car park - luckily it was only a very slight slope so didn't go far.

A lesson might be worth it. The biggest difference is that you have only two pedals, brake and accelerator, and you operate them both with your right foot. Your left foot sits to the side keeping well out of the way.

You actually think automatic cars do all the steering,braking, indicating for you?

We're the same. I drove a manual for over 40 years, and just got our first automatic last year, absolutely love it. Still got a manual as our second car, and love that too, but we'll be replacing it with an automatic next time around. As others have said, it's very easy to adapt to change between a manual and automatic - we do it daily, you just get used to it.

I've driven automatics for 37 years and I have yet to have a gear box failure.

We are a two car family, one manual and one automatic.

I must say every much preferred the manual fora long time, but there is no denying that driving an automatic is easier as I've come around as I have to mostly drive the automatic!

I drive an automatic..after 8 failed tests undecided to take the easy route and passed that way. I definitely don't speed.... The long queue of traffic behind me at all times is proof of that!.

You’re definitely not unreasonable. This is an area we lag behind in and I think it’s part of the reason that so many people don’t drive or are very nervous drivers. Automatic became standard in US, Canada, etc decades ago, probably because they do a lot more driving than we do. Other countries have followed suit but we’re still dragging our feet on it.

I think it's a historical thing. I never wanted an automatic because my parents had one once and it was a right pig in a poke. Their main complaint was that you couldn't "push start" it, but these days, I don't think anyone needs to push start their cars anymore - but it was a thing in the old days due to faulty starter motors, dud batteries, etc. I remember they did need a gear box repair at some point, but it was an old banger and probably way above average mileage, so hardly a surprise back in the day when cars weren't so reliable.

Well done.