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6 or 7 years ago I owned my only automatic after a few mostly poor experiences hiring, especially in the US. It was pleasant enough in traffic jams, but everyw

6 or 7 years ago I owned my only automatic after a few mostly poor experiences hiring, especially in the US. It was pleasant enough in traffic jams, but everywhere else it was compromised - it'd change gear when I'd prefer it didn't, preferred to drive like a limousine driver (slow, and very steady, slow gentle changes) to such an extent that I had to keep it permanently in sport mode, though it was far from sporty. The book figures said it gave just about the same economy as the manual version, but real life use gave me far further from those than I ever remember experiencing with a manual. I'll never have another unless it is a sporty thing with 8 speed, paddles and a prancing horse on the bonnet.

mjevans 10y ago
I'm just going to venture that most who DO own automatics frequently experience 'heavy traffic'.
- Broken_Hippo 10y ago
  In the US, no: Most folks simply own automatics, regardless of where they live.
- gvurrdon 10y ago
  The only time I recall wishing I had one was when I was driving through London (normally something I avoid at all costs) and got stuck in very slow traffic for about two hours.
Karnickel 10y ago
> it'd change gear when I'd prefer it didn't, That may be an issue with the particular model? In all the "automatics" I drove, American as well as Japanese models (the latter only several Hondas), I had no problem to know and control very precisely when the shift up or down would occur. I would drive up a hill and I knew exactly if I pressed down just a millimeter more the care would shift, which I delayed from happening until the ascend got less steep. That level of control was easy to get with only a little bit of experience with the specific car/transmission.
- anexprogrammer 10y ago
  Oh you could certainly affect the point of change with position of right foot. But that makes for as much of a compromise. Now you might have to back off mid turn instead. I suspect I'd have noticed or cared far less if more of my vehicles hadn't been sports and I'd bought more mobile sofas, driving accordingly. :) Overall I prefer the lazy V8 approach to avoiding gearchanges - have vast torque on tap.

mjevans 10y ago

I'm just going to venture that most who DO own automatics frequently experience 'heavy traffic'.

Broken_Hippo 10y ago
In the US, no: Most folks simply own automatics, regardless of where they live.
gvurrdon 10y ago
The only time I recall wishing I had one was when I was driving through London (normally something I avoid at all costs) and got stuck in very slow traffic for about two hours.

Karnickel 10y ago

> it'd change gear when I'd prefer it didn't, That may be an issue with the particular model? In all the "automatics" I drove, American as well as Japanese models (the latter only several Hondas), I had no problem to know and control very precisely when the shift up or down would occur. I would drive up a hill and I knew exactly if I pressed down just a millimeter more the care would shift, which I delayed from happening until the ascend got less steep. That level of control was easy to get with only a little bit of experience with the specific car/transmission.

anexprogrammer 10y ago
Oh you could certainly affect the point of change with position of right foot. But that makes for as much of a compromise. Now you might have to back off mid turn instead. I suspect I'd have noticed or cared far less if more of my vehicles hadn't been sports and I'd bought more mobile sofas, driving accordingly. :) Overall I prefer the lazy V8 approach to avoiding gearchanges - have vast torque on tap.