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Automatic Cars

Section_31

By Section_31,
in GF - General Forum

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How come people generally don't like them? Are they shit on hills or something?

Automatics generally cost more to own. They use more fuel (mine averages 29mpg as opposed to manual averages 38mpg) and when they go wrong they can be more expensive to repair. Not sure if they are more expensive to service. Haven't had first one yet.

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Captain Turdseye Grand Master

Captain Turdseye

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How come people generally don't like them? Are they shit on hills or something?

I think it’s because it takes all the effort, and therefore fun, out of driving. We had a Mondeo estate for a while and it had a surprising amount of ooomph once you put your foot down.

 

I did almost fall asleep driving home from night shifts in it a couple of times. When you haven’t got to worry about changing gear it’s much easier to let your mind wander. I wouldn’t be averse to owning another one though.

 

It’d be great if you could get a car that switches easily between the two, depending on the mood that you’re in.

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Chip Butty Grand Master

Chip Butty

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Brilliant to drive, though you do get what you pay for and it's all about the gearbox. Some you feel the gear change and can be quite juddery and will simply, get on your tits after a while. Go a bit further up the market and thats when you start to appreciate a good automatic. Some even have a manual override with them flappy paddle gear change things on the steering wheel. I'd never go back to a gear stick car, to much hassle and effort. 

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Captain Turdseye Grand Master

Captain Turdseye

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I can honestly say I've never felt like changing gears is effort. It happens subconsciously mostly.

 

But I was vehemently against dish washers until I owned one. So maybe you shouldn't listen to me.

I agree. Maybe effort was the wrong word to use on my part. But say you’re in a traffic jam on a steep hill, constantly crawling up the hill in 1st, then 2nd, then stopping, then 1st again is a ball ache sometimes. In an automatic you just lift your foot off the brake and it’ll do all the work for you.

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Karl_b Grand Master

Karl_b

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The wife has a Hyundai i20 automatic and I've driven a few automatic hybrids through work. I know nothing about cars but the Hyundai seems fine for jaunts around town, Toyotas ditto and the Kia Nero is a big, comfortable and powerful car. Never driven anything more upmarket than that.

 

I have no issues with an automatic, I drive a manual about 30% of the time and have no problem switching between the two.

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Trumo Grand Master

Trumo

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Brilliant to drive, though you do get what you pay for and it's all about the gearbox. Some you feel the gear change and can be quite juddery and will simply, get on your tits after a while. Go a bit further up the market and thats when you start to appreciate a good automatic. Some even have a manual override with them flappy paddle gear change things on the steering wheel. I'd never go back to a gear stick car, to much hassle and effort. 

 

The flappy paddles are a bit of a useless fad because of how unsuited they are to modern traffic conditions. Too jerky and it's still too easy to change up or change down by mistake. Most users of cars with that feature end up leaving the gearbox in D and letting it do all the work. Another useless invention is Keyless Entry because it's just an excuse for some lurking thieving cunt to get into your car without breaking in. I just thought I'd get that off my chest even though it's irrelevant to this thread.

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Lario Veteran

Lario

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It depends on the car/gearbox.

 

If it's a "normal" automatic, you'll hear it changing gears, but you'll not be doing anything. A good one will be smooth as silk. A bad one will be jerky as fuck.

If it's a CVT (continuously variable transmission), it's basically like a moped gearbox ie. kinda one big long gear.

If it's an electric car, there are no gears, just the motor.

 

Used prefer manuals when I was a young fella. Proving I could drive, holding it in gear to the redline, doing burnouts, etc. Now I'm a fat 41 year old that spends his life ferrying kids around, changing gears can get to fuck.

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Paulie Dangerously Grand Master

Paulie Dangerously

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I have a 2006 Peugeot 307 auto hand me down from my ma in law.  It's great to drive but is showing it's age now and we just use it as the run-around.  The jump from 3rd to 4th struggles and I usually drive it as a manual if I'm going anywhere with a 40mph road.  The gearbox is on it's way out and when it goes it wont be worth replacing it comparative to the cost of another run around.  Just had a new starter motor put in it and it's purring. 

 

Odd how Autos are pretty much the default in most of europe and the states but over here we stick to manual. 

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the chimp Veteran

the chimp

Posted
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They are ace. Just do it.

 

This. They're boss Mark. With automatic lights, windscreen wipers that start when it rains, and cruise control, nowadays you pretty much just point the car in the direction you want to go and that's it. I never really liked driving that much is the caveat to all of this; I just saw having a car as useful.

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