Automatic vs Manual

koru

Pal wrote:

Anyone know if you can get american style gear shifts (off the steering wheel) for any automatic cars in the UK?

It always seems to me to be a waste of potential storage and floor space having the automatic gearlever on the floor.

My Honda CRV has a shift on the steering column. It means there is a gap between the two front seats, so when I am in the passenger seat and the kids are misbehaving in the back, they know that when I threaten to go back there and sort them out, I mean it!

rogerdarts

I have only owned automatics for the last 15 years or so.
No problems at all. Slightly heavier fuel consumtion IE 2-3 miles per gallon but the qualty of the drive coupled with the smooth gearchanges makes up for that. My cars have been mostly Ford and BMW. There is nothing to choose between them in the automatic stakes. Both excellent.

researcher

We've bought a lexus 200 auto a few months ago - I love it. Very smooth, fast and powerful. Well worth the extra cost of petrol. This is my first auto and it makes traffic jams much less stressful.

ArsenalFC

I first drove a manual car for 3years and hated the london city traffic as it was so frustrating and not good for my left leg on the clutch stuck in traffic. I made the change to auto over 5 years ago and never look back.

It was harder to find an auto for a small car (toyota corolla 1.6 auto) and also consumes more petrol aswell as costing more than a manual. I now have a bmw 318is auto coupe. I never thought i would drive an auto till im 30+ years but city driving drives me mad. I made the switch in my early 20's and like most auto drivers now, I will never buy a manual car again.

For those who has diesel cars or want a high mpg before making the switch then I suggest looking into having the car converted to use LPG. As i only want to buy a bigger engine bmw next - 2.5/2.8/3.0 litres, i'll be looking to get LPG for it.

redzak

currentlt weighing up whether to buy a bmw 323 in automatic or petrol.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the car and on the auto v manual debate?

thanks

david29dpo

bring back the daf 44! i had one of these and i loved it, when as fast backwards as forwards!

rdwarr

david29dpo wrote:

bring back the daf 44! i had one of these and i loved it, when as fast backwards as forwards!

Yes but, being honest, that wasn't very fast, was it?

The other thing in favour of Autos is the safety aspect. You have two hands on the wheel all the time and are not tempted to keep one on the gearstick when going through a sequence of changes. There is also no danger of the car coasting out of control due to riding the clutch. And you don't roll back if in a traffic jam going up a hill
I got my first Auto in 1990 after 12 years of Manuals. I joned the IAM to make sure I was driving it properly (it had 300bhp so was a bit scary at first - even did 110mph in second gear) and have not looked back since.
One of the current fleet, a Toyota Estima, has a column change. It took no time at all to pick this up and the extra room is useful too.

ArsenalFC

redzak wrote:

currentlt weighing up whether to buy a bmw 323 in automatic or petrol.

Does anyone have any thoughts on the car and on the auto v manual debate?

thanks

Do you mean auto or manual. That would depend on what you want. I had a bmw318is auto and had no problem with it. You can always get a 325tds auto diesel but it will only come in a 4 doors though, I recommend getting a 2door coupe.

I said in my previous post that I never will get a manual again, this is not true now because of work and limited garage space I have to get a smaller car. Because I wanted a small 2door sport like car on a budget, the ford puma 1.7 only comes in manuals.

steve!_10

I went from manual to auto and I didn't like it as much. I'm now back on a manual and I don't think I'll switch back to an automatic again. When an automatic gearbox messes up it can be really expensive to fix as well. I love manuals because they give more control and I have more fun.

You'll generally get more economy from a manual too (not that many 6-speed autos about), plus I can choose a higher than normal gear (I often use 5th or 6th doing 30mph - granted, not all petrol cars like that).

Heavy traffic and hill starts were nicer with an auto, but with the car I have I hardly ever change gear and if the car stops I put it in neutral so my left leg doesn't get knackered (it also wears the clutch cable if you stay in gear).

tomstickland

Best of luck.Autos are a good proposition if you do a lot of boring driving.
Personally I don't like them; I want the car do what I tell it to not what it thinks.