So what car do you drive?

[Spy Bee]

Just got my first ever proper decent car. I have a Q5 Sline Plus on a lease deal.

[Funkasy]

Citroen C5

2.0 diesel

170ish horsepower

[Rico1304]

A Citroen C4 hire car on holiday. The car is fucking ace, sat nav, digital displays, roomy and lovely to drive. I on the other hand am used to driving an automatic so I'm changing gear with the wrong hand, at the wrong time and nearly opened the door on several occasions. Kerbed it already so thank fuck I've protected my deposit.

 

The wife is changing her car next year and it's definitely on the list.

[RJ Fan club]

Just about to get a company motor for the first time. Gonna pack in government and go private.

 

Looks like I'm having an Audi A3 sport as that's what's left over, so won't get the chance of a choice till its time to replace it. Was thinking a C class Merc or BMW 3 series otherwise, poss a Jag XF

[Elite]

Got a Mazda 2 but want to upgrade to a Mazda 6, would like a Mazda CX-5 but its out of my price range.

[General Dryness]

Got a Mazda 2 but want to upgrade to a Mazda 6, would like a Mazda CX-5 but its out of my price range.

I had a Mazda 6 (called an Atenza here). Good little car, never gave me any problems in the four years I had it.

 

Have you thought about a CX-7? Similar look to the CX-5, little heavier on the petrol though. But you'd probably get one a lot cheaper than a CX-5.

[General Dryness]

Paulie, don't you think driving an automatic takes all the fun out of driving?

Not if your automatic is a 3.5 litre 300hp rear wheel drive V6.

[Lario]

Lads, I'm not gonna bother starting a new thread. Hopefully the car folk reside in here!

 

Anyways, with Sterling dropping, and my yoke on it's last legs, I'm hoping to head to the UK in the near future and pick something up.

 

When do the locals reckon is a good time to pick up a bargain?

August, as their trying to shift stock before the change in plates?

Or September, when I'd imagine the 3 year old fleet cars come back?

[Rico1304]

Lads, I'm not gonna bother starting a new thread. Hopefully the car folk reside in here!

 

Anyways, with Sterling dropping, and my yoke on it's last legs, I'm hoping to head to the UK in the near future and pick something up.

 

When do the locals reckon is a good time to pick up a bargain?

August, as their trying to shift stock before the change in plates?

Or September, when I'd imagine the 3 year old fleet cars come back?

There are 2 plate changes in the UK nowadays, I'd imagine towards the end of the 2nd phase. Keep an eye out for model upgrades too. I got loads of extras on mine as it was the mid model upgrade.

[Stouffer]

I have a Chevvy; it's never been driven to the levy.

[neko]

Upgraded a few months ago from a 1991 VW Jetta to a 2007 VW Golf. Took the Jetta in to my German mechanic and drove out 20 minutes later with a new car ! 

 

It's a girls car, for sure, but I don't care - I hardly drive at all. I've never got excited about owning a cool car...like senor sex.

 

After driving the Jetta for 13 years, it feels like a million dollars.

[Lario]

There are 2 plate changes in the UK nowadays, I'd imagine towards the end of the 2nd phase. Keep an eye out for model upgrades too. I got loads of extras on mine as it was the mid model upgrade.

 

Cheers Rico.

 

2nd phase, I'd imagine, will be next March when they change from a 66 to a 17. I was hoping there might be bargains to be had around the change from 16 to 66.

Can't wait until next year to change.

 

As for spec, every UK spec is better than the Irish equivalent!

[A Red]

I've got a qashqui , qashqi. err qushqai, fuck it I've got a Nissan

[Pidge]

13 year old Focus, it's shite.

[Stouffer]

Neeeeeeeeoooooooooowwwwwen

[Captain]

Got a 2007 RAV4 last year.

 

Love it, runs like clockwork and great in winter conditions.

[General Dryness]

Bit of a pain in the ass having to stick a massive key in the back and turn it round for a while before you can go down the shop though.

[cochyn]

Here's mine. With a snow cock and balls on the roof.

 

 

It's for sale btw. 

 

(snow cock and balls not included, sadly)

 

Sold the saloon, and got a sensible* estate version, due to my advancing years

 

 

*It's a hooligan

[Alan Sex]

Upgraded a few months ago from a 1991 VW Jetta to a 2007 VW Golf. Took the Jetta in to my German mechanic and drove out 20 minutes later with a new car ! 

 

It's a girls car, for sure, but I don't care - I hardly drive at all. I've never got excited about owning a cool car...like senor sex.

 

After driving the Jetta for 13 years, it feels like a million dollars.

Older VW > new VW.

 

Mines a Ford Explorer Limited. Needed more room for all the children I have created.

[RJ Fan club]

I have a Chevvy; it's never been driven to the levy.

What happened to the passion wagon? The Reno 5?

[Furmedge]

Wife drives a 64 plate Astra that a skateboard can outrun, and I have the 'runaround' 09 plate Focus which is meh. Only bought it as it was a quick sale from a family who's grandad had died owning it. It was 5 years old at the time, 12k on the clock and they only wanted £3k for it. Couldn't turn it down at that price.

 

Now in the market for something else, with all the perks as I spend a lot of time in the car for work.

[Stouffer]

What happened to the passion wagon? The Reno 5?

It went a while ago; I've never been the same since.

[Sputnik1]

I have a new Ford, I paid extra for a system that if I'm texting or letching or in some other way not actually paying attention to the road, it puts on the brakes on if I need to stop before I hit something in front of me. Now that's technology for you. 

[Karl_b]

I occasionally drive the missus' Hyundai i20. S'alright like, doesn't have a digital radio which is my main issue. It's an automatic, on the one hand it feels like cheating but on the other it is a lot easier. I wonder if there would be fewer accidents if everyone drove autos?

[Sputnik1]

I occasionally drive the missus' Hyundai i20. S'alright like, doesn't have a digital radio which is my main issue. It's an automatic, on the one hand it feels like cheating but on the other it is a lot easier. I wonder if there would be fewer accidents if everyone drove autos?

 

 

 

 

Less Stress With Automatics

 

Studies which monitor stress by measuring heartbeat have shown that drivers of manual-transmission vehicles do experience significantly more stress than those in automatics. In fact, so great was the differential that drivers of automatics experienced stress levels which were comparable to those of passengers! 

 

Some argue, however, that by very virtue of the fact that there is less for the driver to do, the driver of an automatic is inclined to pay less attention to the road-traffic environment and so is less likely to detect the signs of an impending accident. In fact, some go further and contend that the greater ease of driving an automatic leads drivers to take an excessively relaxed view of road safety and do things that they would not normally do while driving, such as fidget with objects or people (especially children) in the car. The countervailing argument to this is that people in cars tend to do this anyway and, if they are going to act so irresponsibly, it is safer that they do it in an automatic-transmission vehicle. 

 

Driver inattention is a factor in approximately 25% of road traffic accidents. Whether an automatic transmission system helps reduce the problem or, in fact, worsens it by making it more frequent, is not completely clear. One study which measured reaction time to hazard stimuli, however, found no significant difference among the drivers of manual or automatic cars.

 

 

More Control With Manual?

 

Many veteran drivers who have experience of both types of transmission system insist that a vehicle with a manual gearbox is safer because it gives them more control. An automatic is, in effect, making guesses about the optimal gear to be in for any given situation. However refined the engineering that makes those guesses has become, it can never equate to the complexity of a human brain and, while an automatic can usually be relied on to make good choices in normal driving conditions, some insist that manual control gives them greater flexibility to react to something unusual, such as a slippery road or a possible collision, by adjusting gears in a non-standard way. 

 

Ultimately, from a safety perspective, neither automatic nor manual transmission would appear to have any decisive advantage over the other. Had it been otherwise, one would probably have displaced the other by now in general use, and insurance companies (which, after all, depend for their profitability on their ability to make relative risk assessments) would reflect the difference in their premiums. Neither of these things has happened so, if you are pondering which transmission type you would like to have in your next vehicle, there is probably no need for you to be unduly concerned with the safety implications of your choice.

 

http://www.safermotoring.co.uk/automatic-manual-cars-which-safer.html