Changing from a manual to an automatic - tips, advice needed

[MrsJohnDeere]

Dh wants to change one of our cars for an automatic. He reckons that driving a manual car for long distances (holidays etc) makes his leg ache . I drive both cars most days, he just uses one of them at weekends.

I've never driven an automatic (well, I tried one on holiday and didn't get on with it shortly after taking my test about 10 years ago) and am a bit scared. If he did change I would still need to flit between the two cars. It is hard enough chopping and changing with the two I use now as one has 6 gears and reverse where 1st should be, the other doesn't!

We're borrowing one from the dealership for the weekend to try

Shouldn't be a problem..just tuck your left foot under the seat so you don't use it.
Would be much harder changing from automatic to manual.

I moved from a manual to automatic because I have a bad knee and it's much easier. Just make sure you don't loose your left foot and it's easy!

If it's anything like the long journeys I do, it's his right foot/leg that will ache, not his left. Rather than an automatic (if you don't want one), look for one with cruise control.

We already have cruise control, but that's no good on country lanes etc. Great for motorways though, particularly the endless M1 average speed camera bits.

He says that it's the left that aches, anyway.

My view is that we should change the sort of holidays we do (drive to south of France etc) rather than the car.

What car do you have now?

Some cars have very heavy clutches (and other controls) - the couple of Renaults I've driven were very heavy, Ford Transit was sometimes painful in traffic; VWs on the other hand tend to be very light.

So I take it his leg is aching from moving it, rather than keeping it still? Sounds more like subtle complaining at "having to drive long distances" when there are other people in the car to listen to his moaning and he is looking for sympathy. Tell him to MTFU.

Subaru

Good for stop/start driving - no pesky gear changes
Hill starts good, they don't roll back

But they're a bugger in ice /snow because they go a long way before they stop themselves ( and putting the brakes on would make my car swereve in a spectaculer fashion on ice)

The gearbox of mine went pfffftttt when it was only 54,000 miles