FAO owners of automatic transmission cars

Not sure why you'd want to go for one unless there's a genuine reason. I thought I might have to swap for an automatic for my wife but she had driven manual before in the States so only took a couple of sessions before she was getting the hang of it, the clutch control took her a while to get used to.

They aren't as fuel effiecient as Farnham says, and with our more winding roads I think a manual is better - in the States when on long straight roads and cheaper fuel they make sense though.

 

I cannot in the life of me see why anyone would want to keep pressing a clutch in, changing gear, foot over clutch ready for depressing again. Your left foot is on a rest not used. Right foot accelerator, off onto brake. NO hand brake needed as engine holds on automatic . No comparison whatsoever. Mate you get an automatic, I have driven all over the world and I would never go back to Manual, they are bloody hard work

 

Simple rules first day or two....

Tuck your left leg behind your right leg and you wont be tempted to hit the brake first time you go to change down.

Crawling in a traffic queue you should find unless on a hill the car will naturally creep forward which means you control forward motion using the brake pedal. Similarly setting off uphill works like these 'hill-holders' you get on many new manual cars now i.e. it wont roll backwards youw ill have to select reverse if you wish to do so.

Automatics unless they are variable belt drive (dont know of many (any) on the market now ) will use more fuel since something has to power the second clutch and gear changing if it isnt your left leg. Usually it is around 5-10% more fuel although depending on your driving style you may recover that since you can avoid late changing if you are prone to doing that. (You can 'force' changes up if you are accelerating hard by backing off slightly which often prompts it to change up).

 

If you ram your foot down you will get wheel spin, or the rev counter will go off the scale, just like in a manual - I also thought it would pick up the revs much more slowly, but once you get used to it, it's amazing. The only drawback is it can be a bit of a pain for nipping in and out of city traffic, or if you want to burn someone off at some traffic lights (not that I have the desire to do that much nowadays but still!) - but the smoothness of the acceleration once you're moving is incredible.

 

I have a Landrover Discovery and if I wanted to Roll back I slip it in neutral. I get 31.5 mph and I got that with my old one which was manual. No difference

 

Had one for the past 26 years, would not have a manual one by choice.When I come back to the UK always hire a vehicle and normally it is Manual ,drive it with no problems bit dodgy first time up harborough hills, until you are comfortable with clutch again.

 

My last two have been automatics

Great for the lazy commute.

Rubbish for everything else. As people farther up the thread have said, they seem to allus be in the wrong gear at the wrong time. Want to accelerate? The revs decide to drop and there's nothing there. Then, a second later it's woke up, remembered it's supposed to be doing something, found a gear, roared into life, lunging forward, making me look like a boy racer.

Then again, the GM auto in my Commodore is notorious for being a bit agricultural. Maybe the big Germans offer a better experience.

Decide to put it into manual shift? That's chuffin difficult to get used to. Not on acceleration, it's on braking that proves odd. After years of driving my brain is hard wired into the timing of pressing the clutch, shifting and releasing. With this, the gear is changed almost instantly so you end up changing too early and revving it up. Or maybe it's just me!

 

Hi Jedstar

I actually own a Focus automatic, its the 1.6 zetec model.
Its a great car, very flexible. Its the second one i've had, this one is 08 plate. So not the latest model.
With regard to the gearbox, a manual will always give you superior immediate acceleration but apart from that the auto wins hands down on all other issues.

 

The last two cars I've had have both been automatic (both German, first one 1.8 petrol, this one 2.1 diesel) and before I got talked into my first one I always felt manual must be better.

I've never had the problem with either of them being sluggish and if you want to boy race at traffic lights, you'll pick up acceleration quicker than a manual. You'll see the difference in how jerky a manual can be at gear change and how smooth an automatic is straight away.

Ideal for motorways, especially if you have a speed limiter (at average speed cameras) and cruise control in it and like someone said... I always feel fresher at the end of 200 miles just because you can take a more comfortable seating position.

Best thing to do is take one for a test drive and see what you think.

 

Cheers for all those views, I'll definitely be going for an auto and more than likely a Focus - just looking out for one with at least average mileage, how people manage to put 80,000 miles on a two year old car is beyond me.

 

They do 40k a year.

I drive both transmissions regularly and have no problem switching between the 2, easy to go back to a manual. Not sure I would like an auto permanently though, just no fun to drive when you have no gears. You occasionally find yourself in the wrong gear at the wrong time. If you want easy motorway driving get a manual with cruise control.

 

The biggest problem I have switching between our cars

...is not the automatic to manual. It's the fact that the indicator stalks are on opposite sides. It does my head in. Why don't they standardise this sheet? I want to turn left and end up wiping the windows, usually smearing dust and bird crap all over the windscreen to complete my annoyance.

I have a real love-hate relationship with cars. A bit like football. And computers. And women.

 

Own a 2.5 diesel automatic with tiptronic. Done 124,000 miles in it and its still returns 34mpg around town nd 46 mpg on a run. Had auto's since 1978 (with exception of two years) and far prefer them to manual.