[Closed] Manual or Automatic?

After thirty years of thousands of gear changes in traffic jams on British motorways my left knee was beginning to feel a bit cranky so I persuaded my employer to let me have a car with DSG next time around.

It's the best thing that ever happened to me car-wise; it's like manna from Heaven in a traffic jam. I will never have another manual.

You sure? Have you tried putting it into P and applying the handbrake?

No! Why would I bother with all that? I've got an auto!

By handbrake I meant real handbrake with a big lever you haul on for handbrake turns in the supermarket carpark in winter. Push button indeed!

they just stick it in Park when getting out.

By handbrake I meant real handbrake with a big lever you haul on for handbrake turns in the supermarket carpark in winter. Push button indeed!

You can still get those. My parents just bought a Fiesta with one.

Although there are advantages to the push button ones. They come on automatically if you do something like open the door with the car in drive. This would have saved at least one old lady's life that I know of. My wife's aunt watched her get dragged under the car (from a distance.. unable to help).

As for driving pleasure - the smooth cosistent torque as you accelerate up through the gears is brilliant.

I appreciate winding every other day as a quasi-zen experience but an automatic is more practical for day wear

oh cars 🙁

😉

Although there are advantages to the push button ones. They come on automatically if you do something like open the door with the car in drive. This would have saved at least one old lady's life that I know of.

Until people start to rely on it, then go back to a car without.

're sticking it in park can't get the key out unless it's in P. I think that might be a legal requirement. Safer than a manual. Or was that your point?

Another one with a wife who is scared of autos haven never driven one - I have a Passat GTE coming in a few weeks, they only come with the DSG box. I can't wait for it, will be awesome with the adaptive cruise. Suspect my wife will come to love it pretty quickly too.

Not sure if it has flappy paddles though? I am sure I'll miss a manual down the occasional twisty country road but that will be outweighed by the downsides 90% of the time

My next car is likely to be an auto and SUV. Had my back busted by a driver 2 years ago whilst riding to work. My commute is now clutch accelerator brake all the way to work and it just screws my back up and I have difficulty getting out of the car, especially when traffic is bad.

Can't for the life of me think what I would get though.

Can't for the life of me think what I would get though.

Have you always wanted a porsche.

SaxonRider - Member

In North America ...

Indeed.

Auto......but with an override tiptronic box........auto is convenient round towns etc, but i seem to get better mpg on longer runs in manual

Not sure if it has flappy paddles though?

I think that you always get manual controls. I haven't got steering wheel paddles but I have a manual up-downshift option using the gear selector. It works a little differently though - with paddles, you can temporarily override the selected gear for a short time - so if you want to overtake, you flip down two and it'll stay there for ten seconds or something until you floor it and off you go - otherwise it'll revert back to D. On mine, it's either manual or D. But it will still up or downshift for you if you exceed the range of the engine of course.

@Nico: What are you on about? 😕

Auto/DSG all the way here. Moved to auto since I have a dodgy left knee and never wanted a manual again. Have had 5spd to 9spd and newer autos are very good. I can’t really see how I might go back to manual.

Auto drivers enlighten me. I'm tempted but what happens when you pause in traffic? Do you have to sit with your foot on the brake to avoid creeping thereby burning the eyeballs of the driver behind (me at the moment)? Oh and hill starts - is it all hill start assist these days or can I still use the handbrake (if there is one)?

Current Golf has auto-hold plus an electric handbrake. With auto-hold on when you come to a stop it keeps the brake on to stop it creeping (brake lights on, green (P) in the dash). If I'll be waiting any length of time I pop the handbrake on (red (P), brake lights go off).

From either state just brushing the throttle starts you creeping again.

My last car was a 5 series estate, took me ages to look for a manual one. Very hard to find

My current car is an E class estate. No ones buy one of those in a manual, only auto's available. I have to say, it's a relaxing drive

Until people start to rely on it, then go back to a car without.

As for the auto/manual gears - I'd quite like an auto for the miles of motorway driving and general ease/laziness. However, I'm always conscious that when it comes to teaching my children to drive I want them to be able to learn in a manual and not end up with an auto-only license.
Eldest is only 7 but time flies and before I know it he'll be making me reach for the imaginary brake pedal in the passenger footwell 😯

However, I'm always conscious that when it comes to teaching my children to drive I want them to be able to learn in a manual and not end up with an auto-only license.

Likewise but that's some time away for us!

Never owned an auto but obviously driven a few over the years. Imminent new car will be one however. Flappy paddle job but it will be interesting to see how much I use those once the novelty wears off. I drove a hire auto mini cooper without paddles on a proper switchback climb and then descent and it was a slightly disappointing experience - it was almost like the thing was trying to wind me up with its stupid gear shifting at exactly the wrong moment every time.

A good manual is lovely though - I drove a manual cayman S around a track for half an hour last year and the mechanical feeling short throw shift was a lovely thing.

Manual for me. Drove a couple of auto's and, yes, it was nice but I just prefer having to drive the car and control as much as I can.
I'd much rather have a car without all the gizmo's & gadgets and buttons all over the place.

Flappy paddle job but it will be interesting to see how much I use those once the novelty wears off.

I've read that flappy paddles aren't so much use unless you are crossing hands over. But the temporary kick down feature is likely to be handy I reckon.

I haven't found them any use whatsoever. Some people say they use them for quick overtakes or something, but nah, the auto does it better than I could.

[i]"Control"[/i] - how is changing gear "control"? 😆

Eldest is only 7 but time flies and before I know it he'll be making me reach for the imaginary brake pedal in the passenger footwell

*Buy a French car or a Fiat and you have the possibility of having an actual brake pedal in the passenger footwell. 😆

*Don't. 😉

I haven't found them any use whatsoever. Some people say they use them for quick overtakes or something, but nah, the auto does it better than I could.

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.

My Focus is my first auto car (DSG Box) - I wouldn't hurry to go back to a manual car now, It's lovely just sitting there listening to the wireless and being wafted along while you let the car take care of all the boring stuff like manually changing gear, wiping the window and turning the lights on when it gets dark. It might not be the fastest thing in the world but the majority of the roads I drive on don't allow spirited driving any more, either due to cameras or the amount of traffic etc etc.

Auto and as my next car will be electric in some form or other, I doubt I'll buy a manual car again.

Always driven manuals until i sold my car 3 or 4 years ago, wife's car is manual too. But, I hire cars a fair amount for work and much prefer an auto, the modern ones work brilliantly. If/when I buy a car again there is no question what so ever that it'll be an auto.

Mini JCW 7 months old semi auto paddle 6 speed.

I leave it in auto as I’m always in traffic.

Sorted.

Foot used to ache from using clutch.

Will always buy auto from now on.

Manual for us. Our old car spent a fair amount of time off the road last year and while I didn't mind the autos we hired, my other half absolutely hated them. We don't tend to drive in heavy traffic anyway, so the new car is another manual.

Manual, or failing that a proper (torque converter ) auto. Dual cluch? No thanks

Manual, or failing that a proper (torque converter ) auto. Dual cluch? No thanks

Based on experience I assume. What was it you didn't like. I know they had a rep for being slow off the line at roundabouts etc. Not sure if it has been imporoved but driven a 2017 base model polo and test driven golf GTIs and Rs with DSG and because of this reputation made an point of testing many times. Not a problem I noticed - maybe they have improved.

I know there have been big advances in torque converters recently and debate if the extra expense of twin clutch was going to be needed in the future.

After 30 years driving a manual we bought an auto last year after having a demo,
I never thought I would be converted but now I wouldn’t have anything else we absolutely love. My wife now filings driving a manual a total pain

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 [i]you[/i] 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)