Manual or Auto - which do you prefer?

[Velorum]

I use an auto for my daily commute due to the stop start traffic but much prefer my manual as regards driving. What do folks think?

[S60-MBS]

Like yourself Ian i prefer my manual ...i drove an automatic S40 before hated it so much...when stepping into my company car which was a manual i found it difficult to adjust...i always forgot to put clutch down and change gears..sticking to manual now on ..autos just make me too lazy

I haven't tried the same model in both transmissions - i've only had a 240 auto. Difficult question to answer honestly . . . . !

I did however have a scimitar 1975 which i converted to auto from manual+od.

The manual in overdrive was lovely on a long distance motorway cruise, but around town heavy and the gear change was ghastly 'stirring porridge' [external rod linkages and heavy clutch].

Auto with a 3 Litre, a lovely gentle change with a nice low torque engine. Auto any day. BUT the day came when i went to a nearby village motor festival - when i stopped the car i found that it had somehow locked itself in drive. Eventually i managed to get it to disengaged and got home. I was moving in a fotnight and knew i wasn't going to have time to get the engine out and then get the box to a specialist (and i didn't have the money available!!!!!!!! £500/600+vat?). What could the cause be? Well i had changed the autofluid but with the proper BW spec - must have been a seal gone somewhere. It was only rebuilt 2 years before and had only done about 3k miles . . . of course there are good/bad specialists . . . but little comfort when they take your money.

After that i have to say manual for being more 'grief free'. However, in the heart i'd go for an auto anyday.

Is that a fair analysis?

[caveman]

autos every time! although mines a manual!
if youve got a luxury car youve gotta have an auto gearbox!
regards
cavey

[James_N]

Good question this, because when i had my CTR, The one thing i loved about it (Apart from the speed) was the manual box. it was bloody fantastic.

Ive always loved a manual, untill for a short time, i drove my dads 850 Auto. I enjoyed that a lot. put it in sport and floor it, and the kickdown was brilliant!
I really enjoyed the lazy and relaxed way in which i could just sit there and steer

I have to say now im starting to lean towards an Auto.

Maybe its the older person in me, the lazier side to me, thats now wanting an Auto box, or the fact that Stuck on the M6/M5 split on friday afternoon in stop/start traffic thinking that an auto would of been bliss!

Ideal next car then? A 940 Celebration Auto! Proper old man, at the ripe age of 22 Only thing that stops me upgrading, is that my current car is just so dam reliable, i'll run it into the ground first!

[bigandquick]

Mmmm...difficult one.
My 850 T5 was an auto, I loved it and it was so relaxing to drive, very smooth and the kickdown was something else.
But...my new V70 Classic T5 is a manual, and I love it too. I miss the auto box around town, but I love the driveability the manual box gives me. The power comes in a lot smoother too, but that may just be down to different mapping.
Overall, the manual just tips it, but not by much.

[James_N]

Originally Posted by bigandquick

Mmmm...difficult one.
My 850 T5 was an auto, I loved it and it was so relaxing to drive, very smooth and the kickdown was something else.
But...my new V70 Classic T5 is a manual, and I love it too. I miss the auto box around town, but I love the driveability the manual box gives me. The power comes in a lot smoother too, but that may just be down to different mapping.
Overall, the manual just tips it, but not by much.

And i think thats the difference.

Im split 50:50

For a good thrashing around the back roads from Stafford to Bridgenorth which i quite often used to do, the manual gearbox makes the drive.

But now, majority of my driving is around town - Autobox please

Just depends on the situation.

For the purpose of the poll, im going to go for manual, purely because thats all ive ever owned. Give me an auto though, and id be still as happy

[Scott Stephen]

Big cars are clumsy (in my opinion) with a manual box. However, small cars are rubbish with an auto box (in my opinion)

[irf]

manual every single time for me. i like to practise heeling and toeing even at normal speeds and that just isn't gonna happen in an auto!
just a personal opinion, but with the autos i have driven, i dont mind driving the 5 speed auto so much, but the four speed autos have been pretty horrible. dont know what the volvos have.

[IC]

It's horses for courses. I couldn't use an auto on the track because they don't give the same control coming into and out of a corner. I like to change when I want, not when it's decided for me. I also feel that autos wear out discs quicker, then there is the issue of longlevity and less mpg. An automatic is nice for stop start motoring and can be a pleasure to drive, however it's manual all the way for me for the real driving control.