Why didn't you tell me automatics are so good!

[bobmoss]

I went to test drive an XC60 at the weekend with a view to buying it. My main concern was that I'd never really driven an automatic before (I did once in the 1990's!) and always avoided them.

What a revelation! Automatics are great! Why did no-one tell me this before? Why would anyone ever want to mess around moving a metal stick around a box of gears ever again!

So looking forward to picking up my car in a few weeks and never having to use a clutch again!

[cheshired5]

Originally Posted by bobmoss

Why would anyone ever want to mess around moving a metal stick around a box of gears ever again!

Because that's what some people like.

Automatics aren't great across the board but some as you've now found are really quite pleasant to use and exactly the same can be said for manual gearboxes.

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by bobmoss

I went to test drive an XC60 at the weekend with a view to buying it. My main concern was that I'd never really driven an automatic before (I did once in the 1990's!) and always avoided them.

What a revelation! Automatics are great! Why did no-one tell me this before? Why would anyone ever want to mess around moving a metal stick around a box of gears ever again!

So looking forward to picking up my car in a few weeks and never having to use a clutch again!

Some people like a car that they can "properly drive". In an automatic, you can't control the gear as such because it chooses it for you. You can select the gears yourself if there's a tiptronic option, but its not the same as a manual.

[Bonefishblues]

Agree OP. Stick-waggling is all a bit primitive - and irrelevant in most cars tbh.

Even in F1, when a Williams test car started lapping way quicker with a CVT 'box than with a manual, the FIA were quick to ban fully automatic changers.

https://www.auto123.com/en/news/f1-t...3-video/34642/

[ITSv40]

Having had automatics, I prefer to wiggle a stick.

[EssexExile]

I've been driving automatics since my first rented car in the States back in 1978. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner how good they are!

[Polestar Pete]

There's pros and cons about manual and automatic transmissions. For me, the positives outweigh the negatives.

One downside of course that an automatic gearbox can't think ahead, so won't downshift quickly enough when you're turning or navigating a roundabout - it'll only downshift when the engine speed isn't high enough to cope with the lowered road speed.

It is possible to counter this with the use of flappy paddles (where fitted), but many drivers simply won't bother and will be happy to dawdle their way of out roundabouts until the transmission wakes up enough to catch up with what's going on.

Sport mode can also prevent this to a certain extent, but at the expense of keeping the engine speed artificially high to give you the best torque at all times.

Manual gearboxes of course gives you the choice between torque and comfort.

I last owned a manual car about 15 years ago, but I do wear corduroys and slippers....

[RonFleet]

Originally Posted by EssexExile

I've been driving automatics since my first rented car in the States back in 1978. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner how good they are!

Like you, driving a rental in the States (back in 1980) persuaded me that automatics were generally a "good thing" and not the spawn of the devil as I'd believed.