Is there a point in learning to drive a manual transmission?

John Hutton

Was having this discussion with a friend the other day. I don't drive as I have no need to, because of where I live, but in the coming years I will eventually get round to it.

My mate was saying that with electric cars and hybrids manual transmissions will be a thing of the past and that when the time comes I would be as well to just learn on an automatic as its easier. (I had a provisional before and did find using clutch etc difficult, but I suppose most do starting off)

He said that the argument against automatics in the past was mainly with fuel efficiency and the fact that some auto boxes were rubbish, but that with electric and hybrids this is no longer an issue, and even in petrol and diesels auto boxes are now very good.

He is a post man and said that he even uses an electric van which is very good, and that you can get regular vans with auto boxes too which are decent.

I have to say he was pretty convincing, but what say ye? Will there be much point in the next 5/10/15 years learning how to drive a manual?

Smee_Again

I was thinking about this earlier, I drive an automatic and had to borrow a manual and this popped into my head.

If I could learn in a manual I would, you never know when you'll have to drive one so why limit yourself but they're going to be less and less common in future.

cruizer101

If you were learning now I'd say still worth learning manual.
5 to 10 years probably not.
This year to date nearly 40% of cars sold in Ireland were automatic.
Last year was 32%.
So in a few years it could easily be 70-80%.
Give a few more years for those to feed into the used car market and it won't take long for automatic to be in the majority of all cars on the road.

sunnysoutheast

John Hutton wrote: »

Was having this discussion with a friend the other day. I don't drive as I have no need to, because of where I live, but in the coming years I will eventually get round to it.

My mate was saying that with electric cars and hybrids manual transmissions will be a thing of the past and that when the time comes I would be as well to just learn on an automatic as its easier. (I had a provisional before and did find using clutch etc difficult, but I suppose most do starting off)

He said that the argument against automatics in the past was mainly with fuel efficiency and the fact that some auto boxes were rubbish, but that with electric and hybrids this is no longer an issue, and even in petrol and diesels auto boxes are now very good.

He is a post man and said that he even uses an electric van which is very good, and that you can get regular vans with auto boxes too which are decent.

I have to say he was pretty convincing, but what say ye? Will there be much point in the next 5/10/15 years learning how to drive a manual?

The problem we found (child learning to drive) was that there were no driving instructors with automatic cars so she's learning manual. There's an obvious business opportunity for someone!

Parabellum9

Automatic would be much easier to learn (it's basically like driving a go kart ), but you can't drive manuals if you got your license in one. The other way around you can drive both.

Oranage2

A lot of people don't have money for new cars so learning manual is still a necessity

NickNickleby

I think the likelihood of needing to be able and licenced to drive a manual will exist for quite some time yet.

Someone said automatics are easier to drive, but I would contend that - once you've mastered manual gears - both are easy to drive. My car is auto, and my wife's is manual. I use both interchangeably and probably drive both about 4 times a week. My biggest difficulty with the manual car is remembering where the windscreen washer button is - seriously. Most of the time, I wouldn't even be conscious of changing gear.

shane b

Thinking about the same lately as my 7 year old asked about learning to drive!
The biggest hurdle is that at the moment if you pass your test in an automatic you are limited to driving an automatic. Whereas if you pass the test in an manual you are covered for both. That why the instructors cars are still largely manual.
This requirement would have to change as electric and hybrid cars become more common. We had to buy a 7 seater earlier this year and found it hard enough to buy a manual, never mind finding a manual car in 10 years time.

Del2005

Getting past the initial problem with gears in a manual takes time but is well worth it. But I've recently taught my Nephew to drive and made sure he learnt his gears, we're lucky that we've a farm to practice gears in, the next batch are being taught how to drive manual. If you only have an auto licence you are restricted on what you can rent in most countries, auto's are also more expensive to rent, and you can't borrow a friends car if you are stuck

My last few cars have been auto and my next cars will be auto because they are easy to drive.

jbv

A very different thing to drive a manual.
I learned on auto first, got my full on a manual.
A very different experience and skills.
Love driving manual cars.

listermint

When the zombiepocalse happens the folks that limited their driving abilities will be eaten first. The others will be Speeding away in commandeered manuals.

freddieot

listermint wrote: »

When the zombiepocalse happens the folks that limited their driving abilities will be eaten first. The others will be Speeding away in commandeered manuals.

No ,that's when you find out exactly how difficult it is to use the flame thrower and change gears at the same time.

theguzman

I passed my driving test back in 2007 in an Automatic whatever about electric cars or hybrids etc. why would you want to drive a manual?

Me and a friend bought similar cars two years ago, him manual and me Automatic, he laments all the time he didn't choose the auto. Buses, Lorries and even big modern tractors have moved over into automatics or semi-automatics getting rid of the clutch. Pressing a clutch and selecting a gear whilst controlling the steering wheel and paying attention is too much of an overload for some people and autos are far safer.

Driving an auto is pure pleasure, more focus on the road conditions, traffic lanes etc. There is nothing nicer than to stick it on cruise control and let the car do the rest out on the open road or motorway.

I'm sure the petrol heads will be in to bash us soyboy auto drivers soon.

listermint

theguzman wrote: »

I passed my driving test back in 2007 in an Automatic whatever about electric cars or hybrids etc. why would you want to drive a manual?

Me and a friend bought similar cars two years ago, him manual and me Automatic, he laments all the time he didn't choose the auto. Buses, Lorries and even big modern tractors have moved over into automatics or semi-automatics getting rid of the clutch. Pressing a clutch and selecting a gear whilst controlling the steering wheel and paying attention is too much of an overload for some people and autos are far safer.

Driving an auto is pure pleasure, more focus on the road conditions, traffic lanes etc. There is nothing nicer than to stick it on cruise control and let the car do the rest out on the open road or motorway.

I'm sure the petrol heads will be in to bash us soyboy auto drivers soon.

If this is the case, you probably should not be on the road.

freshpopcorn

Most people can drive a Manual car. You may stall the car a lot at the start but after a while it’s comes as naturally as putting on your seat belt.
So, I wouldn’t worry to much about that.
It’s great just being able to know if you ever have to drive somebody else’s car or even for work that you can drive both manual and automatic cars.

Clareman

My sister only learnt how to drive an automatic, worst decision she ever made (when it comes to driving), she can never borrow a friends car, their decisions for new cars are very limited and if they ever go on holidays automatic rental cars are often more expensive.

Fitz II

Is there any point learning to write with a pen, sure we type everything?

mickdw

My next car will be an Auto but id always intend to keep a manual too.

atilladehun

I find driving beyond dull. Like emptying the bin.

Moving from manual to automatic made it less of a chore.

Other people chose automatic because they may be a nervous driver. Using automatic allows them to focus on safety without doing a task that requires timing when they're learning.

Others have injuries and it allows them to drive.

If you come down on the side that manual would be a hindrance then go for automatic.

If you think that with practise you'll master manual alongside the safety of others and the rules of the road then you may as well. You'll always be able to help out family and friends with their cars, rent a car anywhere on holidays and just have the option to get the right car for you.

Tazzimus

I think people that enjoy driving more would side with a manual as it's more engaging, especially for some "spirited" driving every now and then.

Plus the obvious advantage of being able to drive both, as opposed to only being able to drive auto's with an auto license.

I've had both and prefer a manual, I find auto's very boring to drive. Only time I'd find them preferable is sat in traffic for the commute or that.

Mellor

I live in a country where autos are the norm. Manual exists, but it's a cost saving option and not always available. But even still when my partner was learning to drive, and doing her test. I told her to do it in a manual. For two reasons, firstly, you aren't licensed or insured to drive a manual. And even in you never plan to own one, you never know when you'll have to drive somebody elses car in an emergency.

Del2005

The problem people have with manuals when learning is that it takes several hours to get the mussel memory to change gears, very few learners are willing to pay for more than the 12 basic lessons to learn to drive a manual.

Ideally the 1st few lessons should be done off road so that the new driver can learn to control the car before worrying about other road users, instead we have total novices being put behind the wheel and taken into traffic with not enough experience which means that they can't concentrate on learning to control the car so have to skip to auto to learn to pass the test.

Johner

There’s something very satisfying about driving a manual. Might just be me though. I would say learn in a manual, it’s a nice feeling when you get the hang of it.

the_pen_turner

im a great believer in this.
my cousins and myself all learned on our uncles farm driving tracters and jeep around from a young age. well supervised at first. but then sent off doing little jobs like fixing a broken stake or fallen branch etc, stupid little jobs but it gave up driving experience.

it really helps you learn when there are very little consequences (baring hurting ourselves).
yes we mde mistakes and done some stupid things but we learned from them and i still remember every one of the 'close calls'. most wernt in any way bad looking back but they did make us cop on and take it seriously.


i think that learning how to use the gear is a core principle of driving. it teaches about anticipating the road ahead and planning , its about being gentle but firm in your controls, not revving the rap out of the car to go etc
i know the auto takesthe need for some of that aaway but it is a very valuble skill to have and is really worth the extra head ache starting out

_Brian

We had this discussion recently.

I’m teaching my daughter at the moment and she’s learning on a manual.
Younger daughter will be six years before doing her test and honestly other than we live and operate a farm I could see people her age just learning an automatic.

.anon.

Del2005 wrote: »

Ideally the 1st few lessons should be done off road so that the new driver can learn to control the car before worrying about other road users, instead we have total novices being put behind the wheel and taken into traffic with not enough experience which means that they can't concentrate on learning to control the car so have to skip to auto to learn to pass the test.

I've never understood why so many driving instructors take their students straight out onto public roads (even quiet ones) for their first drive, rather than getting them used to clutch control and gear changes in a less stressed environment. I can still remember my first lesson, 21 years ago, in a Nissan Micra (the '90s model with the very sharp clutch), constantly panicking and feeling like a failure every time I stalled or didn't move off smoothly. You can't learn effectively when you're panicking.

I passed my test in a manual, but I've been driving automatics for around 15 years. For me, it's useful that my B licence isn't restricted to autos (although my D/D1 licence is) because I occasionally have to drive company cars. Outside of work, I've had no reason to drive a manual since the last time I owned one. It's slightly more expensive to hire a car if you want an automatic, but I think it's worth paying regardless - especially if you're hiring it in a country where you have to get used to everything being on the opposite side.

meathstevie

The merits of a front or four wheel drive manual over a rear wheel drive automatic become abundantly clear in wintery conditions with a bit of snow and ice. Without a good set of winter tyres the latter is not going anywhere in any hurry.

Manic Moran

I'm keeping my 2005 car around for ever, my children will learn to drive a manual even if there is little chance they will ever need to know the skill. If nothing else, 'feeling' how the car interacts between the road and engine may provide some academic knowledge for the mechanics of the automatic car they are driving. They may also learn the sheer fun of a good manual transmission in a good car (with a V8, in my case).

However, it's always nice to keep options open. What if my son decides to follow in dad's footsteps and wants to drive WW2 tanks? (Or just older vehicles in general, like classic cars. Probably including my 2005 Audi by that point). Would rather they learned long before getting into something genuinely old and collectible, and it's one of those things you don't forget how to do. And if it really is an old vehicle, then at least the learning curve only goes as far as going from a synchronised gearbox to double-declutching, as opposed to learning the whole shebang at once.

Heres Johnny

sunnysoutheast wrote: »

The problem we found (child learning to drive) was that there were no driving instructors with automatic cars so she's learning manual. There's an obvious business opportunity for someone!

Guy up my way does manual and auto, he has 2 cars for lessons. I presume he has a staff member too as it wouldn't be feasible to have one sitting idle all the time. It's a hyundai velostar that he does auto lessons in.

galwaytt

meathstevie wrote: »

The merits of a front or four wheel drive manual over a rear wheel drive automatic become abundantly clear in wintery conditions with a bit of snow and ice. Without a good set of winter tyres the latter is not going anywhere in any hurry.

All those S-tronic Quattro Audi's belie your claim. As would RR's, Q7, X5, X3 etc etc etc

What has AWD/4WD got to do with automatic, exactly ??

RobAMerc

I honestly believe every one should learn to drive initially in an Automatic - a driver is doing a lot of things when driving a car and doing something which make little or no sense to them is often taking their attention from other much more important factors such as road positioning or observation.
Less brain cycles spent operating the vehicle controls and more concentration on actually driving in traffic ( coz thats the dangerous part). Once folks have mastered taking a car out in the environment safely, if they want to "up their skills" to manual, well then let them off.

Do we ask people at piano lessons to play Chopin before they can play chopstix ? I don't think so.

redcup342

If you ever want to rent a car you'll pay a ton more being stuck with automatic only.

I can rent a manual for 8-9 euros a day in Ireland and an automatic can be double or triple the price.

They normally ask me if I want an automatic, but i've seen people being absolutely screwed with an Automatic only license.

Same day, same rental company I paid 55 euros for the weekend, the guy next to me with Auto only paid 255 euros.

In the end I got an Automatic anyway, guy was absolutely raging.

jackofalltrades

listermint wrote: »

If this is the case, you probably should not be on the road.

Or, and less harshly, they should probably just drive an auto.
Some drivers just don't get gears. They're perfectly fine drivers otherwise.

Clareman wrote: »

My sister only learnt how to drive an automatic, worst decision she ever made (when it comes to driving), she can never borrow a friends car, their decisions for new cars are very limited and if they ever go on holidays automatic rental cars are often more expensive.

Are they? I know things were bad 20 years ago, but there's definitely better choice now. Especially with the availability of hybrids and EVs.

John Hutton

What happens if you have an auto license and want to get qualified for manual, you hardly need to go down the whole 12 lessons route again?

Or is it just the case of doing the test again but in a manual?

Montage of Feck

Why would you limit yourself when initially learning to drive? Driving isn't like a videogame, learning to use a clutch and manual gears will give an absolute beginner a far better understanding of car control and finesse.

Tij da feen

redcup342 wrote: »

If you ever want to rent a car you'll pay a ton more being stuck with automatic only.

I can rent a manual for 8-9 euros a day in Ireland and an automatic can be double or triple the price.

They normally ask me if I want an automatic, but i've seen people being absolutely screwed with an Automatic only license.

Same day, same rental company I paid 55 euros for the weekend, the guy next to me with Auto only paid 255 euros.

In the end I got an Automatic anyway, guy was absolutely raging.

Really only applys if you're renting cars in Ireland. Most rental companies on the continent and in the US will primarily stock autos (so they can cater to the American market)

redcup342

Tij da feen wrote: »

Really only applys if you're renting cars in Ireland. Most rental companies on the continent and in the US will primarily stock autos (so they can cater to the American market)

Not where I’ve rented, only countries where automatic was standard was Israel and the US.

Most of Continental Europe manual is the cheapest option but you’ll almost always be upgraded to auto (unless it’s a local rental company and not one of the big ones)

Think I must have rented in around 30 different countries and done a few hundred rentals.

antodeco

A big benefit for me with manuals is the ability to drive older cars. A 44 year old is not going to be an automatic, so I can still enjoy that hobby. Plus, my daughter will be learning to drive in the coming months and I asked her what her preference is. She said manual, as if she's ever stuck somewhere, or needs to borrow someone else's car for an emergency (or if her car broke down), she can still drive it if it's a manual

mikeecho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWTcPdYfsAc

This is what it will be like in 15yrs time trying to explain to someone, how to drive a manual.

ShadowHearth

If you young driver that is learning now, or in next 2-3 years and your parents are not loaded, then I would suggest learning manual.

Reason is that, if you are young and have to buy your own car, chances are, your budget is small and you will go for older car, which will be manual. This argument goes out of the window, if your parents can buy you new/newish car for you.

jackofalltrades

There are autos out there for people on a small budget.
Sure you mightn't get the exact spec or colour that you want.
But if you need a banger to last you a few years you'll be able to fine something.

coylemj

The biggest argument for a young person doing their instruction and the test in a manual is that when you go to places like the Canaries and want to rent a car, you don't want to be restricted to an auto. Because the bulk of the fleet on the day will be small cars with manual transmission.

Clareman

coylemj wrote: »

The biggest argument for a young person doing their instruction and the test in a manual is that when you go to places like the Canaries and want to rent a car, you don't want to be restricted to an auto. Because the bulk of the fleet on the day will be small cars with manual transmission.

That and if you ever want to borrow a car you'll only be able to borrow an automatic, for example if you are getting your car serviced.

The biggest argument is that by learning to only drive an automatic you are restricting your driving to automatics only whereas if you learn in a manual you're able to drive all cars, the breakdown of manual vs. automatic is just a way of highlighting the argument.