Reliable and fairly economical auto cars?

[Deleted User]

getmore4less wrote: »

As you approach the hill (at the right time press the accelerator a bit, around the same time you are stirring your box) it will drop a gear faster than you can change manually

But it is still responding to changes in circumstances, rather than anticipating them.

yangptangkipperbang

iolanthe07 wrote: »

Modern autos (like the Ford Fiesta) are quicker and use less fuel that their manual equivalents.

I have a manual Fiesta, my daughter has an automatic. I had not driven an automatic for some years when I tried hers. Very impressed with it, most of the time you don't know the car has changed gear unless you happen to be looking at the rev counter when it happens.

Dogzrunning

Thanks so much for all the replies! Great help

Iceweasel

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

But it is still responding to changes in circumstances, rather than anticipating them.

So what difference does that make to anything in practical terms?

Iceweasel

alleycat` wrote: »

I agree the dsg box is superb.
They are just catastrophically expensive when they go wrong.

Are you meaning that a manual box isn't expensive?

How may autos break these days?

Loanranger

I was a diehard manual driver, too, always wanting to be in control with hand on gear stick til I had my auto and now I won't drive a manual. It took a bit of getting used to and I inadvertently knocked it into manual once or twice til I learned to keep my left hand on the wheel, where it should be, and not on the gear stick. But, only buy an auto after you have passed your test.

sh0597

I wouldn't pay more for an auto but I can see them becoming standard.

welfayre

Dogzrunning wrote: »

im looking at spending £3.000 you will all probably say you will never get a decent one that price but thats how much i have atm:(

You'll get a decent one for that no problem. One of my customers runs a wedding car business and has picked up 3 or 4 Auto Jaguar X-types and an S-type for under £3k, each under 100,000miles and ranging from 2001-2004. He's had to spend a bit to spruce them up but mechanically they've all been sound.

Just take your time, make sure you get it properly checked by someone you trust and who has a bit of mechanical knowledge and you'll find the right one for you.

Only word of warning for you is that if you are unfortunate enough to have a auto transmission failure you'll be looking at a minimum of £1k to sort it.

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

Iceweasel wrote: »

So what difference does that make to anything in practical terms?

Less than nothing because it is trivial and quick to override the box on a modern car, so if you feel the urge to anticipate you can deal with it quicker and easier - for example planning an overtake might be the place where you want to optimise acceleration by getting the engine into the sweet spot for torque - something the electronics know better than the average driver on a modern turbo diesel.

As always, if you really want to drive a manual to pass the time, do so, but don't kid yourself that the auto box can't do a better job than the average motorist. The only time it is necessary to override an auto is on a steep descent, but these days I don't see many drivers showing that they understand how to use the gears on a descent on a manual, let alone an auto.

Aside from hill descents, the last time I needed to override an auto in about 400,000 miles of driving them, even fairly old fashioned boxes? Probably never, I've chosen to on a few overtakes for the hell of it, but I can't think of any time I've thought "Phew! that saved me."

getmore4less

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

But it is still responding to changes in circumstances, rather than anticipating them.

just the same as your gear box is it is still the same user making adjustments that put the car in the correct gear with the correct throttle, you have to do both my car is smart enough to get them right from just the throttle setting.