Automatic advice please

knightstyle

To all those who say stick to an old fashioned box with a torque converter I would say move with the times and try some of the new automatics, not the semi autos but things like the Ford powershift we have in our Cmax.
It uses two gear boxes, is very smooth and frugal.
Sticking with a torque converter is like those people many years ago who swore that side valve engines were better than overhead!!!!!!

Rain_Shadow

knightstyle wrote: »

To all those who say stick to an old fashioned box with a torque converter I would say move with the times and try some of the new automatics, not the semi autos but things like the Ford powershift we have in our Cmax.
It uses two gear boxes, is very smooth and frugal.
Sticking with a torque converter is like those people many years ago who swore that side valve engines were better than overhead!!!!!!

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/new-document-shows-ford-knew-about-its-powershift-transmission-problem-as-early-as-2014/news-story/64190e3d7ebfdd3c8468a22421f7c766

facade

I might be a Luddite, but I'm sticking to a torque converter.
The reason I have an auto is I spend a good 30 minutes a day crawling in stop-start traffic.
I hate to think how short the life of the clutch in a dual shaft gearbox will be under those conditions.

knightstyle

Well our first one did 72k with no problems, this one is 26k all good so far. I notice the problems are in US which has a slightly different gear box/clutch to Europe.

stator

Definitely check the MPG. My auto is a 4 speed and the MPG aint good

facade

knightstyle wrote: »

Well our first one did 72k with no problems, this one is 26k all good so far. I notice the problems are in US which has a slightly different gear box/clutch to Europe.

was that 72k of starting and stopping, and crawling along at less than walking pace?
That is what I think will kill them.
In The Other Car I have to mess with gears. So I have to get it rolling and then dip the clutch to crawl forwards, it won't go slow enough in 1st gear with the clutch fully home.

The clutches should be good for the Moon and back if you drive on the motorway at a steady 75 all the time as they will never be slipping..

Robisere

My 2.0 CDTi Auto C-Max is 3 years old and still drives as smooth as silk, no jerking changes. However, that's a bigger car with a bigger engine. I suggest, OP, that your partner road tests as many different models as possible, and compares them.

One benefit your partner will experience, after getting used to an auto box, is that driving is a lot less hassle without having to worry about using a clutch. I have to drive an auto, as spinal injury means my left (clutch pedal) leg is unable to work properly. But even if that could be cured, I would not go back to a manual box.

Gloomendoom

knightstyle wrote: »

Well our first one did 72k with no problems, this one is 26k all good so far. I notice the problems are in US which has a slightly different gear box/clutch to Europe.

Do you tow with it?

Missus_Hyde

Having always driven manual cars for 35 years plus, I wasn't keen on having an automatic, but as luck would have it, we bought an automatic to tow our caravan and also a Yaris as a run around, which also happens to be automatic.

Once I got over the initial feeling that I should be depressing the clutch every time I approached a junction, I've found that I actually much prefer automatics and the Yaris is an absolutely cracking little car, which has done over 80k and never had a problem with the automatic gearbox.

I'm afraid I know very little (and care even less) about the actual mechanics of cars (I know where the petrol goes, but that's about it! ) but I understand that because the Yaris is quite old (53 plate) it has a torque converter, so perhaps that's why it works so well and has not been a problem (so far........fingers crossed!)

Missus_Hyde

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Do you tow with it?

We deliberately bought an automatic car to tow our caravan, as I understand that they are much better for towing and certainly the one we have (Vauxhall Antara) tows the caravan extremely well.