The Student Room Group

Automatic Cars after passing in Manual

So i've just started taking driving lessons in manual at the moment, which is going fine so far. My instructor is awesome.

I aim to be passed by August at the latest (2-3 hours per week), hopefully i'll have a car a month from when I pass.

When I get a car, I want to get an automatic, sounds a abit crazy, like I don't mind learning in manual but I want an automatic. I know about costs involved etc and about fuel efficiency etc..

I don't care about having fun whilst driving tbch, I care about getting from A to B.

Anyway my question is, how hard is it to transition from manual to automatic, I know your covered if you pass in manual but I mean in terms of driving style.

I know about no gears/1 gear aspect to it, but I mean like when it comes to things like stopping at traffic lights, it is just simply a case of just braking etc?

Has anyone passed in manual then got an automatic? If so whats it like?

Thanks XD

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Reply 1
Point and press.
I'm disabled and can only drive an automatic but my fiance passed his test on a manual car and drove one for several years. We only have one car now (don't need two) so it's an automatic. Fiance had no difficulty switching to automatic, there's really nothing to it, you just put the car in gear and drive. If you're worried about it though why not ask for one lesson in an automatic? Most driving schools have a small number of automatic cars available.
Reply 3
There's really not much to it. Just put it in Drive and go. Perhaps the most significant thing you'll notice is that the car will creep forward slowly when in gear, even without pressing the accelerator. Stopping at junctions and traffic lights is just a matter of holding the car on the brakes.

Depending on what car you buy you might be able to select 3/2/1 gears or similar, or you might be able to shift 'manually' (+/- on the gear lever). These are good for certain situations, for example for extra engine braking on a steep descent, so you don't cook your brakes. Although for normal driving you will nearly always just select 'D'.
Reply 4
Original post by Toki_Premium
So i've just started taking driving lessons in manual at the moment, which is going fine so far. My instructor is awesome.

I aim to be passed by August at the latest (2-3 hours per week), hopefully i'll have a car a month from when I pass.

When I get a car, I want to get an automatic, sounds a abit crazy, like I don't mind learning in manual but I want an automatic. I know about costs involved etc and about fuel efficiency etc..

I don't care about having fun whilst driving tbch, I care about getting from A to B.

Anyway my question is, how hard is it to transition from manual to automatic, I know your covered if you pass in manual but I mean in terms of driving style.

I know about no gears/1 gear aspect to it, but I mean like when it comes to things like stopping at traffic lights, it is just simply a case of just braking etc?

Has anyone passed in manual then got an automatic? If so whats it like?

Thanks XD


I first learned to drive on a manual and then drove automatics as well as manuals. Now I only have automatics as I don't particularly like manual cars these days.

My gf started driving an automatic for the first time very recently after 10 years of driving a manual, she found no problem other than the first few days where she kept kicking the spot where she thought was the clutch.

As to the difficulty to adapt, it is generally rather easy depending on what type of automatic gearbox you get... a conventional one with torque converter or CVT are fairly straight forward, you just keep it in D and control the pedals, Braking nothing special about it, just put your foot down as you would on a manual car. Accelerating away isn't anything special either just press the pedal and depending on the gearbox it your position of the pedal will determine how soon it would upshift and the gears will change down too if you step on the accelerator halfway or all the way down, called kickdown.

There are also semi-automatic gearboxes, these are slightly different, main differences is they usually have more ratios, shifting is rougher than a conventional autobox and they behave exactly like a conventional autobox to the novice driver, except when you are at a standstill and take your foot off the brake the car won't creep forward like the conventional box until you give it some gas. On hills, when you let go off the brakes the car will start to rollback. Some have a standard automatic shift pattern of PRNDS+- while some may just have R N D +- and there are some that has no clutch but has a H shift pattern of 1-5 and R..... I suggest not to buy one of these if you're on a budget as there are lots of components that are considered wear and tear that must be replaced at certain intervals, these are the clutch(s), actuators and hydraulic pump.... almost everything about will set you back some serious money.
Reply 5
Well it'll pull if you leave it in drive at traffic lights, you can weld your foot to the foot brake but this is bad for the car and pisses off the driver behind you with the brake lights shining in their face on long stops.
So it's best to flick into N and put the handbrake on at lights, which I argue is more effort than holding it still on the clutch.

I've only driven an auto a couple of times, but you will find yourself going to change gear, i just tucked my leg away so my heart didn't stop for a split second when the clutch pedal and gearstick weren't there.
Reply 6
Original post by Toki_Premium
So i've just started taking driving lessons in manual at the moment, which is going fine so far. My instructor is awesome.

I aim to be passed by August at the latest (2-3 hours per week), hopefully i'll have a car a month from when I pass.

When I get a car, I want to get an automatic, sounds a abit crazy, like I don't mind learning in manual but I want an automatic. I know about costs involved etc and about fuel efficiency etc..

I don't care about having fun whilst driving tbch, I care about getting from A to B.

Anyway my question is, how hard is it to transition from manual to automatic, I know your covered if you pass in manual but I mean in terms of driving style.

I know about no gears/1 gear aspect to it, but I mean like when it comes to things like stopping at traffic lights, it is just simply a case of just braking etc?

Has anyone passed in manual then got an automatic? If so whats it like?

Thanks XD


Not difficult at all. I passed in gears but have an automatic. Feels a bit weird not having a clutch at first but apart from that fine.
Reply 7
I have a Jag XJ8 V8 auto and it is beautiful to drive, it is so much easier round town to not think about gears and soooooo smooth. Obviously, this is a expensive auto box and therefore going to be much better than an auto in a small car but given you can now pick the Jag up for less than £5k in mint condition, I know what auto car I would rather have.

Oh fuel economy is affected but no one gives a **** about that right?
Original post by gbduo
Obviously, this is a expensive auto box and therefore going to be much better than an auto in a small car


:confused:

Want to explain that one away?
Reply 9
Original post by Sam Walters
:confused:

Want to explain that one away?


The Jag costs £75k new. A small car costs £11k new. The difference in quality parts is going to be huge. Fairly obvious I thought.
Reply 10
Original post by Megaross
Well it'll pull if you leave it in drive at traffic lights, you can weld your foot to the foot brake but this is bad for the car and pisses off the driver behind you with the brake lights shining in their face on long stops.
So it's best to flick into N and put the handbrake on at lights, which I argue is more effort than holding it still on the clutch.

I've only driven an auto a couple of times, but you will find yourself going to change gear, i just tucked my leg away so my heart didn't stop for a split second when the clutch pedal and gearstick weren't there.


It's not bad for the car they're designed for that.
iv heard there quite hard to get used to... to trust the car... but once you are you become rather dependent...

if i were you i would maybe consider getting a manual for a few years first just so you can ingrain the how to drive in a manual... learning to drive is not the same as being able to drive... there will be times in the future that you will have to drive a manual (rentals, friends/parents/sibling/OH car....)
my mum had been driving manuals 25+ years had an automatic for 3 years, with sporadic driving of manuals... and now her car is off the road, so she has to drive mine/dads/uncles/grans (< what happens when 1 family has too many cars... :|) and she is appalling, she stalls at every junction, because she forgets the car wont change gear for her and put on the lights for her and the windscreen wipers :| im always saying to her "you know it might go a bit better if you changed gear..."

x
Bear in mind, unless it's a fairly new car, small/medium cars (Ford Fiesta/Focus cars) are pretty slow with autos in unless you get the big engine option (e.g. Ford Focus 2.0). The best older cars with auto boxes are big V6/V8 engines if you can afford it.
Although I'm not a massive fan of automatic engines (but I'll give the Aston Martin one a try if anyone has an extra one lying aroud :smile: ) they're not too hard to change to. As others have said once you change your habits a bit they do take some of the work out of driving. Might be worth seeing if your instructor can get hold of an auto for you to try later in the training.
Biggest problem I've had with them is using the brake as a clutch for the first couple of minutes but if you keep your left foot still and just use the brake as normal it's fine. If I had to go for an auto I'd get one with a manual handbrake rather than an automatic one but that's really a personal choice. It will also be worth, once you get your licence and the new car, getting used to using the kick down/gear selector for the times when the auto decides to keep hunting for the wrong gear or just doesn't give you enough power.
My neighbour has an auto (problems with her left knee) and if I have to drive her anywhere in her car I've found the CR-V auto not bad, which is high praise for me for an automatic, but that might not be the best car for London.
Good luck with the rest of your lessons!
Original post by gbduo
The Jag costs £75k new. A small car costs £11k new. The difference in quality parts is going to be huge. Fairly obvious I thought.


Mechanically, not so much.

Same principles. same machining processes. Same result.

Everything else. Mostly the same. But think of the markup on that car?

Only the real performance contenders apply any special processes. porsche are quite leading in that respect.
Reply 15
Original post by Camoxide
It's not bad for the car they're designed for that.

Depends how old we're talking.
Original post by Clip
Point and press.


This, basically. With certain types of auto box it's possible to do certain things with the gearbox to vary your driving style, but if you just want to get from A to B then 'Point and press' is pretty much all you need to know.

Moving off requires pressing the brake pedal before selecting drive which sometimes catches out people who have never driven an auto before, but that's about it.
Reply 17
I've had well over 50 cars. Some were manual some auto.

It takes about 10 minutes to get used to it. For the most part, it's a case of shifting the box into D and pressing the accelerator. The only time you'll need any of the other modes is for example if you were going up a very steep hill. You might want to shift down into D2 to stop the box engaging top gear.

Alternatively, if you buy a Jag they come with a J gate which can be driven like a manual but without a clutch pedal.
Reply 18
I don't think its hard to make the change. After passing in a manual, driving one for 2 years then going to Australia and driving an automatic, I didn't have a problem at all.
Reply 19
Original post by Sam Walters
Mechanically, not so much.

Same principles. same machining processes. Same result.

Everything else. Mostly the same. But think of the markup on that car?

Only the real performance contenders apply any special processes. porsche are quite leading in that respect.


Yes, but as with anything engineering, just because it is the same principle and process does not mean it is the same quality/same part. Difference between genuine and pattern parts for example. Made using the same principle and process but completely different level of quality.

A Jaguar Auto box is significantly different to most CVT boxes in small hatches. It is FAR more advanced in smoothness and refinement. Small hatches have clunky autos. Prestige cars do not. It is the difference between a auto that costs the manufacturer £2k and one that is more likely to be £8-10k.

You have to remember that the car is 2002 as well and think of the auto boxes in small cars back then. You have to compare like for like, probably should have made that clearer from the outset.

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