Auto here as well. Fell into ownership once when I could only find a Passat estate at short notice with an auto box. Loved it, and now have a newer Passat Alltrack with DSG. I’d not have another manual if at all possible, and my wife is willing her old Golf to die so that she can have a DSG as well.

I agree that the new DSG boxes don’t seem to have the issue with delays from starting. Mine has no noticeable delays.

Bit late to this thread..

Auto every time.

Yes I’ve owned/driven manual vehicles, but they’re so dull.. and all that pushing and shuv’ing with the peddle and stick, just seems like a helluva lot of effort for no reason other than to annoy.

Current hybrid is a CVT and honestly it’s just lovely (not a Prius, had one of the first gen and it was woeful) but the current versions are simply easy and quiet and smooth.. and that’s what I always seek out as important in any vehicle I own.

Auto. Really can’t comprehend wanting to change gear, messing about with a clutch.. Especially when queuing. Massively irritating and driving is shit enough as it is

I think I may have that etched on my gravestone.

I do miss manual when driving on lanes but I doubt I will ever go back and next car will probably be electric anyway.

It wont be long until a petrol car with a manual gearbox will be seen as an enthusiasts vehicle or some sort of classic.

I hate flappy paddle mode though. Utterly useless as my car is so well sound proofed it’s hard to hear the engine and without the clutch it feels like a big part of the gear change is missing and you have no feedback on rev matching.

Only time I tend to use them is when I am in super eco driving mood and am making the box change up sooner or if I want to overtake but not use the kickdown or press the sport button. When it’s in sport mode it can change gear far faster than I ever could anyway.

Well for me, I’d be in 6th behind a car and the other shift will be in 5th. But if I suddenly floor it there’ll be a second of delay whilst it puts the other shaft in 3rd and brings the revs up. If I am in manual mode I’ll select 3rd myself just before I want to go so I’ll get out that little bit quicker. Ok so it’s marginal, but it feels a bit better and quicker. I just have to remember to then shift up during the manoeuvre cos I’m now in manual mode.

Three things here.

1) How often does anyone need to go from 6 to 3 whilst behind another car?

2) Assuming the former to be a thing, this is surely a forward planning issue. You’re going to overtake, knock it into manual select ahead of time or blip the pedal.

3) How often do you ever need to go from 6 to 3 whilst behind another car? We’ve discussed overtaking at length here.

Cougar this isn’t hypothetical. This is what the car will do. If I were driving a manual I’d shift down in readiness, wouldn’t you? The difference is that the DSG doesn’t know you are about to floor it to overtake.

All I’m saying here is that in that situation paddles offer different functionality that’s every so slightly more convenient, that’s all.

If I were driving a manual I’d shift down in readiness, wouldn’t you?

Sure. But from 6 to 3?

All I’m saying here is that in that situation paddles offer different functionality that’s every so slightly more convenient, that’s all.

Ah, then I misread, I thought you were arguing for manual advantages. In that case then yes, I agree with you. Though you can probably prepare with the pedal to an extent.

I probably wouldn’t change from 6 to 3, no, but maybe. The DSG though will choose the lowest gear possible when you floor it, which could be 3rd at 45-50mph. You wouldn’t, because you know you’d have to change again in a second, but the DSG doesn’t mind because as it selects 3rd on the one shaft it’s also selecting 4th on the other so even if it’s only in third for a second it can go straight to fourth without a break.

Though you can probably prepare with the pedal to an extent.

Yes – you get to learn how much to push down to get it to drop one or two gears. You also can make it change and then ease off a bit if you want a sub-maximal kick down. But there’s not a lot of point generally. Just drive it. Sometimes when towing it holds a high gear a bit longer than I’d like. But then my old PD engine is less versatile than a CR one so that’s probably not a thing any more.

My new Transit Custom is automatic, as was the T5 before it. Tried the manual , but just found it a PITA having to change gear all the time.
Did read somewhere that the towing capacity is lowered by a ton with the auto though (not that that affects me)

Autos all the way here. And I say that although the 6 speed geartronic in my Volvo is a long way from the best.

Some comments above imply that folk are sitting in Drive with their foot on the brake/stationary. My understanding is that this is detrimental to your transmission fluid health and gearbox wear. Are you not meant to shift to neutral the moment you stop? That’s what I do.

Ha, very much like bikebouy:

Auto every time. I’ve owned manual vehicles, but they’re so dull.. and all that pushing and shuv’in…

I always considered myself a petrolhead (15+ yrs competing in national/international rallying) and needed a manual to enjoy the drive but actually, a good auto box and a decent engine can be a pure joy!

can you do good burnouts in your autos? 😉

(never driven a decent one so semi serious question)

Some comments above imply that folk are sitting in Drive with their foot on the brake/stationary. My understanding is that this is detrimental to your transmission fluid health and gearbox wear.

Who told you that? Sounds like someone’s supposition to me. It’s what everyone in the USA does all the time and there are god knows how many millions of transmissions sat in traffic jams in drive for hours every day.

In any case, a DSG knows you are stationary with your foot on the brake and declutches, of course. It’s far cleverer than that!

Probably auto when I get back to the UK. Been driving auto hire cars all the time here. Open roads and traffic it just owns it for simplicity.

molgrips – Member

I probably wouldn’t change from 6 to 3, no, but maybe. The DSG though will choose the lowest gear possible when you floor it, which could be 3rd at 45-50mph.

One thing I miss about driving is doing 45-50mph and then dropping my old Honda into 2nd and flooring it all the way to 70+. 8)
Although autos rule for the majority of most people’s driving, I’ve always ensured I’ve avoided sitting in traffic in some nightmarish commute, so have never worn my left leg out (apart from in my old Mitsi GTO, that was a workout).

…sitting in Drive with their foot on the brake/stationary. My understanding is that this is detrimental to your transmission fluid health and gearbox wear.

How can it be, if the engine is off?

can you do good burnouts in your autos?

I don’t even know what a burnout is, and have never done “good” ones in any of the manual cars I’ve owned.

At our London house both cars are automatics and at our Edinburgh house both cars are manuals. Auto’s make a lot more sense somewhere like London plus both the cars there are Mercs and the auto box in those is pretty impressive, with flappy paddle shifters as well. In Edinburgh it’s less of an issue as much more of our mileage is down outside town.

I’m in the same boat as the OP, I love autos Mrs P has never driven one and doesn’t want one. Shes paranoid that if she didn’t have a manual she’s forget how to drive one and that would be that.

I’m tempted to buy an auto next and an absolute knacker she can practice in. That said, there’s some wheels for the playstation with an H pattern shifter and clutch so might just get one of them instead.

I swapped originally due to nerve damage in my left leg and a particularly harrowing day driving out of chelsea in my old golf, after 2 hours and about a mile, my leg was cramping and I couldn’t use the clutch. Autos for me from now on. having said that, neither of the cars I’ve got come with a manual as an option. The Touareg has an 8 speed, non overridable type box, but it’s smooth, fast changing and you really don’t notice it doing the work. Seems to work fine off road as well. My BMW 125d chavmobile has the 8 speed ZF box which if you change manually with either the flappy paddles or the stick,  there’s just too many gears in a relatively small rev range (it pulls like a train from 2000 – 5000 rpm) so it’s actually fairly irritating. In auto mode though, it’s a peach. It just gets it right and takes care of that part.

As for burnouts? Yes, it’s very possible. Not in the Touareg mind, that’d be launching yourself into the hedge / wall / other car that’s ahead of yourself. Lots of traction, and it’ll swap to 4wd with no warning! The 125d I slid sideways all the way up to La Rosierre at new year after my snow chains broke. Top arse end out fun at about 15mph. I’m sure a ‘tasty’ driver could do that stuff on tarmac, but it’s not something I’d do!

I can only drive an “auto”, started with an 83 Nissan/Datsun Sunny 1500 with 3 speed auto, over the years, I’ve had 4 and 5 speed, flappy paddles, 6 speed auto/manual and now have a VW Golf 1.4 150BHP with the DSG box and I love it.  The fuel consumption on cars with these gearboxes had improved greatly, but with diesel engines I find them a disappointment, lower than predicted figures by at least 25%.

<span style=”color: #444444; font-size: 12.8px; background-color: #eeeeee;”>with diesel engines I find them a disappointment, lower than predicted figures by at least 25%.</span>

Same for manual too.

<span style=”color: #444444; font-size: 12.8px; background-color: #eeeeee;”>Shes paranoid that if she didn’t have a manual she’s forget how to drive one and that would be that.</span>

Last owned a manual 8 years ago, and I can confirm this does not happen any more than you forget how to ride a bike or rollerskate.

What you don’t want is my current situation- 1 manual 1 auto, both with indicator on opposite sides to each other! Drives me bonkers!