Automatic vs Manual

marcus2000 · 13-04-2015 11:31am #1

I have only ever owned manual cars, for no particular reason . I have rented an automatic car before, and it's no big deal to me.

I'm not a big car head. I just like nice looking cars. I probably wouldn't notice much "handling" differences between cars....or at least, it probably wouldn't bother me.

I have seen a nice car. Its a 2l automatic. I currently drive a 2l manual. Is there any reason why I shouldn't go for an automatic??? Are there potential future maintenance costs I should consider?

thanks.

biko · 13-04-2015 11:35am

There is no general reason to choose one over the other.
Some transmissions have known issues for the year but in general auto is as good as manual.

What car is it, and year?

Nino Brown · 13-04-2015 11:37am

marcus2000 wrote: »

I have only ever owned manual cars, for no particular reason . I have rented an automatic car before, and it's no big deal to me.

I'm not a big car head. I just like nice looking cars. I probably wouldn't notice much "handling" differences between cars....or at least, it probably wouldn't bother me.

I have seen a nice car. Its a 2l automatic. I currently drive a 2l manual. Is there any reason why I shouldn't go for an automatic??? Are there potential future maintenance costs I should consider?

thanks.

Auto gearboxes need oil changes I think, but hardly a deal breaker.
I drove autos for a few years and didn't like them because you can't drop a gear for overtaking. There was also a huge difference between the gearboxes in different cars, on some the engine would be roaring before it would change gear, particularly on hills. But if you generally drive the car pretty economically or in cities, automatics are a good option. I just like driving so I would never buy one.

muddle84 · 13-04-2015 11:42am

All gearboxes need an oil change at some point. Typically there is less gears in automatic gearboxes which can mean the MPG is alot less than the manual. My experience of this was with a 95 Carina, so they may have come a long way since then. But its worth looking into all the same.

I think it really comes down to the kind of driver you are as Nino mentioned, the car decides when to change gear not you. That aspect also drove me mad but it doesn't bother some people.

Rasmus · 13-04-2015 11:42am

My sister has an automatic car and the one thing I notice and find annoying is the sound of the engine before it changes gear. I also prefer to change the gear myself, or get to decide when. It is not something I noticed when driving automatics before in the U.S. and maybe not a deal-breaker for you. It also depends on the make.

_Kaiser_ · 13-04-2015 11:48am

Nino Brown wrote: »

Auto gearboxes need oil changes I think, but hardly a deal breaker.
I drove autos for a few years and didn't like them because you can't drop a gear for overtaking. There was also a huge difference between the gearboxes in different cars, on some the engine would be roaring before it would change gear, particularly on hills. But if you generally drive the car pretty economically or in cities, automatics are a good option. I just like driving so I would never buy one.

I'd be the opposite.. I've driven and owned a fair few auto's now and wouldn't ever go back to manual.

A 2L+ engine paired to a decent DSG/tiptronic gearbox is a far cry from an underpowered 1.3L multitronic. My previous 06 Passat was a 2.0 TDI with DSG and it was a pleasure to drive in town and on the motorways. My current 3.0 TDI tiptronic A6 is even better (even has paddle shifters which I've only used once). I can put it in manual mode as well if I want but to be honest, I never need to take it out of D really.

Both cars have a Sport mode and decent kickdown when you need it but I can't say I've ever found myself waiting for it - my current one jumps through the gears from 0-50 km/h a lot faster than I could do it

I wouldn't write off modern auto's at all particularly if you do a lot of long distance or city driving. Maybe on twisty backroads a manual might have a slight edge but again I can't say I have ever noticed an issue with mine

Foxhole Norman · 13-04-2015 11:53am

I was all for Manuals until I got my Auto 525i, 5 speed, kickdown from 5th goes to 3rd for overtaking, plenty of pull in it. Modern auto's, especially in German marques are generally very good and the likes of DSG are faster at shifting than Manual cars.

I'm too important to change my own gears :pac:

marcus2000 · 13-04-2015 11:57am

Thanks very the tips. My mileage is pretty low. It would be about 6-7000km per year, and it would be predominantly city driving.
The car I was considering was a Citroen DS5, probably anything up to 2 years old.
As I mentioned, I know nothing about cars, and dont really care too much about how they drive, but it would seem that there is no obvious reason to rule out any of an automatic!!!

Thanks again.

Boskowski · 13-04-2015 11:57am

I'm driving a 5 series with automatic gear box for the last 12 years and I would not want that car to have anything else. Love it.

Never had to change any oil either. Just drive.

Boskowski · 13-04-2015 12:01pm

City driving only? Not a car person, just want to drive?

No contest. Auto all the way.

650Ginge · 13-04-2015 12:03pm

muddle84 wrote: »

All gearboxes need an oil change at some point. Typically there is less gears in automatic gearboxes which can mean the MPG is alot less than the manual. My experience of this was with a 95 Carina, so they may have come a long way since then. But its worth looking into all the same.

I think it really comes down to the kind of driver you are as Nino mentioned, the car decides when to change gear not you. That aspect also drove me mad but it doesn't bother some people.

You mean like the BMW 8 speed auto. Haven't heard of too many 8 speed manuals.

mloc123 · 13-04-2015 12:04pm

muddle84 wrote: »

All gearboxes need an oil change at some point. Typically there is less gears in automatic gearboxes which can mean the MPG is alot less than the manual. My experience of this was with a 95 Carina, so they may have come a long way since then. But its worth looking into all the same.

I think it really comes down to the kind of driver you are as Nino mentioned, the car decides when to change gear not you. That aspect also drove me mad but it doesn't bother some people.

Maybe back in the day when auto boxes were 3 speed, most of the new ones are 7 or 8 speed now.

Marcusm · 13-04-2015 12:06pm

marcus2000 wrote: »

Thanks very the tips. My mileage is pretty low. It would be about 6-7000km per year, and it would be predominantly city driving.
The car I was considering was a Citroen DS5, probably anything up to 2 years old.
As I mentioned, I know nothing about cars, and dont really care too much about how they drive, but it would seem that there is no obvious reason to rule out any of an automatic!!!

Thanks again.

The DS5 is a gorgeous looking car and there are too few of them (anywhere). I have not driven it in DS5 form but if this is the usual Peugeot/Citroen autobox then it is far from smooth. The particular issue I would worry about is nearly all the DS5s in Ireland will be diesels with DPFs which would not be suited to your driving plans.

There are unlikely to be very many petrol ones anywhere which is a pity as the 1.6THP engine is a real goer.

Geniass · 13-04-2015 12:06pm

I drove an automatic for two years, a 2.0t 9-3 Vector. Loved it. It had a semi-automatic(ish) mode that allowed you to shift through the gears manually.

I rarely used it as it was a quick car to overtake and I loved the sound of the engine.

The MPG will not be as good, but if not much more expensive I'd prefer auto and I prefer my cars to be on the speedy side.

650Ginge · 13-04-2015 12:06pm

marcus2000 wrote: »

Thanks very the tips. My mileage is pretty low. It would be about 6-7000km per year, and it would be predominantly city driving.
The car I was considering was a Citroen DS5, probably anything up to 2 years old.
As I mentioned, I know nothing about cars, and dont really care too much about how they drive, but it would seem that there is no obvious reason to rule out any of an automatic!!!

Thanks again.

I am all for auto but they say the citroen egc is jerky. Never tried one so can't say but most reviews mention it. A citroen dealer honestly told me it was and you would notice that was enough for me and declined the test drive. I'll only drive auto these days. But I want it smooth.

draiochtanois · 13-04-2015 12:10pm

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Nino Brown · 13-04-2015 12:23pm

draiochtanois wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

My experience has been it varies wildly from car to car. I've driven a lot of autos because they were rentals which I was changing regularly, and as they were rentals, they were new and modern. Some were okay, and others I'd pull out to overtake, put the foot down and think "Oh sh!t" before it finally dropped down and accelerated.
I'm sure there are great auto gearboxes out there, but I'd be thoroughly testing them out in those situations before I'd commit to buy one.

Guy:Incognito · 13-04-2015 12:25pm

650Ginge wrote: »

I am all for auto but they say the citroen egc is jerky. Never tried one so can't say but most reviews mention it. A citroen dealer honestly told me it was and you would notice that was enough for me and declined the test drive. I'll only drive auto these days. But I want it smooth.

You should have tried it. I certainly wouldnt be going on the someone elses word when buying something like a car.
I've heard people giving out about the PSA boxes, but I drove a couple of C4 Picasso's with them and they were grand. I wasnt trying to race it or anything.

marcus2000 · 13-04-2015 12:27pm

Marcusm wrote: »

.....but if this is the usual Peugeot/Citroen autobox then it is far from smooth. The particular issue I would worry about is nearly all the DS5s in Ireland will be diesels with DPFs which would not be suited to your driving plans.

I see all positive reviews for Automatics and then obviously the negative one is the one that sticks!!! So Citroen don't do good automatics, particularly in their diesel models.....and my low mileage city driving is another factor?

I test drove the manual and it was fine ('drove like a normal car'). I suppose I should test drive the automatic and see if it feels much different.

Nino Brown · 13-04-2015 12:30pm

marcus2000 wrote: »

I see all positive reviews for Automatics and then obviously the negative one is the one that sticks!!! So Citroen don't do good automatics, particularly in their diesel models.....and my low mileage city driving is another factor?

I test drove the manual and it was fine ('drove like a normal car'). I suppose I should test drive the automatic and see if it feels much different.

Any diesel is not really suitable for low mileage city driving, not just Citreons. It's nothing to do with with the gearbox, its mostly because of DPF issues, the DPF filters exhaust gases, but needs long drives at high revs to clean itself, otherwise it gets clogged, and causes lots of problems.

Geniass · 13-04-2015 12:32pm

marcus2000 wrote: »

So Citroen don't do good automatics, particularly in their diesel models.

Not sure if any companies make good city driving Diesels due to changes brought about to reduce emissions.

EDIT - DPF was the three letters I was trying to remember

slimjimmc · 13-04-2015 12:50pm

Given the type of driving you seem to do you should consider a Prius, Lexus or other hybrid which has Toyota's Synergy Drive.

bazz26 · 13-04-2015 12:55pm

I've been driving manuals all my driving life but changed to an automatic about 6 months ago and my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. Generally automatic gearboxes have come along way since the old days of 3/4 speed slush shifters that were harder on fuel. My current car is 8 speed steptronic with paddle shifts on the steering wheel for manual changing. It's so relaxing to drive and don't miss the clutch pedal one bit.

I'll echo what the others have said though. Buying a diesel car for only 6k-7k km per year of city driving will be a big mistake.

draiochtanois · 13-04-2015 1:07pm

This post has been deleted.

bazz26 · 13-04-2015 1:08pm

A hybrid would probably be more suitable than a diesel to the OP.

166man · 13-04-2015 1:12pm

Some cars suit manual gearboxes better, others suit an auto for example.

That being said, the manual gearbox in the F10 is actually lovely and a really nice short change. With competition from the 8 speed auto though, it's a tough call.

R.O.R · 13-04-2015 1:28pm

Definitely test the DS5 auto.

Can't remember if it's a proper auto that would be OK, or the utterly terrible automated clutchless manual that a lot of Citroën and Peugeots have.

billy few mates · 13-04-2015 1:40pm

Definitely Auto over manual but as others have said the auto on some cars can be very different from others, they will still do the job they were designed for but not always as smoothly or efficiently as others. My own car is a VW Golf with a DSG gearbox which performs seamlessly so I end up comparing every other auto gearbox I drive to it, at the moment I'm driving a rental ford with auto which I'd take over a manual every time but it's nowhere near as nice to drive as the Golf, I sometimes find myself wondering what it's trying to do.

muddle84 · 13-04-2015 2:03pm

650Ginge wrote: »

You mean like the BMW 8 speed auto. Haven't heard of too many 8 speed manuals.

mloc123 wrote: »

Maybe back in the day when auto boxes were 3 speed, most of the new ones are 7 or 8 speed now.

Like I said, my experience was based on a 96 Carina!

franer1970 · 13-04-2015 2:06pm

This article says e-HDi 110 and diesel hybrid DS5's have the EGS gearbox (a six speed automated manual with single clutch) while the 2.0-litre HDi 160 gets a "regular" automatic, presumably meaning a torque converter unit.
For the sake of completeness: the 1.6-litre THP 200 petrol is manual only.

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/citroen/ds5/hatchback/driving-performance/

Supergurrier · 13-04-2015 2:09pm

Foxhole Norman wrote: »

I was all for Manuals until I got my Auto 525i, 5 speed, kickdown from 5th goes to 3rd for overtaking, plenty of pull in it. Modern auto's, especially in German marques are generally very good and the likes of DSG are faster at shifting than Manual cars.

I'm too important to change my own gears :pac:

Says the fella doing motorway speed in 4th in a poor hatchback :pac:

Automatic vs Manual

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