Manual or Automatic after passing test?

Would it be silly to buy an automatic car straight away after passing on a manual? I might sound silly but I have this fear of messing up when changing gears so...

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

It's****ingWOODY

I think it's valuable experience to gain proper experience in driving a manual car. I've switched to automatic though and never plan on going back to manual tbh.

Reply 2

Maker

After a few weeks in a manual, changing gears become second nature, I never think about it really. Manual cars are more economical, gives you more control and gives a better driving experience.

Reply 3

It's****ingWOODY

Original post by Maker

Manual cars are more economical.

Not necessarily. Automatic models of the last 10 years started to match their manual counterparts in terms of economy. In fact, it's now gotten to a point that cars being produced now boast better fuel economy in automatic transmission than they do in manual where the gear changes in automatics occur more timely and smoothly than most drivers could do manually.

As for being in control of what gear is selected, you don't NEED that control under most conditions. If you did find yourself under such conditions, it'd actually be better to use the semi-automatic feature that almost all automatics come with, gives you control over gear selection and the speed-matching and clutching is all done for you, in more recent models with greater accuracy than most humans could produce. Even in a fully automatic, you can manipulate gear changes by modulating the gas pedal - for example, if you need to change down a gear for a bit more acceleration, give the accelerator a quick blip (which will be unnoticeable if you're in a higher gear, say 3rd) and the gear will change down.

If you want to drive manual because you enjoy it more, or if you're having to settle for a 10+ year old car, then fair enough. In this day and age though, preference is the only deciding factor in reality. I drove manual for a couple of years and was under the illusion of "meh, driving manual is automatic to me anyway" but you seriously notice the difference in freeing up mental resources when you drive an automatic. My best mate had the same train of thought, but I let him drive my car for 5 minutes and based off of that he's looking to sell his car and go auto :lol:

If you live in a trafficky area as well they're a godsend.

Reply 4

Simes

Spend 90 minutes in a stop-start queue on the North Circular driving a manual and then again driving an automatic and you'll never drive a manual again.

Reply 5

domonict

Original post by Simes

Spend 90 minutes in a stop-start queue on the North Circular driving a manual and then again driving an automatic and you'll never drive a manual again.

agreed .

It's not all "Top Gear magnificent drives through mountains" for the average user.

My car is a manual, the G/f's is automatic and for driving around a city,an automatic is a boon.

most of there people who say that it's a "better experience, or you have control" have never really driven one for long enough to comment and are just repeating what they have heard.

Automatics are a bit less exciting, if playing with gear levers excites you, and can be slightly more juicy than a manual (driven well)
Manual cars are a pain in the backside in traffic, and any stop/start with a heavy clutch vehicle is a chore whereas an auto in the centre of London is far nicer.

Reply 6

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper

Original post by mrpopodopalaus

Would it be silly to buy an automatic car straight away after passing on a manual? I might sound silly but I have this fear of messing up when changing gears so...

After a few weeks, using the gears becomes second nature and you don't think about it. Id get a manual. You could always get an automatic for your second car if you end up really not getting on with a manual.

Reply 7

CurlyBen

It depends a lot on the quality of the auto box. The difference between a good and bad manual box is (generally) relatively small, but there's a huge gulf between a good and bad auto. I'd take a manual over a bad auto any day of the week, but I'd be quite happy to drive a good auto. I've currently got a very average auto and it constantly annoys me at how slow to react it is whenever I want to accelerate hard, and I really enjoyed driving a manual again when I was back in the UK recently. On the other hand, it is easier in heavy traffic. There is a satisfaction in a slick manual downshift which you just don't get with an auto though...

Reply 8

JC.

Ignore the "auto's are crap" idiots.
You choose the transmission to suit the car. You'd no more want an automatic MX5 than you'd want a manual Jaguar XJ6.

Buy what you like. Your money, your choice.

Reply 9

CurlyBen

Original post by JC.

Ignore the "auto's are crap" idiots.

but that's not to say there aren't crap autos about!

Reply 10

JC.

Original post by CurlyBen

but that's not to say there aren't crap autos about!

...or indeed crap manuals! :wink:

The point I was trying to make is that there are folk who will just blanketly say "all autos are crap" and try and justify their remarks with nonsense like "you aren't in controll as you don't get the benefit of engine braking".
Clearly such individuals have never driven an automatic.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 11

It's****ingWOODY

Original post by Simes

Spend 90 minutes in a stop-start queue on the North Circular driving a manual and then again driving an automatic and you'll never drive a manual again.

I live nowhere near it, but live in a very trafficky and hilly area... and yep, having driven both, manual can go **** :biggrin:

Reply 12

jamesthehustler

most yanks are auto most japs are autos so well the manual is dying

Reply 13

aliendays

i passed in a manual, didn't have a car for 3 years and brought an automatic as my first car. don't regret it. i was anxious about stalling and constantly changing gears as it'd been so long since i passed with a manual. but now i have absolutely no worries and can concentrate on the road better. feels so much safer and easier to drive. was also quick to adjust to as well

Reply 14

rsb93

I was looking to buy automatic car but I just got some questions that I need to ask about automatic transmission and first one is the fuel economy are the more modern automatic models compare to the old ones are better fuel economy and what about the repair costs on the automatic cars some say that their are quite expensive.

Reply 15

BullViagra

I drive a manual Ford Focus, I live in central London and honestly it's terrible sometimes. In traffic it's just a pain having to adjust so many things just to move 5cm and do that repeatedly for 2 hours. However outside of traffic and headacheness of central I love manual, shifting gears is my favourite thing to do.

However I took my uncle BMW 645i for a spin, it's automatic and immediately loved it. Just being able to put your foot down and feel the power surging through feels great, and in traffic it's so much more bearable.

I don't want to stop driving manual ever though, I think I want to get a automatic second car for city driving and keep my manual for pleasure driving.