Manual Cars Or Auto's?

[Bizarra]

Having driven my GF's (without benefits ) Vauxhall Astra 1.6 Automatic, I must say that it was a pleasure to drive, once I got used to no clutch or gear lever again. Kept pushing down with my left foot & nothing there

What benefits B)

None :shutit: :lol2:

[Karma Supra]

Having driven my GF's (without benefits ) Vauxhall Astra 1.6 Automatic, I must say that it was a pleasure to drive, once I got used to no clutch or gear lever again. Kept pushing down with my left foot & nothing there

The classic thing that most people do the first time the drive an auto is go for the clutch with their left foot, and end up stamping the brakes hard....

I did it too in my first soarer lol

[Phoenix999]

Having driven my GF's (without benefits ) Vauxhall Astra 1.6 Automatic, I must say that it was a pleasure to drive, once I got used to no clutch or gear lever again. Kept pushing down with my left foot & nothing there

The classic thing that most people do the first time the drive an auto is go for the clutch with their left foot, and end up stamping the brakes hard....

I did it too in my first soarer lol

On a similar vein I drove a manual car some years ago and forgot to put my foot on the clutch pedal :o Silly me as I could not understand why it stalled

[Cyker]

Having driven my GF's (without benefits ) Vauxhall Astra 1.6 Automatic, I must say that it was a pleasure to drive, once I got used to no clutch or gear lever again. Kept pushing down with my left foot & nothing there

The classic thing that most people do the first time the drive an auto is go for the clutch with their left foot, and end up stamping the brakes hard....

I did it too in my first soarer lol

On a similar vein I drove a manual car some years ago and forgot to put my foot on the clutch pedal :o Silly me as I could not understand why it stalled

Ack... that couldn't have been fun :(

*GRIND GRIND GRIND*

[Phoenix999]

Having driven my GF's (without benefits ) Vauxhall Astra 1.6 Automatic, I must say that it was a pleasure to drive, once I got used to no clutch or gear lever again. Kept pushing down with my left foot & nothing there

The classic thing that most people do the first time the drive an auto is go for the clutch with their left foot, and end up stamping the brakes hard....

I did it too in my first soarer lol

On a similar vein I drove a manual car some years ago and forgot to put my foot on the clutch pedal :o Silly me as I could not understand why it stalled

Ack... that couldn't have been fun :(

*GRIND GRIND GRIND*

It was not as bad as it sounds.... I was stopping at a T-junction so there was no gear changing involved I did feel silly

[Cyker]

On a similar vein I drove a manual car some years ago and forgot to put my foot on the clutch pedal :o Silly me as I could not understand why it stalled

Ack... that couldn't have been fun :(

*GRIND GRIND GRIND*

It was not as bad as it sounds.... I was stopping at a T-junction so there was no gear changing involved I did feel silly

Oooh, so more like *judder judder JUDDER CLONK* ?

Had that so much with my brother when he was learning

[balli hi]

On a similar vein I drove a manual car some years ago and forgot to put my foot on the clutch pedal :o Silly me as I could not understand why it stalled

Ack... that couldn't have been fun :(

*GRIND GRIND GRIND*

It was not as bad as it sounds.... I was stopping at a T-junction so there was no gear changing involved I did feel silly

Oooh, so more like *judder judder JUDDER CLONK* ?

Had that so much with my brother when he was learning

I think we all probably had some of that when we were learning

[Bronwyn]

The downside to driving a manual is all the traffic jams. Having recently purchased an automatic i couldn't care less about them. And eventually my left leg can rest

[Bizarra]

I heard stories from a friend who , while in Uni, earned a few bob during the holidays, working for a Car Hire Co.

American tourists have been known to hire a car in Dublin & drive to Donegal in 2nd gear because they didn't understand manual.

He had to drive to places far distant to rescue them, coz the car was wrecked :(

[XJ900]

It's got to be auto !

I was once stuck in a slow moving traffic jam from the N.E.C. car show for over two hours in a manual, no thrills there I can tell you.(& as you know there are traffic jams everywhere,& on the increase.)

With my cars I want comfort & reliability.

If I want exhilarating involvement then I jump on one of my Motorbikes.(plus traffic jams are easier on a bike aswell.)

So because of modern day motoring it has to be automatic or two wheels!

Having a manual car is just making life unecessarily more effort, with very little pleasure gain.

[JappyBeast]

It's got to be auto !

I was once stuck in a slow moving traffic jam from the N.E.C. car show for over two hours in a manual, no thrills there I can tell you.(& as you know there are traffic jams everywhere,& on the increase.)

With my cars I want comfort & reliability.

If I want exhilarating involvement then I jump on one of my Motorbikes.(plus traffic jams are easier on a bike aswell.)

So because of modern day motoring it has to be automatic or two wheels!

Having a manual car is just making life unecessarily more effort, with very little pleasure gain.

Good points!

Cant beat dumping it down a gear and booting it tho!

My dad gets through brake discs on his Auto Previa tho with all that auto breaking...etc.

[XJ900]

It's got to be auto !

I was once stuck in a slow moving traffic jam from the N.E.C. car show for over two hours in a manual, no thrills there I can tell you.(& as you know there are traffic jams everywhere,& on the increase.)

With my cars I want comfort & reliability.

If I want exhilarating involvement then I jump on one of my Motorbikes.(plus traffic jams are easier on a bike aswell.)

So because of modern day motoring it has to be automatic or two wheels!

Having a manual car is just making life unecessarily more effort, with very little pleasure gain.

Good points!

Cant beat dumping it down a gear and booting it tho!

My dad gets through brake discs on his Auto Previa tho with all that auto breaking...etc.

Excessive brake wear hasn't been that much of an issue with my auto toyotas,maybe I'm a smoother driver?,plus it's easier changing discs than clutches,

BTW: Autos usually have a kick down.

[JappyBeast]

It's got to be auto !

I was once stuck in a slow moving traffic jam from the N.E.C. car show for over two hours in a manual, no thrills there I can tell you.(& as you know there are traffic jams everywhere,& on the increase.)

With my cars I want comfort & reliability.

If I want exhilarating involvement then I jump on one of my Motorbikes.(plus traffic jams are easier on a bike aswell.)

So because of modern day motoring it has to be automatic or two wheels!

Having a manual car is just making life unecessarily more effort, with very little pleasure gain.

Good points!

Cant beat dumping it down a gear and booting it tho!

My dad gets through brake discs on his Auto Previa tho with all that auto breaking...etc.

Excessive brake wear hasn't been that much of an issue with my auto toyotas,maybe I'm a smoother driver?,plus it's easier changing discs than clutches,

BTW: Autos usually have a kick down.

But the action of pulling it out of 4th with your left hand, dumping it in 3rd and releasing the clutch and booting it (with all those actions) must be better than pressing 1 pedal!

Granted, there are loads of advantages of owning an auto but does it remove you from driving?

[Devil-ish]

erm.............never driven an auto tbh ;)

[vmail]

I was driving an auto to Stansted Airport 2 weeks ago, it had Tiptronic and a Sports button and I still didnt like it

[XJ900]

Well JB, I suppose debating which is best is a moot point.

So to stick to the original "brief" for this thread, I prefer an Auto because of the way I like to drive etc..

You (& many others .) like a manual Toyota because of the added control & thrills?! Which is fair enough if that's what you require out of your toyota.

I prefer Motorbikes for my own thrill fix. (Much more involved,& more thrills than could ever be rung out of an affordable car.)

I have had many types of car V6 Manual,Straight 6 Manual,Diesel manual,many autos,etc, & countless bikes.

I love Toyotas & enjoy driving,but primarily for the purpose of carrying many people & stuff,

often over great distances,sometimes in heavy traffic,often on motorways(& Autobahns.),

occassionally on sweeping A-roads etc..

& I find a big Toyota Auto does all of them beautifully.

[Bibbs]

Either. And now with the new generation of clutchless manuals you can have the best of both.

Really depends on what the car is for. Small engines usually need a manual, big engines suit an auto.

[KPARRIS-JONES]

Manual! I've only driven once being 14 but I liked the manual. Autos are way too spongy and shoite!.

[Red diesel]

Depends on the car - the old 2.0 diesel is slow enough without slowing it down more - but on something like an LS 400 then youd have to have auto - otherwise it would be like staying in a 5 star hotel and having to make your own breakfast.

In gereral though if its a luxury car with plenty of power and a big engine (like the LS 400 ive just mentioned) then auto - for everything else - either manual or a gearbox like the DSG box the VW group offers on a lot of its cars.

[Karma Supra]

Manual! I've only driven once being 14 but I liked the manual. Autos are way too spongy and shoite!.

Clearly you are highly qualified to coment on it!

It always annoys me that so many people dismiss autos are being soft, spongy, etc without out having any real experiance of driving decent ones!

There are some shocking auto boxes out there, (FTO, MX-5 older Mercs) but that doesn't mean they are all rubbish.

Also its largely a myth that autos make cars slower! Turbo cars really benefit as there is not shut throttle between gear changes, - no lag when going up through the gears. Remember a lot of the yank Drag cars are auto.

[Bizarra]

Manual! I've only driven once being 14 but I liked the manual. Autos are way too spongy and shoite!.

Clearly you are highly qualified to coment on it!

It always annoys me that so many people dismiss autos are being soft, spongy, etc without out having any real experiance of driving decent ones!

There are some shocking auto boxes out there, (FTO, MX-5 older Mercs) but that doesn't mean they are all rubbish.

Also its largely a myth that autos make cars slower! Turbo cars really benefit as there is not shut throttle between gear changes, - no lag when going up through the gears. Remember a lot of the yank Drag cars are auto.

As everyone is sick of hearing , my dear departed [RIP ] Chevy Monza was an Auto. It hadn't the big engine, by US standards, but if I floored her at the lights I left everything as a speck in my rearview mirror

[Karma Supra]

I'll also add how much I don't like the current trend for horrid dual mass flywheels and "auto adjusting" clutches.

The M3 has one and I find it clunky and the bite point vague, although admitedly I wasn't expecting an easy to drive, stop start traffic town car!

As soon as I need a new clutch I'm junking the flywheel for a solid one, "traditional" spring plate clutch and geting rid of the self adjusting mechanism, and while I'm at it the clutch delay valve will be removed.

If manuals are all about control, why put all that junk in there to dilute it? (apart from making it more userfriendly/reliable for the hamfisted american market that is not used to "driving stick")

[XJ900]

...It always annoys me that so many people dismiss autos are being soft, spongy, etc without out having any real experiance of driving decent ones!

There are some shocking auto boxes out there, (FTO, MX-5 older Mercs) but that doesn't mean they are all rubbish.

Also its largely a myth that autos make cars slower! Turbo cars really benefit as there is not shut throttle between gear changes, - no lag when going up through the gears. Remember a lot of the yank Drag cars are auto.

It's refreshing to find such an intelligent,informed & level headed comment on here. RESPECT ! I like you.

[Bibbs]

...It always annoys me that so many people dismiss autos are being soft, spongy, etc without out having any real experiance of driving decent ones!

There are some shocking auto boxes out there, (FTO, MX-5 older Mercs) but that doesn't mean they are all rubbish.

Also its largely a myth that autos make cars slower! Turbo cars really benefit as there is not shut throttle between gear changes, - no lag when going up through the gears. Remember a lot of the yank Drag cars are auto.

It's refreshing to find such an intelligent,informed & level headed comment on here. RESPECT ! I like you.

Don't let his comments fool you. He's defo a 2@. But he's usually right and will back up opinions with details/examples :)

[Karma Supra]

Usually right?

Does that make me a smug 2@ or a know it all 2@???

I can't decide

Thanks XJ900 :D