What do you have automatic or manual family car?

[Mammmma]

I’ve only ever driven manual cars and need to upgrade to an estate car- likely Skoda Octavia. Are there any advantages to automatic over manual or is it just personal preference?

I’ve been told by a mechanic that if an automatic goes wrong it’s harder to fix than manual...

My main cars have been autos since the early 1990s. Over that time, I have converted sceptical parents, my siblings and my wife to the benefits of auto driving.

Reliability wise, traditional torque converter auto boxes have always been on a par with manual gearboxes. There many different types of automatic gearbox though and the more modern, more efficient types are a bit of a mixed bag reliability wise. You need to research the reliability history of the particular type of auto car you are interested in.

I don't know if it is still the case, but VW/Audi/Skoda DSG auto boxes were notorious for big bills once the warranty ran out.

Puts dampener on:

they are a GIT in ice .
You know how you don't brake on ice , you take your foot off the accelerator and let your car slow ....... well my automatic kept pootling on . I drove down an empty road (on a dry day) to see how long it would go on for , it was a good stretch.

Great on roundabouts
Great on hills , no rollback.

1.8l litre engine (loved it)

Gearbox went , I was told it'd be £5 to replace on a 7year old .

Car went to heaven, I went back to gears .

We've just got an automatic - it's my first and I was VERY dubious about it but it's brilliant.

Ours is a van though because we can no longer fit in a car despite us only having one DD.

I was told it'd be £5

That should of course read £5k .....

3 automatics and i doubt any of us would go back

Dd does have a manual at the moment

So far the gearbox hasn’t gone wrong with any of them so havent seen a difference in costs

We've both got autos.... would never ever go back to manual, although mine (Mini Cooper S) has got a manual override on the box so you can still go up/down a gear. Never had to use it though as car is so responsive. They're entirely different nowadays to the old auto boxes and we both use less fuel as a result.

Automatic (and single-speed electric)

We're sort of forced into it because DW has leg problems and can't manage a clutch but we would probably choose automatics anyway. My late DF was a GP back in the days when they did house calls, and switched to autos because he got tired of an endless diet of first-second-third-junction-first-second etc as he navigated the back streets of the town to get to his patients.

When I learned to drive I started on his auto, and after I had mastered that switched to manual to get a manual licence. From then on, I hopped between autos and manuals without a second thought until DW came along since when I've driven automatics almost exclusively.

I don't think we've ever had a gearbox problem (fingers crossed) and generally the automatic experience is better.

I used to say that there were three kinds of driving: motorways, where it didn't really make a difference; town, where automatic is better; and the open road, where manual is better, so your choice should be according to the type of driving you do. Now, though, even the open road is congested and modern automatics are probably better there too.

If you had a really hot sports car manual might be more fun, but for a family estate automatic is going to be better.

As others have said, North America and South-East Asia changed to automatics as the norm decades ago. It's only in Europe where the manual gearbox keeps going as other than a niche interest.

Conventional cars only have changeable gears to deal with the fact that the engine isn't very flexible. Electric motors are very flexible, so don't need changeable gears (even reverse is by running the motor backwards) so as we move to an electric future clutches will quietly disappear.

DD1 will be learning to drive in two years and we are debating whether to put her for a manual licence or just stick to automatic.

Automatic. I would not go back to manual. Gear changing in city traffic is not enjoyable

A lot of the old reasons for not having an auto no longer apply.

Autos used to be much slower than the manual version of the same car, they are now quicker.
Autos used to use more fuel, now many use less.
Autos are still more expensive to buy and fix if they go wrong, which is rare.

If you can drive a manual, it'll take less than 5 mins to learn to use an auto. If you can only drive an auto, your licence is only a provisional on a manual so L plates, accompanied and need to take another driving test. So anyone who drives a manual and is worried about driving an auto, don't be.

If you had a really hot sports car manual might be more fun

But much slower. The auto in most high end sports cars will change gear much quicker and at the optimum time, far better than any human can.

I only ever drove manual so was really worried when when we got a auto but now I love them and told DH when we were getting our new car it had to be an auto, so much easier to drive one less thing to do. Takes you about 5 mins to learn to drive it, you get the odd reaching for the gears moment for the first few weeks though. DH has an auto just now too he wants to go back to a manual but he’s a petrol head and likes the whole control thing

My dads got a manual Octavia estate. No complaints and as a passenger it’s comfortable

So when it's icy, you just used the gears, no? @70isaLimitNotaTarget.

Have driven both and although I bought a manual as it was cheaper, most coming from the dealer were automatics and I can see more and more cars being automatic now like in the US. I drove an automatic courtesy car for a while which was higher spec than mine in many ways with parking, cameras, satnav etc and although I came to enjoy all the conveniences it was nice to get back to my manual and control the gears and feel like I was driving the car rather than the other way round.

Both DH and I have autos having previously driven manuals for years. Will never go back. So nice to drive, no issues with cost of servicing etc so far (10 years) 🤞🏻😀

I have 5 years left of paying off my manual car, and I’m so impatient as I am desperate for an automatic

Auto, but would prefer manual.

I drive in mountainous country quite a lot and much prefer manual, to make the engine work for itself.

I've driven both and was very happy to go back to manual as I feel I have more control, especially in icy conditions, I can use the gear box to control the speed without touching the brakes and if I need to put the car into 2nd gear to get out of snowy conditions I have that option. Not sure if modern automatics have improved on that score though.

I can see the advantages of an automatic if you do a lot of driving in town that means a lot of stop/start driving, an automatic would be a lot more comfortable. Or if you are lousy at hill starts then an automatic would be a winner. If driving an automatic ever becomes physically difficult, then I would switch to an automatic. I guess it's like most things, a question of horses for courses.

Autos are so good these days, F1 have a ban on fully auto cars as it gives them too much of an advantage. So F1 cars are semi auto, no clutch, but the drive selects the gears with flappy paddles on the steering wheel. Lots of road cars now have this also, but the difference is the driver doesn't have to use them and can drive in fully auto and let the electronic wizardry select the gears. But if, as someone said above, you want the control of a manual, or mountain roads, buy an auto with a semi auto function. Then you can change gear when you want, and let the car do it at other times. Without the nuisance of pressing down on the clutch.

2 manual, 1 auto. To cater for all moods.

Automatic for last 15 years - will never go back
So much easier and safer

Auto for the last 10 years, would never go back to manual. PITA. Fuck that.

How are autos on steep hills?
Sorry this may be a naive question. I'm just considering buying an auto (or a hybrid) and live in a hilly area.

Absolutely fine on steep hills. No fucking around with the handbrake and first gear. Bliss. Many buses are now automatics and they manage steep hills even with a load of weight in them.

I get a company car. I had a manual golf estate for 4 years, which was replaced by a DSG Golf 3 or 4 months ago. I love the dsg, especially on the many, many hill starts I have to do! As someone said upthread, it makes the mechanics of driving do much simpler, when children are fighting in the back!