What transmission for first car?

[spyder]

In the next couple of months I will be obtaining my first car. It's going to be a hatchback with a small engine size. My only question is whether it should be an automatic or manual?

 

I have driven a manual when I was learning how to drive, also driven my sibling's BMW which is a manual under temporary insurance cover. I only had less than 2 mins experience in an automatic (friend's car) but it did feel kind of weird that I don't need to change gears or use my left foot. 

 

I'm slightly leaning towards an auto based on the fact that its easier to move along a hill rather than a manual (unless you count the new cars which provide break assist on a steep incline). If I get the hang of the biting point and utilize the e-break (handbreak) on a hill then it would be of no issue to me if I drive a manual. 

 

What would you recommend? 

[alexyy]

Manual far more common especially here so more choice but as you live in London if you do regularly see a lot of traffic auto may be the way to go for you.

[Omon_Ra]

3 minutes ago, alexyy said:

as you live in London if you do regularly see a lot of traffic auto may be the way to go for you.

I would say go with a manual unless you do a lot of city driving. Manuals you can push start if the battery dies, generally get better gas mileage and are just more fun to drive. If you're in a lot of stop and go traffic, it's horrible though.

[spyder]

10 minutes ago, alexyy said:

Manual far more common especially here so more choice but as you live in London if you do regularly see a lot of traffic auto may be the way to go for you.

The last bit is 100% true, its god awful around here especially either during the morning rush hour or early evening especially right after school finishes (surrounded in my area)

5 minutes ago, Omon_Ra said:

I would say go with a manual unless you do a lot of city driving. Manuals you can push start if the battery dies, generally get better gas mileage and are just more fun to drive. If you're in a lot of stop and go traffic, it's horrible though.

I have experienced being in traffic, yeah it does sort of become a pain when all your doing is creeping forward for like half an hour. 

[straight_stewie]

1 hour ago, spyder said:

In the next couple of months I will be obtaining my first car. It's going to be a hatchback with a small engine size. My only question is whether it should be an automatic or manual?

Well, usually people wear out the clutch pretty fast on their first manual. So decide based on your maintenance requirements if you are comfortable with both.

[Unimportant]

Manual.

 

If you can drive with a manual you can also drive an automatic, but not the other way around.

It's also much more fun and fuel efficient as an automatic box weighs more in most cases.

 

I can't imagine why you'd ever want an automatic, so boring

[AlwaysFSX]

If you're going to be driving the car a lot especially in traffic, don't get a manual unless you hate your left leg.

[johnny5c]

38 minutes ago, straight_stewie said:

Well, usually people wear out the clutch pretty fast on their first manual. So decide based on your maintenance requirements if you are comfortable with both.

Very true, I have a 2011 Mustang GT "graduation present" sitting in my shop that made it less than two months before the clutch started slipping.  Granted having a 400hp Coyote engine speeds up the wear on the plates but it's still a costly repair on any car. 

 

One positive thing about driving a manual is that it keeps you a lot more focused on the road.

[Monte_Carlo]

Depends on the car, and year of car.  While older manuals are more efficient, modern cars have finally caught up in terms of shift speed and fuel economy benefits.  In the end a manual can't match the spread of a CVT or 7+ speed autos.  Also some manuals are atrocious enough to have them be a drawback no matter then scenario vs. an automatic. 

 

Personally... my bias will always go towards manual.  Easier to maintain, cheaper to repair if shit goes bad, and generally more reliable.  Fuel economy will remain a wash since your driving habits will affect your driving quite a bit.  A decent manual car won't be that much worse to drive in traffic, and will without a doubt make you focus on the road more.  Also damn fun.  With enough practice, hills will pose no challenge or even inconvenience.  Unless some jackass tails you up a hill. 

 

 

[pagani123]

I personally prefer manual but i know first hand that if you are in traffic your leg is going to be sore 

[ShiftHitTheFan]

If you live in a city with more than 100k people, auto. If you're like me, and live over 2 hours away from the closest city, manual.

[Mug]

If you were my mate, I'd disown you if you bought an automatic.

 

Like your only qualm is when you're on a hill but trust me, after about a week you'll know exactly where your bite is so you'll do hill starts like a boss.

[dalekphalm]

22 minutes ago, Mug said:

If you were my mate, I'd disown you if you bought an automatic.

 

Like your only qualm is when you're on a hill but trust me, after about a week you'll know exactly where your bite is so you'll do hill starts like a boss.

I'm glad none of my friends are uptight car elitists

 

I own an Automatic as my daily driver, and wouldn't trade it for a manual. Yeah manuals are "fun", but when I have to drive through a city to get to-and-from work, and have to occasionally drive between locations while at work? A manual? Hell no. Not worth the annoyance.

 

Also to those saying manuals are more efficient: Yes and no

1. Modern automatics only lose a tiny amount of fuel efficiency - so little that it makes no difference

2. Your driving habits are SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT when looking at fuel efficiency. If you're one of those dudes who likes to accelerate quickly all the time and rev the engine up, well that's going to be even easier with a manual, and thus you'll probably waste even more fuel.

3. If I want to drive "fast" and "fun", my car has both a manual mode (Where I can change gears on the fly, just don't need to worry about the clutch), and a Sport Mode, that revs the engine higher and faster. For normal driving? The eco mode is just fine and keeps my fuel consumption in check very nicely.

 

I would only ever get a Manual car if I were getting a second car that was a "weekender/fun" car only.

 

Also a manual will not inherently make you pay more attention to the road. Especially since once you've been driving manual a while, the motions become second nature. You don't even think about shifting up or down or hitting the clutch, etc.

 

Whether you're paying attention to the road or not, and to what degree, has nothing to do with Auto vs Manual.

[Mug]

6 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

I'm glad none of my friends are uptight car elitists

 

haha, all in jest  

[dalekphalm]

3 minutes ago, Mug said:

haha, all in jest  

I once went on a date with a girl who said that she would never drive an Automatic, under any circumstances, ever.

 

I asked her "What if your grandma bought you an auto car?" She said no one in her family would ever do that. She also said if she ever won an automatic car, she'd sell it and buy a less good manual car.

 

I mean... I know that some people really like manuals, but man... talk about stubborn