Getting used to and driving an automatic.

[Feek]

I've always driven a manual, only every now and then have I had cause to drive an automatic and I've never been a great fan when I have.

Since friday I've been driving our FD's old BMW 525i as he's got a new car and this one is due to go off to auction. The feekmobile is awaiting an alternator so I asked if I could borrow the beamoir.

It's automatic.

I don't have a foot problem, I don't keep pecking at a non-existant clutch but I really can't get used to it. I think it's trust, I'm so used to controlling the gears manually that I cant accept the car doing it. Today on the way home I put it into tiptronic mode and just tried changing gear as and when I'd do it normally and it felt a lot better but I'm still not really happy with it.

Before I drove it, I was seriously considering putting in an offer for it but I've lost all interest. Sure, it's a nice car, it's a big car so ideal for the family but it does drink fuel and I just don't like the bloody gearbox.

I'm sure that in time I'd adjust and be happy with it but it just feels like I'm not in control.

It makes me so glad I'm not an american as I understand something like 90% of all their cars are automatics.

[Jasper]

i know what you mean. the first automatic i drove was a ford galaxy. i'd only driven hatches up until then, so it was a massive change in more than one respect!

i can totally empathise with you on the trust thing...i see changing gear as an integral part of driving...it'd be so boring if you didnt have that!

i don't know about the figures, but it's an awfully large percentage of american cars that are autos.

[Will]

3rded - Automatics just don't light my fire at all.. yes they are great for lazy driving if you have a powerful torquey engine - but in essence it's so much nicer being in control of the clutch and gears. For a start you can slip the clutch if you have to - whereas you can't on an automatic. You have more control over your engine. FACT. And it can be driven harder more safely as you're more in control.

Feek it just proves you're not ready to be old ;)

[Piggymon]

Depends on the car really, when I was looking at FTOs there was no way in hell I was getting a Tip version, that car needed abusing and to abuse properly you need a manual

The BMW however I wasn't bothered about, we've ended up with an Auto and I actually prefer driving it ... it's the lazy car :p

[Garp]

I can't stand the auto gearbox on my Corsa, but I'm sure thats as much down to its gear ratios as anything else.

There are times when its nice. Driving gets to be effortless for urban driving where you'd be forever making gear changes, however I often argue with my car about when it chooses to make gear changes when out on the roads oftentimes seemingly cutting out when its part-way through its power band.

[Feek]

I drove it all the way to work today using the manual up/down shift thing and it was better but I still didn't feel in control.

I'm sure that it is changing gear at the right time, I'm sure it's doing it for the right reasons to give me the power I want when I need it but I just don't like it. If the car were manual I'd be putting the kids on eBay to buy it, but no. It's not happening.

I also don't think it's good for safety, one becomes complacent and lazy. Yuck.

However.
I love the fact that the car has 'reversing' sensors on the front! :D

[Garp]

I also don't think it's good for safety, one becomes complacent and lazy. Yuck.

I don't find that myself to be honest, if anything I'm more attentive to whats going on and react faster than ever I did as a manual driver. No faffing about with gears, just react with full concentration on the road and the other cars.

[Burble]

I'm not a huge fan of auto boxes unless there is a nice torquey engine under the bonnet - the torque convertor robs too much grunt and also hurts the fuel economy.

When in the US I've little choice but to drive an auto. This week I have a Dodge something-or-other with the worst auto box I've ever driven!

I may slag off auto's, but my next car will have DSG which is pretty much auto with a few bells and whistles.

[leowyatt]

I've only ever driven autos when driving in the states and have to say the Honda & Mazda I drove were great, they were responsive, though that was probably down to the engine.

However the latest car we had which was a Dodge Calibur was dreadful the car had as much power as a moped and changed gears stupidly. I would seriously consider an auto in my next car.

[Fayshun]

I hired a Dodge Stratus 3.0l when I was in the states last. First and only automatic I have driven. Took some getting used to and it was the first time I'd driven on the wrong side of the road too.

In 2 weeks I managed to put 3000+ miles on it :eek: I loved that car, even though I got caught speeding in it, 85 on a clear, dry, straight, flat, empty interstate :( Had the fat sheriff clocked me 10 mins earlier he'dve clocked me at 100 :D

</OT nostalgic ramble>

[PeterNem]

First and only time I've drven an auto was a 3.5 V6 Pontial C6 when I drove in the states for the first time this summer.

I wouldn't want to live with it, I like having to change gears manually, but I didn't dislike it and for the two weeks I had it, it was fine.

[Jonny69]

The 'box seems to make or break an automatic. I drove a 2 litre Lexus LS200 and it was horrible, changing gear when you didn't want it to, then it would hold in a gear you don't want and it drank petrol. Merc 260 was great but it had loads of grunt. 1984 Z28 Camaro with 300-foot pounds of torque is really awesome. It has no top end power at all but the engine just has loads of power whenever you press the pedal and it's at about 1200-1500rpm at 70mph. And then there's my girlfriend's Renault Scenic 2 litre auto which is a nice box and is always in the gear you want and gives back 41mpg on the motorway.

My mate has an S Type Jag and that's a lovely smooth box but the engine is very powerful in that and before he had an FTO which was a harsh but good box and quick to change gears.

[Justsomebloke]

I think it depends on the motor aswell.
These days i don't mind them so much as ABS makes stopping them possible. When young Autos were crap as without the gears you just couldn't stop the kin things.
Being an old git i quite like cruising around in a big coff armchair only using the stop and go pedals. I can't tell you what it leaves my hands free to do as i will be Forum hung from the nearest high beam.
You do have to drive them differently though with a different state of mind. Lots of Music, food, drink, smokes, phone calls, passenger chats to keep you busy while you float about cruise style. :cool:

[Belmit]

If you lived in the US you'd be begging for an automatic after about a month. As soon as you get off the freeway in most towns you'll be parked at red lights for minutes at a time, sometimes stopping at every single block even with no other traffic about. When you have to travel twenty or thirty miles just to get to the nearest mall and you can't go above 65 on the freeway, suddenly it matters very little how quickly you accelerate away from anything. Plus, as soon as you leave a busy city, 95% of drivers become zombies. No-one is in a rush to go anywhere, and they blindly follow traffic rules regardless of other road users - barely anyone lets anyone else out at junctions, and since it's people entering form side-roads in residential areas that have right of way there are stop signs on the main thoroughfare every time there's a junction... and every single person will come to almost a complete stop at them whether it's painfully obvious that there's no-one there or not.

I'm no fan of autos but in the US it makes far more sense... not that this has any bearing on your situation though Feek!

[Feek]

But it's soooo boring.

And especially boring, as it's a BMW I don't need to either indicate at all or worry about parking between the lines in car parks.

[Desmo]

I love the auto box on ours. I hate driving my manual car now and when I do swap cars I'm 90% guaranteeing I get an auto.

[Blackstar]

My dad wants me to learn to drive to automatic, in case we are ever out and he is unable to drive. Usually we take my car, both mum and dad's are automatics but just in case. I don't think i'm going to like it.

[Treefrog]

I've only ever driven one auto and I hated it! Like Vixen I do enjoy the precision you get from having a clutch when manouevring in confined spaces - plus it's what I'm used to. Maybe if I had to drive one for long enough I might change my opinion - but it's not something I want to learn.

[lostkat]

But it's soooo boring.

And especially boring, as it's a BMW I don't need to either indicate at all or worry about parking between the lines in car parks.
lol :D

I've driven an Automatic Range Rover through London, which was bloody great because I was only about 19 at the time and it was my first drive through London with my Dad. It was motorway driving and inner city driving, so perfect for that really.

I've also driven our old works 3 litre jag, which was an Auto. I jammed my foot on the brake by accident a couple of times thinking it was the clutch, and scared my passenger to death :embarassed:. I was also 25 by this time and wanted to see what it could do in the lanes from my house. Unfortunately, I couldn't :( Again, great on the motorway or in towns, but when you actually want to have a play with a big powerful car, it's so disappointing.

[mejinks]

.... And then there's my girlfriend.... which is a nice box and is always in the gear you want and gives back 41mpg on the motorway.



Am I the only one that turned that into "my girlfriend has a nice box"?

I am smutted out reading these forums today... Thanks Haly and Blackstar.

[Garp]

My dad wants me to learn to drive to automatic, in case we are ever out and he is unable to drive. Usually we take my car, both mum and dad's are automatics but just in case. I don't think i'm going to like it.

Learn to drive manual, then you can drive an automatic on your licence. Its what I've done. The transition to automatic from manual is a doddle.

[Burble]

After a week or so of driving an auto, it felt so, so nice to get back into a manual when I got back to Heathrow!

Apparently the Stratus I had was a 3l v6 but it couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding and it handled like the shocks were filled with mollases.

[Will]

So pretty good for an american car then?! :p

[Burble]

Probably the best yank tank I've driven ;)

[Jonny69]

Am I the only one that turned that into "my girlfriend has a nice box"?

I am smutted out reading these forums today... Thanks Haly and Blackstar.
My girlfriend has a very smooth box that gets rough when it's not looked after.