Automatic or Manual, what do you drive?

[ruuman]

sorry if this has been posted before, but I couldn't find a thread.

Basically I'm talking your daily driver not your weekend thrash mobile.

[Dark_Templer_102]

5 Speed Manual FTW!

[nomix]

Our Outlander has a five speed manual. Not too bad box either.

[Adunaphel]

5 Speed proper manual, hate automatics, they always do what i do not want them to do (shift up when i want down, down when i want up, etc, etc, etc)

[mautzel]

5 speed manual here as well.

[ruuman]

I wanted to confirm a therory, that most european countries drive manuals, I only know two people with auto's, my dad in his special edition defender and his boss with a range rover HSE. Every other euro country I don't think I've seen a single auto. Where as in Canada I didn't see a single manual. All the other people I know from other countries are about a 50% mix, but I don't know many American's.

[KaJuN]

For fun driving, I'd take a manual hands-down. But for just getting around town everyday, I much rather prefer an auto. It's mostly because the everyday type cars here are geared so horribly that constantly shifting is just too much of a chore. The ones I've driven let you get about 15mph per gear before it's time to shift again. If you skip gears, you have no power at all.

BTW, sweet looking Rangie!

[Deanodriver]

In Australia, most cars are automatics, although some (such as smaller cars, utes or sports cars) have a reasonable number of manual examples out there.

I currently drive a manual, but my previous two cars were automatics. I feel that an automatic is fine for a car with a big six-cylinder engine or a V8 (common in this part of the world), but a 4cyl car needs a manual, to make the most of the power that's there.

I've said to myself that I won't buy another 4cyl automatic (my first car was).

The thing is, that there are a fair few people out there that only have automatic licences. Personally, I reckon that auto licences should be reserved for disabled people only, I mean, it's not hard to drive a manual. Even in the city, manual driving isn't that bad.

The problem with automatics is that they're not as responsive, you put the foot down, wait, and then it gets going.

Automatics are well suited to big cruisy sedans with a big engine (which Australia has plenty of), but for a small car? Definitely a manual, more fun to drive, better fuel economy, and generally more gears, so you're more likely to be in the right gear.

[Magnet]

Manual here too, for both cars. I couldn't imagine driving anything else.

[YF19pilot]

Manual on mine. My previous cars, Sentra was a manual, and Grand Prix was an autobox. I prefer manuals my self because I can change when the car shifts depending on my mood, etc. Do I want to go fast or save some gas? I can change the shifting points

[Peter3hg]

5 speed manual. Only know one person who has an auto and thats a Range Rover Vogue (new one).

[D-Fence]

5 speed manual!

[cheffoe]

5 speed manual again... I know only a couple of people driving atomatics (one is a X5 3.0 D and the other is a Merc 190 E ). I personally like manual more, like YF19pilot you can quickly change your drive style depending on your mood. All pretty hard on the clutch though, especially on a small car like mine when you drive through the city in rush hour: you drive in first, then you just have to switch to second, but then after 30 meters you have to stop.. Then first again... Blah blah... Poor clutch

[Peter3hg]

Originally Posted by cheffoe

5 speed manual again... I know only a couple of people driving atomatics (one is a X5 3.0 D and the other is a Merc 190 E ). I personally like manual more, like YF19pilot you can quickly change your drive style depending on your mood. All pretty hard on the clutch though, especially on a small car like mine when you drive through the city in rush hour: you drive in first, then you just have to switch to second, but then after 30 meters you have to stop.. Then first again... Blah blah... Poor clutch

In traffic I often just stay in second although I'm sure it's not too healthy for the car to be starting in second.

[cheffoe]

Originally Posted by Peter3hg

In traffic I often just stay in second although I'm sure it's not too healthy for the car to be starting in second.

Yeah, Peter3hg, I know what you mean, but mine is a 1.2... Neither the engine feels good nor do the gearbox and clutch... I used to do the same in the beginning but then I decided to stop destroing my car

[mancs]

Proper manual, and I would never have an automatic

[Aston Martin]

The way i see it, normal/everyday car should be manual.... unless you get like a 5 litre Merc etc which should be auto.

[zenkidori]

manual bitches. I don't even know anyone who drives auto.

[mmap]

I just switched to an automatic 2 months ago and I LOVE IT!! My daily commute is pure 100% bumber to bumber traffic jam and it's just so easy and stress free to have an automatic...

(not so great for joyriding on country roads, but I do that so rarely anyway that I dont care)

[mautzel]

Originally Posted by ruuman

I wanted to confirm a therory, that most european countries drive manuals, I only know two people with auto's, my dad in his special edition defender and his boss with a range rover HSE. Every other euro country I don't think I've seen a single auto. Where as in Canada I didn't see a single manual. All the other people I know from other countries are about a 50% mix, but I don't know many American's.

Thinking of my friends, there hardly isn't anybody who drives an automatic. Then I thought about the cars my and my friends parents are driving and struggled to find a car with a manual gearbox. I think age plays a very important role in the question about whether you're driving an automatic or manual shifted car in Europe (Okay, older people usually are driving bigger cars as well, but generally I think that Automatic gearboxes are much more popular than you think even in Europe!)