Manual or Automatic car?

Auto all the way!
Many years ago I went on holiday to Canada and rented a car - it was automatic. I loved it so much that when I came home, I swapped my manual for an automatic and have had auto ever since!

In our electric car we very rarely use the brake; regenerative braking does most of it.
We have driven automatic cars for years, we both had jobs that involved lots of driving and gave up manual cars very soon after DH did his first work visits to the States.
Enjoy your new car Chrisks.

WhenI first got my new car I spent a while looking for the handbrake! It only has a button and it does it all automatically ,anyway. Of course I could have read the manual….

My fiat 500 can be driven automatically or manually, best of both worlds!

It’s nonsense to suggest that if you drive an automatic car you’re not as engaged or as alert as you would be driving a manual. All cars require the driver to be alert and engaged - if you’re not, then it’s you, the driver, who is at fault, not the car.

The suggestion that you’re not doing “proper driving” in an automatic is rather silly, too. Certainly, you don’t do the gear changes, or find the biting point (which I imagine is what many manual car drivers enjoy), but you still have to be fully aware when driving - of your own driving and of what is going on around you; in effect, “proper driving”.

Any car can develop a fault, manual or automatic.

Anyway, Chrisks, I’m glad you’ve reached a decision. Happy car hunting 😁.

You won’t be disappointed chrisks

Thank you for all your help and input on this topic. You’ve made me decide to go for an automatic.
I’ve always been nervous about hill starts ever since failing my first driving test on one. It will be no longer an issue, lol!

Automatic. I have a stiff left side neck/shoulder/arm problem and the relief changing to automatic was tremendous.

When my late DH was no longer able to drive, I had to hire a car on holiday and only manual was available. I found, as a poster mentioned above, that I had become ‘deskilled ” and it was a bother. No more manuals for me.

I think that’s my next car Katie59. I believe in a short time cars with gears will be rare beasts, similar to BetaMax recorders!

I recommend a Yaris hybrid new or S/H, petrol engine automatic, very low emissions around town, cheap to run and very very reliable.

Grannytomany

Automatic. I’ve no idea why anyone buys a car with manual gears these days.

Perhaps because some of us actually enjoy driving a manual car? Part of the driving experience for those of us who enjoy it?

Grannytomany 1) what is the problem with driving a manual? I drive both, and have no preference either way
2) it does rather depend on how often you buy cars and what your budget is. I owned my previous car for nearly 15 years - and would be driving it still, if an idiot hadn't driven in to it. My budget for its replacement was limited. Its replacement is over 10 years old

Automatic. I’ve no idea why anyone buys a car with manual gears these days.

Automatic. I’ve had an auto for more than eight years and wouldn’t go back to a manual. I disagree that driving an auto makes you feel disconnected from the car. In my opinion, it leaves you free to concentrate on the traffic and means you’re being as economical with fuel as possible because you’ll always be in the correct gear.

As for the experience of having to travel in second gear - we’ve twice had cars where the manual gear stick has just come off in the driver’s hand! No car of any ilk is guaranteed never to break down.

Once cars are fully electric they’ll all be automatic anyway so people may as well get used to it. On the topic of hybrids, though, my dd has a manual car. It’s a version known as a mild hybrid. She can commute to work and locally on electric and have the ICE for long journeys.

It depends on how much you drive and how quickly you get used to new ways of doing things. Also, one thing to consider is if you hit something in a manual car the car will stop. If you hit something in an automatic the car will continue moving. I have experience of this when someone hit our wall and the car continued moving forward hitting our garage wall and ended up half way down our garage until the driver took their foot off the accelerator.

Definitely an automatic. Next month I shall have been driving for 64 years and for over 30 of those years I have had an automatic - I certainly wouldn’t want to go back to a manual.

I drive both; the manual is an effort as it is temperamental and you need all your wits about you to stop it stalling - it's very old - but the automatic wins hands down. So much less tiring when you're driving in traffic. My driving instructor said you must be able to drive your vehicle without thinking about it, and have all your concentration on other road users. That's what an automatic enables.

Whoops, I never thought of that!

I just do it automatically
🤣🤣🤣

I can see that people with arthritic knees would prefer an automatic, but changing gear in a manual car is for most people a subconscious act when you’ve been driving for years, I never even think about doing it, I just do it automatically. I’d be more interested in lots of other features when I was choosing the car than I would be in the gearbox.

Yes * farznaha* I've forgotten how difficult being in a traffic jam can be. Your leg aching and cramping using brake, gears and accelarator

Definitely automatic, following surgery on my spine an automatic was much more comfortable to drive.

Most people I know with automatics would never go back to manuals. My OH won’t drive my geared car, prefers his automatic. I like his better too, and I will definitely opt for automatic when I change, It kills me driving my car in queues because my knees are stiff.

Automatic definitely. No hill starts are a boon and knees appreciate it too. If you happen to need a new left hip or knee you can still drive fairly soon after, especially with a hip hop.
No contest.

I've driven automatic cars for over 30 years and would never go back to manual. I think having an automatic car means you can concentrate more on road traffic situations as you don't need to go up and down gears. It's like driving a dodgem car at the fair! Start and stop! No pressure on wrist or foot. I now have a hybrid and very happy with it. Good luck on your choice