Manual or Auto - which do you prefer?

[julie]

i have 240 glt auto ok not as quick as a manual but can still be driven with much enthusiasum and is far better for every day driving . Auto boxes are are wasted on lower powered and small cars .In this contry we dont take well to autos but as the roads get more and more congested im sure we will see more autos. As a enthusiast of older cars another plus point of autos is they dont tend to sell for as much as their manual counter parts and can often be found in better condition. Julie

[TerryInWales]

I can't think of much I can't do in an auto that I can do in a manual. I feel kickdown is without doubt the fastest way to overtake safely. My first auto was a 3 litre Mark 1 Granada estate, 3 speed auto box. I did over 120,000 miles in it without a hiccup from the box. I enjoyed every moment of driving that car. I found driving it a lot less stressful, especially on short runs, in town and in motorway hold ups. Since those days auto boxes have improved. Many have sports and winter modes, a lockup function and at least 4 gears.
There are many people who have never driven an automatic who pass opinions on them. There are some die hard manual drivers out there. No matter what you say they will try and rubbish the auto. They just won’t try one. Autos still seem to have a stigma of being driven by people who can't drive. It's no good getting in an auto and driving it for half an hour. To get a feel for it you really need to drive it for a week or so. After that you might see the significance of what I said in the first line. Most people I know that have changed to auto don’t want to go back to manual. I introduced my girlfriend to automatics about 7 years ago. When offered the use of a manual car whilst hers was off the road recently she declined muttering words about a dead body.
Gone are the days when you could tell it was an auto in front, they don't put "AUTOMATIC" badges on any more. Autos are a lot less hard work too, more from the point of view of not driving. If your manual won't start in the morning, the temptation is to push it, tow it, bump start it or something equally as daft. Usually ending up with dirty hands, dirty clothes and back ache. And the results, well, if you do get it started the chances are, when you get to the other end you will have to do it all over again. Automatics when they won't start is usually a case of "sod it" and go back in the warm or you fix it properly. Less stress and you're not even driving it.
The wear and tear on the car is less with an auto too. I don’t think it’s easy to over rev. No hard labouring of the engine. No bangs down the transmission. All the faults I've had with auto boxes have been inherited. Usually because people don't know what they are doing, like topping the box up with hypoid, not changing the oil and in one case not having the kickdown cable connected.
I remember the days of having to change the clutch cable monthly on my mark III Cortina. At least with the auto I don't have to worry about clutch cables, clutch and pressure plates, thrust bearings and oil getting on the clutch. My friend informed me a few months ago that to replace the clutch on his Astra Diesel Estate it was over £600 because it was an engine out job. I wonder how many more cars out there are like that.
I've been told too that auto boxes are more expensive to repair. I think you will find that modern manual boxes are just as expensive to fix. Are auto boxes really less reliable than manual one? They’ve been using them a lot longer in the USA. It would be interesting to know what our American friends think of the reliability.
The first time you drive an auto it is surprising how much force you use to depress the clutch. You find this out very quickly by choking yourself on the seatbelt. You are usually relieved at the same time to know how efficient the brakes are. After driving an auto for a little while, it shouldn’t be too hard to get in a manual and drive it. All manual cars will exhibit a banging effect at under 10 mph. Actually depressing the clutch will make the noise go away. Changing often between manual and auto somehow seems to make your brain connect different neural pathways and after 3 or 4 weeks you don’t make the brake and clutch error. This seems to be so long lasting that after 12 months of just driving an auto, when lent a manual car by a friend I had no trouble driving it at all. I don’t know how, but my brain just seemed to know what it was I was driving. I didn’t have to think it’s a manual, everything just seemed normal. The reverse is also true.
I think driving an auto makes you a safer driver. Changing gear is just one less thing to think about. Therefore more time to concentrate on what’s going on around you. There is also the fact you never miss a gear which could be a bit dangerous when overtaking. For some reason I find it’s not quite as frustrating being behind a slow car when I’m in an auto either.
Traffic on the road now is a lot different from when I first started driving. Driving is different too. Modern driving technique is to drive up to junctions etc. in 4th and depress the clutch. I was taught to drive using the gearbox. I think the idea is gearboxes cost more to repair than brakes. Not all things are a step forward are they? So if people are now taught to use the brakes rather than the gearbox the issue of engine braking doesn’t exist. You can always use the gears on the auto to brake the engine in the same way as a manual. It does work. I know, I use it. The 6 cylinder diesel has much better engine braking than my petrol XC, but that would be the same even if they were manuals. The thing I don’t like about my new auto is the low function (PND3L).
(I put this in before the article on left foot braking but thought I’d leave it in anyway) I don't mind being corrected on this but my understanding of the toe and heel technique is that it's usually used for rev matching in a manual car so is not necessary in an auto. However, it can also be used for shifting the weight to the front of the car like when coming into a corner. Having the effect of braking whilst still maintaining speed. In an auto you can use left foot braking to achieve this effect. Of course left foot braking can be used in a manual but if you need to change gear this is not quite so easy. These however are racing techniques and are very difficult to control. However, I read somewhere that left foot braking can be advantageous in autos in low speed low traction conditions such as snow or gravel. Perhaps I ought to go and read up on it in case we get some snow or gravel.
As for towing with an auto, it’s a doddle. This is a picture of my first Volvo. The thing on the back I towed from Newcastle to Carmarthen across country http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1405884182071859949isnpuB (click full size for a better picture). She was only slow up the very steep hills but that was due to weight. There is no issue as far as I’m aware with having to get the revs up or change gear early, the auto box does it for you. As the amount of power to pull required increases the gearbox senses the load and adjusts gear automatically. If it doesn’t do it early enough for you push further down on the accelerator until kickdown comes in. If it doesn’t do that it’s more than likely to be a kickdown cable adjustment that’s required.
I frequently travel from here (near Carmarthen) to my mums (near Barnsley). It’s 210 miles across country or 273 miles via the motorway. It’s hard work in a manual going across country what with all those bends and hills. If there is any traffic it becomes a nightmare. In a manual I quite often opted for the motorway. In the auto I go cross country every time. It really is a nice drive.
So in my opinion the auto box wins but I think you get more out of it if you know how to drive a manual.

[lushman]

I have to admit I did not want an auto, but once I drove it for a few weeks I can't see why I really wanted manual. Its great for town driving and cruising along the motorway. And now that the roads are getting more congested by the day I am not getting cramp in my left leg!

Paul

[Conehead]

I'm definitely on the side of auto's.
As said it's just easier and more relaxing and I do feel safer- two hands on the wheel etc, and as terryinwales said the driving hard side just gets added to with an auto on the back roads. I will agree not for the track though.

They just feel right in a bigger luxury car, couldn't have one in a micra.
when I returned to the volvo marque last year it could only be an auto T5 , cause my old 340 clutch killed my knee on any town journeys.

Driven a corsa with the dual box (dsg?) and it was crap and always going wrong. The fiat version was even worse, like the gate was only half open on the box, will never own a car with one.

On the subject of left foot braking, have been practising and it is true that in a go-kart no probs but it's taking a while to get used to the car.

[st5ve]

On the subject of left foot braking, my grandfather who is now in his eighties drives using left foot for braking. This is mainly due to his right leg being very week due to polio when he was a child. He has driven most of his life but can now only drive auto's, he did go to a driving instructor to learn how to do this correctly. For my grandfather this technique of driving has helped him to keep his independance.

[montrealblue]

I prefer the auto box for the every day cars.Takes away lots of stress where ever your driving IMO,so will have to vote auto.

It's also nice to be in the position of having a fun car to use on the nice sunny days.
Alfa romeo spider 3.0 litre V6 manual,this is the one for the cross country runs,great fun.

[bb54]

he he, i was wondering when "the pale rider" would give me hand on this subject, it feels like ive been fighting the "the auto boxes corner" on my own for ever !!

cheers Gaz.

everyone knows my opinions so i shall not bother with the how to
"abuse an auto" lecture again.

wayne

[GMcL]

I had a Saab 900 V6 auto which was a fantastic car for covering long distances.
Put it in Drive, set the cruise control, hit the panel switch (all dash lights off except speedometer) and you could drive for hours (or until that thirsty GM V6 emptied the tank).

I traded that car in for a FIAT Coupe and went back to manual.

When my mind turned to Volvo I was thinking auto again along the lines of the Saab but then tried the D5.
I bought a manual as, if you want to be lazy with this car, you can stick it in 5th and provided you keep the revs above 1300rpm it'll pull cleanly without the need to stir the stick.

I've driven BMW 320d's with manual and auto boxes. There really wasn't much in it except fuel consumption. The manual was a few MPG better than the auto (as expected).

Personal preference is big petrol engines (2,5l upwards) matched to an auto, diesel with manual gearbox. The torque of the diesel engine makes an auto a bit of a waste of money for me (unless it's the horrible Mercedes manual - supplied by John Deere I believe - in which case it has to be auto).

[DSK]

I like both hence why I have a few cars and thats why I can't vote on the poll.

Volvo C70 T5 Automatic, Jaguar XKR 6spd Automatic, BMW 328i 5spd Manual.

To start with I'd like to say as mentioned by others, as long as you have a decent grunty engine with a 5-6spd automatic gearbox that's quite responsive and instant with good ratios, you'll love it. It takes the burden and tedium out of everyday driving especially when you do a lot of miles.

The Volvo and Jag have beautiful engines, are very fast and auto gearbox's are well engineered and work a treat. I like these as they are effortlessly quick and I can travel at speed (if I want to) in complete comfort and I am always relaxed in them and never get frustrated. They are very relaxing and soothing to drive.

The BMW however, in everyday driving, i hate the manual box due to the torque of the engine, you can drive it in just a gera or two like 3rd & 4th all day but the stop start traffic etc just frustrates you when you have to change gear just because you are only a few rpm down and don't want the engine to labour when you hit the accelerator. However, when I get a clear stretch of road and I am in the mood, the extra control of the manual box when pressing on comes into its own, better driver involvement.

Basically, for me, for everyday driving it has to be an automatic.

A fun car for weekends etc has to be manual.

If I had to have just one car, as I do a lot of miles, town and motorway, I'd get a big engined Automatic like a Volvo S70R / Jaguar XJR / BMW 330i/535i/540i / Merc C43 AMG.

[jarchin]

Having changed my 940 2.3 manual Non Turbo for a V90 CD Auto also Non Turbo 2.9. I now find it much more relaxing and safer to use the cruise control both in Town and on the Motorway. I find it much easier to engage the Cruise Control and just concentrate on what is going on around me. This way I am sure that I will not be caught in any Radar traps etc.

The V90 gives the smoothest ride in the world. GREAT CAR!