What type of cars are best to learn in?

BarraG

My wife is getting a car for school runs / shopping etc. We would also like to use it for the kids to learn to drive. They're are currently learning in a 2 litre diesel estate, which there not too keen on. What factors should we keep in mind when buying a new car so that it is also suitable for use in a driving test?

Lyle Lanley

For me bigger is better when learning to drive. The estate is perfect, if they can handle that a small car will then be easy for them. It doesn't necessarily work the other way around..

I learned in a transporter van and it's served me well!

homosapien91

I would say a smaller car is better to learn in and do your test and then work your way up, I learned to drive in a 1.2 litre and am currently driving a 1.6 litre with a view to eventually going up when it's time to upgrade

thesimpsons

recommend going with a bigger car too. all my kids learned in a Leguna, they can park any car anywhere now, size is no problem to them. imo if you start off in a smaller car its so much harder to move to a larger one.

hasdanta

I didn't really care what kinda car I learned in but I ended up learning in my dad's car over my mam's because she had an automatic handbrake.

Alanstrainor

I would look for the most suitable car for your wife's needs to be honest. So long as it is a manual car it will be suitable for a driving test. Your kids will get used to whatever car that is with practise.

Given what you've said it will probably be some family hatchback or maybe small SUV. I don't know of any of these style car that wouldn't be suitable for the test/learning in.

accensi0n

I learned in a big estate and think it served me very well. Depth judgement, forced me to really work to move around within the car checking blindspots etc.

Plus there was the cool factor of driving a gold Toyota estate as an 18 year old....

MascotDec85

Remember, that unless money isn’t a problem, that insurance costs of getting the kids named on the policy could be quite high. Narrow it down to a few options and ring round the insurance companies and see what quotes you’re getting. It might help with your choice.

RobAMerc

it should be an automatic !
Far too many people are too busy operating the car to drive it properly.
Save your kid the hassle of learning to clutch and change gear till they have fully mastered the "Road craft" of operating a car safely in traffic.
Once they can do that, then tackle a manual if they wish.
You dont start playing the piano by playing Behtoven's concerto number 10 because !if you can play that you can play anything !"
Also, with the advent of electric cars and automated cars, manual is really only for specialist cars in the future if at all.

MascotDec85

RobAMerc wrote: »

it should be an automatic !
Far too many people are too busy operating the car to drive it properly.
Save your kid the hassle of learning to clutch and change gear till they have fully mastered the "Road craft" of operating a car safely in traffic.
Once they can do that, then tackle a manual if they wish.
You dont start playing the piano by playing Behtoven's concerto number 10 because !if you can play that you can play anything !"
Also, with the advent of electric cars and automated cars, manual is really only for specialist cars of the future if at all.

I’d be fairly certain that Ireland will be well behind the rest of Europe in the day that manual cars become the “specialist cars of the future” and even longer til we see automated cars here, the infrastructure isn’t there and it’ll cost millions to put it in place. The OP’s Grandkids might see it.

What you’re advising will cost more money in the long term also. EDT lessons in an automatic, pass the test, then more lessons in a manual and sit another test.

RobAMerc

What I am saying is, teach the kids roadcraft - driving the car and make them better at that skill by making operating the machine easier.
If someone wants to go on to driving a manual once they have mastered driving safely then fine, let them make that decision.

less and less cars are being sold as manual. with the manual versions of some being unsaleable at this point, manual wont be here much longer. gear changing is just the start of automation.

Wanderer78

I learned in a diesel auris, very nice car

Edward M

All learners now have to do at least12 school of motoring regd driving lessons before they do their test, you dont see too many large driving instructor cars out there, my advice would be to get one as close as possible to the type of car they would be getting their lessons in if possible.

wally79

RobAMerc wrote: »

it should be an automatic !
Far too many people are too busy operating the car to drive it properly.
Save your kid the hassle of learning to clutch and change gear till they have fully mastered the "Road craft" of operating a car safely in traffic.
Once they can do that, then tackle a manual if they wish.
You dont start playing the piano by playing Behtoven's concerto number 10 because !if you can play that you can play anything !"
Also, with the advent of electric cars and automated cars, manual is really only for specialist cars in the future if at all.

Yes but

“If you pass your test in an automatic car, you can only apply for a full driving licence to drive an automatic car. If you later want to apply for a full driving licence for a manual car, you will have to pass a test in a manual vehicle before applying for a full licence to drive it.”

http://www.rsa.ie/en/RSA/Learner-Drivers/The-Driving-Test/Your-Car/

lawred2

RobAMerc wrote: »

it should be an automatic !
Far too many people are too busy operating the car to drive it properly.
Save your kid the hassle of learning to clutch and change gear till they have fully mastered the "Road craft" of operating a car safely in traffic.
Once they can do that, then tackle a manual if they wish.
You dont start playing the piano by playing Behtoven's concerto number 10 because !if you can play that you can play anything !"
Also, with the advent of electric cars and automated cars, manual is really only for specialist cars in the future if at all.

And then they will be restricted to a license that only allows driving automatic cars.

Although you'd imagine automatic cars will be the norm soon enough

Wanderer78

lawred2 wrote:

Although you'd imagine automatic cars will be the norm soon enough

Hard to say for sure, but I some how doubt it

lawred2

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Hard to say for sure, but I some how doubt it

All electric cars have automatic gearboxes.

There is no need for a clutch. So it's hard to see why cars would have manual gearboxes in to the future.

sjb25

They mite well become the norm but why restrict yourself now by just doing an automatic test do the manual you can drive both and it doesn’t matter what the future brings iv done a car when I was 18 truck when I was 20 and bus at 21 passed all three first time they are not hard I went on then with my job to do advanced and emergency driving at 25 all in manual vehicles

(My father in law still says I can’t drive

As for what kind of car I’d say a saloon type car not to big but not tiny either no bigger than 1.4 1.6 till they get used to it

RobAMerc

I never mentioned doing the test, I was talking about learning to drive. No reason someone couldnt start in an auto - learn the basics and then leave the manual to when they are with the instructor ( having learned to drive properly first ) - try the test in a manual then if its something they want to do.
Far too much time is spent wondering which gear they should be in, looking for and thinking about the clutch and less time about road positioning, awareness, and observation when learning in a manual.

MascotDec85

RobAMerc wrote: »

I never mentioned doing the test, I was talking about learning to drive. No reason someone couldnt start in an auto - learn the basics and then leave the manual to when they are with the instructor ( having learned to drive properly first ) - try the test in a manual then if its something they want to do.
Far too much time is spent wondering which gear they should be in, looking for and thinking about the clutch and less time about road positioning, awareness, and observation when learning in a manual.

In fairness, it’s the driving instructor’s job to teach that. It’s what we do on a daily basis.

Wanderer78

lawred2 wrote: »

All electric cars have automatic gearboxes.

There is no need for a clutch. So it's hard to see why cars would have manual gearboxes in to the future.

even though i do expect electric car ownership to increase over time, it hasnt been all that quick to take off, expect petroleum distillate machines to exist for a while longer, many of which will be manual. future use to increase, yes, immediate future increase, not really, but kinna.

marklazarcovic

I'd be another who says just go auto,far easier,not like you will be restricted much if at all

MascotDec85

I’ve just bought a new driving school car. I looked at hybrid until I realized they were all automatic gearboxes and I’d have killed my business overnight!

thesimpsons

Edward M wrote: »

All learners now have to do at least12 school of motoring regd driving lessons before they do their test, you dont see too many large driving instructor cars out there, my advice would be to get one as close as possible to the type of car they would be getting their lessons in if possible.

you don't have to use the Driving Instructor's car for the lessons or test. Highly recommend doing lessons and test in the car you are insured to drive for all your practice and what you will eventually be driving anyway. Driving instructors are quite happy to use the car of own choice of their pupil (and its usually cheaper by a few euro too)

Nitrogan

I don't think size matters as much as experience. Start early learning the theory and maybe an occasional practical, you can drive anything once you're confident and have got the basics down.

goat2

Usually , you now have to have so many lessons from a qualified driving instructor, so I think it does not matter what car she buy, as they will not be able to go solo until they have passed test, she is in for the long haul, I have been where ye are, and I just bought a car that was not too harsh on the purse strings, as learning to drive can have a toll on the car, something to get by till they are out there and doing it for themselves, I looked forward to mine doing all of this, enjoy the time

RobAMerc

MascotDec85 wrote: »

In fairness, it’s the driving instructor’s job to teach that. It’s what we do on a daily basis.

Well they have been doing a terrible job. I regularly see people routing around the gearbox at junctions or screaming down the road in the wrong gear.


At least 90% of people on Irish roads should be in an auto, and most have no reason why they are not bar misconceptions re reliability, fuel economy and lack of control !

MascotDec85

RobAMerc wrote: »

MascotDec85 wrote: »

In fairness, it’s the driving instructor’s job to teach that. It’s what we do on a daily basis.

Well they have been doing a terrible job. I regularly see people routing around the gearbox at junctions or screaming down the road in the wrong gear.


At least 90% of people on Irish roads should be in an auto, and most have no reason why they are not bar misconceptions re reliability, fuel economy and lack of control !

Maybe you should join the industry and give Ireland the wealth of your clearly extensive knowledge 😄

lawred2

RobAMerc wrote: »

Well they have been doing a terrible job. I regularly see people routing around the gearbox at junctions or screaming down the road in the wrong gear.


At least 90% of people on Irish roads should be in an auto, and most have no reason why they are not bar misconceptions re reliability, fuel economy and lack of control !

90%

Lol

Dravokivich

I think there's too much fear behind bigger cars being harder to drive or control. When someone is learning, I feel it'll be best they get over that quick. For me, it was basic controls that took getting used to. As there's a fare bit of choreography going on there. And that'll be different with each car anyway, regardless of it's size.

starlit

A small car 1 Litre is ideal to learn in. Yaris, Opel Corsas and Nissan Micra are good ones to learn in. Volkswagen golf or polo be good too. Ford Fiestas aren't too bad either. There's one from the Kia range that's good as well. I'd avoid a Peugeot they aren't as reliable as Toyota brand of cars.

I found a smaller car easier to learn in. Make sure they can see their blind-spots I learnt in one car an opel corsa and was not great for that as I am short and was cramped and not comfortable when driving. Not easy to adjust seat for my height preferred a Yaris for that. I found a Kia and Toyota Yaris much better and easier to handle and has a good boot as well for shopping. You get great use out of it for basic driving and just get you from A to B and is reliable and affordable.

I would say look at second hand cars from €5000 to €11000 depending how old you be willing to buy for both your wife to drive and the kids to learn. Good to invest in a car that might be 3-5 years old and only have to get NCT done every two years its when its every year might not be worth investing in even if servicing annually. A 10 year old car or more be more expensive to run its better spend more on the car itself even at second hand that you get more years out of than more than 10 years old though nothing wrong with them just expenses of running and insuring them will go up yearly.

Automatic cars aren't too bad but more expensive its more ideal to learn a manual and pass test in a manual and then drive an automatic.
Petrol is more sustainable than diesel depending where they drive when shopping and the kids learning to drive.

Best of luck and well wear!!

Dravokivich

starlit wrote: »

A small car 1 Litre is ideal to learn in. Yaris, Opel Corsas and Nissan Micra are good ones to learn in. Volkswagen golf or polo be good too. Ford Fiestas aren't too bad either. There's one from the Kia range that's good as well. I'd avoid a Peugeot they aren't as reliable as Toyota brand of cars.

I found a smaller car easier to learn in. Make sure they can see their blind-spots I learnt in one car an opel corsa and was not great for that as I am short and was cramped and not comfortable when driving. Not easy to adjust seat for my height preferred a Yaris for that. I found a Kia and Toyota Yaris much better and easier to handle and has a good boot as well for shopping. You get great use out of it for basic driving and just get you from A to B and is reliable and affordable.

I would say look at second hand cars from €5000 to €11000 depending how old you be willing to buy for both your wife to drive and the kids to learn. Good to invest in a car that might be 3-5 years old and only have to get NCT done every two years its when its every year might not be worth investing in even if servicing annually. A 10 year old car or more be more expensive to run its better spend more on the car itself even at second hand that you get more years out of than more than 10 years old though nothing wrong with them just expenses of running and insuring them will go up yearly.

Automatic cars aren't too bad but more expensive its more ideal to learn a manual and pass test in a manual and then drive an automatic.
Petrol is more sustainable than diesel depending where they drive when shopping and the kids learning to drive.

Best of luck and well wear!!

The age of the car doesn't always mean higher insurance. I've only had a licence a little over a year and bigger, older, were cheaper to insure than, smaller and newer.

loyatemu

the number of automatics on the road is going to rocket in the next few years - every hybrid and eCar is an auto. Learning on an auto would have been a problem 10 years ago but I don't think it will be a major hindrance to anyone learning to drive today.

fearrchair

loyatemu wrote:

the number of automatics on the road is going to rocket in the next few years - every hybrid and eCar is an auto. Learning on an auto would have been a problem 10 years ago but I don't think it will be a major hindrance to anyone learning to drive today.

That's probably true alright. It may make it easier to pass in an automatic but would a person be at a disadvantage for practice if they had no access to an auto, guess theres an instructors car, and more frequent practice. Or one could buy a auto car etc and get a full driver insured.

Agent Smith

RobAMerc wrote: »

I never mentioned doing the test, I was talking about learning to drive. No reason someone couldnt start in an auto - learn the basics and then leave the manual to when they are with the instructor ( having learned to drive properly first ) - try the test in a manual then if its something they want to do.
Far too much time is spent wondering which gear they should be in, looking for and thinking about the clutch and less time about road positioning, awareness, and observation when learning in a manual.

I recently passed my test and I think this is terrible advice. I can only Imagine going from driving an Automatic to a manual would be like learning all over again.


anyway, It's important to remeber that it's quite likely one of the kids will ding the car in someway, (wall, Kerb, another car)

I'd advise picking up a nice car for the wife, (Get her flowers too, she'll love that) and looking at a cheap car for the kids to learn in, where the chances of them wrecking your wifes car are void.

adunis

I learned to drive in a Guy big J4.
My kids all learned to drive in a 35 year old range rover,
One passed her driving test 1st go at 17
2nd one now races hotrods very successfully at 15
3rd one isn't really interested but then she's only 12.
My point is the vehicle doesn't matter a toss if you learn to operate it properly,learning to drive is a totally different thing to operating said yoke.
Unfortunately many people in this country seem to have bypassed that last bit.