Automatic or manual!?

Riddler87

Just as it says on the tin... "Automatic or manual?" Which would you get?

Stheno

Depends, I now drive an auto as I've a chronic injury in my left knee so any long trips/city centre driving causes me severe pain in a manual.

OH drives an auto as he's simply lazy and prefers it

I don't think I'd ever go back to manual

colm_mcm

It's not really that simple....

dingding

Current car is an automatic and I found previously that I had lower back pain after a long car journey, I think it was a combination of pressing the clutch and movement of the back.

It is much less now as I am not pressing the clutch, and the gear changes are smoother.

I would recommend an automatic.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

This isnt a question with a black or white answer. The answer is, it depends. What kind of car/engine do you want, what kind of driver are you, where do you drive - city or countryside, are your journeys short etc. People will argue one way or the other but there's no right answer here until OP gives details.

Supergurrier

Manual with antilag

Chris_Heilong

Auto for commuting, manual for the weekends.

Riddler87

Ok so... Recently passed my driving test (happy out) and I've arteritis in my right leg (I am 27) and I find driving with a manual a little sore on the leg. Mind you, it's not overly sore but, let's say, I can still feel it... Hence, why I am asking the question...

Supergurrier

Don't use clutch with right leg = Sorted

Stheno

Chris_Heilong wrote: »

Auto for commuting, manual for the weekends.

In an ideal world that's what I'd have, would love something like my old gtv back for a blast at the weekends, but it was a fecker for commuting

Riddler87 wrote: »

Ok so... Recently passed my driving test (happy out) and I've arteritis in my right leg (I am 27) and I find driving with a manual a little sore on the leg. Mind you, it's not overly sore but, let's say, I can still feel it... Hence, why I am asking the question...

To be honest, given that it's your right leg which is your accelerator leg, it's irrelevant if it's manual or auto, your right leg will still do the same amount of work.

My knee injury is my left leg, which would be my clutching leg, which is why an auto suits me.

colm_mcm

Riddler87 wrote: »

Ok so... Recently passed my driving test (happy out) and I've arteritis in my right leg (I am 27) and I find driving with a manual a little sore on the leg. Mind you, it's not overly sore but, let's say, I can still feel it... Hence, why I am asking the question...

Either car will have the accelerator on the right though.
Cruise control is what you need.

Foxhole Norman

Manuals are for the lowly peasantry :pac:

Stheno

Foxhole Norman wrote: »

Manuals are for the lowly peasantry :pac:

NO Fox, cars without leather, cruise control and aircon are for the peasantry :pac:

colm_mcm

Foxhole Norman

Stheno wrote: »

NO Fox, cars without leather, cruise control and aircon are for the peasantry :pac:

Lucky mine has all the above and auto :pac:

Stheno

Foxhole Norman wrote: »

Lucky mine has all the above and auto :pac:

So does mine, I don't want to look like that though!

coffeepls

An automatic makes city driving a breeze. I got stuck in jam after jam on Friday & would've loved if my car had been automatic.
I find driving an automatic generally a bit...well.... boring.... but that's only because I am of the opinion that driving bumper cars is sufficient driving training for them. But that's really my opinion only. My stateside friends think it's an absolute joke that anyone would wonder about getting a 'stick shift' in a modern car.

Supergurrier

As i get older and more decrepid i want an auto more and more

But feck that i want an M5 more

unkel

Manuals in any car interesting to drive will be gone very soon

Ferrari have stated years ago that they will never make a manual car again.

Clutch pedals belong as my 9 year old girl says "to the olden days"

That said, I love driving my wee sporty MGF. Mid engined, rear wheel drive with manual transmission

I'm a dinosaur, the world belongs to the younger people. Manual gearboxes be gone

billy few mates

I'll never buy another manual car again, I've had several automatics over the years, mostly back when they were a bit of a novelty. I've had a couple of manuals since then but my current one is a manual. I also have a dodgy left knee and it's a dream since I abandoned the manual. Last week I went on a bit of a road trip and ended up driving a manual for a while, my knee was killing me for days afterwards, it really was uncomfortable.
My current car has a DSG box with auto, sports and tiptronic manual, I only ever use the normal auto.

freddieot

I've driven autos since I had my hip replaced back a few years back. I'd agree that older aurto boxes (4/5 gears) did not give the same control feel that you get with a manual box. Often for any manual intervention, you had to push it into a manual mode or pull the lever (after pressing a button) into the different gears. All a bit 'messy' if you are a keen driver etc.

However, last car had a six speed auto with a neat +and - manual option.
The current one has an 8 speed auto also with the + and - on the stick but more importantly with paddles on the steering wheel.

Realistically I think it is more controllable than any manual I have ever driven. No problem trashing it about if that's your thing or sit back and let it do all the work.

With mpg differences also becoming less between manual and auto on these new machines, I'd never have a manual car again.

Sh1tbag OToole

Wouldn't go near a PRNDL box, just don't find them very interesting. One step away from a Google driverless car *yawn*

Neilw

Older performance car - manual.
Newer performance car - dual clutch auto, dsg, pdk and so on.
Luxobarge - auto.
City car - auto.
No CVT's please.

That's how I'd pick.

frozenfrozen

depends on the specific auto box or manual.. not all manual transmissions were created equal A good auto is better than a bad feeling manual, and a bad auto is a deal breaker for a whole car

DSG and all the fancy faster than humanly possible with a manual is good. but slow auto boxes are annoying sometimes you just want to ask what were they thinking when putting them into nice cars

watched a video on youtube comparing a manual bmw M3 to the dual clutch version. They ended up deciding they preferred the manual because it 'felt like they had a better connection to the car' ..**** that! i'd take launch control and XXms shifts over a semi auto manual box that rev matches for you and stops you from shifting into the wrong gear

tractors had dsg 15 years ago :pac:

biko

Automatic is nicer

Poll added

coffeepls

Not mad about that poll. So I drive a manual - and I like it. It's a 1.4 litre hatchback. I don't think being auto would be nice for that car.
My sister used to have a bmw 325 - an automatic. That was a lovely lovely car to drive. Being auto was just right for that car.
My parents have an automatic auris - I think that's awful. Boring car to drive, and being auto nearly turns it into a mobility scooter.
So I like both depending on the car.

bazz26

I drive an auto and love it. Great for city driving and also motorway driving where your cruising in top gear anyway, switch to Sport mode then when I'm pushing on. Car shifts gears seamlessly too and never gets caught in the wrong gear when you put the foot down. Drive it in manual mode using the steering wheel paddle shifters on the twisty roads too so best of both worlds really and no clutching to annoy me.

I'd find it hard to go back to a manual car but it really would depend on the car, some manual boxes suit certain cars than autos and vice versa.

Mycroft H

Automatics are for old people.

colm_mcm

Manuals are for flat-pack furniture

micks_address

colm_mcm wrote: »

Manuals are for flat-pack furniture

Before a few work trips to the US I'd have always said manual and my current car is manual. I'm pretty sure my next car will be automatic.. Changing gear manually seems unnecessary

Oafley Jones

Supergurrier wrote: »

As i get older and more decrepid i want an auto more and more

But feck that i want an M5 more

Didn't BMW want to get rid of the manual for the M5? Keeping it around for the American marker because they associate Manual with Sporty. And that's purely down to decades of ****e, slow 3 and 4 speed autoboxes on the majority of their cars. I've no idea why you'd want manual over a modern auto which is faster and more economical.

JumpShivers

Automatic would be best for city centre driving, where it's always stop and start.
Manual is fine for motorways, where it's constant crusing.

Voodoomelon

Funny how far we've come in a way; people looked at you like you had two heads if you said you drove an automatic in Ireland ten years ago.

It's hard to find a mid-executive car now that isn't automatic.

Automatic all the way in cars that make Automatic correctly i.e. Audi/Volkswagen/BMW which I've driven but wouldn't be rushing to put an Automatic gear system in a Smart car any time soon as can't imagine the technology being great...loads of lag etc

Oafley Jones

Deleted User wrote: »

Automatic all the way in cars that make Automatic correctly i.e. Audi/Volkswagen/BMW which I've driven but wouldn't be rushing to put an Automatic gear system in a Smart car any time soon as can't imagine the technology being great...loads of lag etc

This the thing, even Smart cars, Twingos now have dual-clutch gearboxes.

Eric Cartman

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Funny how far we've some in a way; people looked at you like you had two heads if you said you drove an automatic in Ireland ten years ago.

It's hard to find a mid-executive car now that isn't automatic.

Ive always noticed , even 7 years ago when I bought my first car (an automatic) the only people who ever scoffed at it were people who had never driven one.

I can understand wanting a manual for something track day worthy or a classic as its less hassle maintaining them , but for your daily , especially if you do city driving , a manual is a complete waste of your time.

bazz26

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Funny how far we've some in a way; people looked at you like you had two heads if you said you drove an automatic in Ireland ten years ago.

It's hard to find a mid-executive car now that isn't automatic.

Go onto carzone, the majority of Audi A6s for sale are manual. BMW 5 Series and Merc E Class are the opposite.

Voodoomelon

Odd, what's the reason for that do you reckon?

Brasso

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Odd, what's the reason for that do you reckon?

Could it be a bad rep inherited from the multitronic CVT gearbox? I presumed they had stopped using it at this stage though.

bazz26

Probably the same reason the majority of A6s are fwd too, owners don't care about either much.

To be fair multitronic box doesn't have a great reputation for reliability and S-tronic (DSG) only became widely available when the current model was facelifted last year afaik.

Eric Cartman

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Odd, what's the reason for that do you reckon?

a6 list price is 45 , to get an auto is 47 , the 520d is 47k the 2k in reality is nothing but yet again we're in a country where people pay 45k to avoid 200 quid in motor tax.

Id say its purely down to it being standard, you'd have to specifically order a manual 520d , whereas the a6 is on the forecourt in manual . if they made auto a no cost option and had a bunch of them sitting on the forecourt people would change . But as it is "2 grand so i don't have to change gears, shtop your nonsense"

bazz26

I'd say it's more down to the customer. They probably think of an auto A6 in the same light as a rwd or quattro A6, majority of owners don't want or don't care about either.

carzony

Manual for me I feel in control and concentrate more when having to change gears. it's manly :P

Superwofy

So far nobody has mentioned that modern manual boxes are cheaper, more reliable, easier to service, rebuild and replace.

So there, I said it.

carzony

Superwofy wrote: »

So far nobody has mentioned that modern manual boxes are cheaper, more reliable, easier to service, rebuild and replace.

So there, I said it.

Seems this thread is full of auto drivers

Boskowski

Ye auto driver here too. For many years actually.
While I really like cars and engines and all that stuff driving itself was never a sport or a passion of mine. I don't need the control or whatever else the manual enthusiasts will tell you they need their manual for. My gf thinks I drive too fast (not really) but its more impatience than anything else. If i want some good clean motor fun I'll bring my enduro for a spin.

crabbypaddy

While I've loved our automatics when they go wrong you can end up bending over at the dealers or rebuilders and there are very few to be found in scrapyards. Traditional automatics can be much less economical too, (some of that can be offset by the price of clutch and dual mass flywheel replacement)

kay 9

I've switched to auto and the wife drives an auto too. Don't see myself changing tbh but I do want to get a nice Sunday car like an Evo or Smth.

No dmf trouble with auto boxes either if they're maintained, that's an instant saving of 2-3k every 80-100kmiles. I've a 4x4 and find out much better for towing and off road. Constant traction is another advantage

Autosport

carzony wrote: »

Manual for me I feel in control and concentrate more when having to change gears. it's manly :P

And Womanly

fancy pigeon

I like both. I hate when they're applied in the wrong places.

Anyone here ever drive a car with a sequential box and straight cut gears

jimgoose

fancy pigeon wrote: »

I like both. I hate when they're applied in the wrong places.

Anyone here ever drive a car with a sequential box and straight cut gears

Yes, but it had a non-standard complement of wheels and wasn't in fact a car, strictly speaking.