Why do people still persist with manual cars?

[Boba fett]

My PDK box (2011 997) seems to always know the right gear to be in. Slight press of the pedal and it'll drop a ratio or 2, kick all the way down and it'll pick the lowest gear to give it the full beans.

Braking hard, it picks the right gear for me to be in to accelerate out of the corner almost every time. In fact the more I get to know it, the more I think that's very impressive.

Well behaved on hill starts.

Had a 2016 Cayman S on loan yesterday and the PDK in that is even better.

However it's awful with reverse when cold! Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing.... oh god I'm heading towards the garage backwards at 30!!!!

All Autos in performance cars are rubbish, they are just good at making a bad driver good or quick

 

[spiderlane]

You can't push start them to get to a garage

Yes, good point. Although I'd read you're not supposed to bump start cars with catalytic converters (unburnt fuel I suppose) Still done it many times though.

 

[spiderlane]

they are just good at making a bad driver good or quick

Mine's definitely broken then!

Edit - Context is important though - I love the feeling of a well connected, heel and toed down change into a bend, but those are miles I drive for pleasure. Autos all the way for drudge work.

 

[pothole]

If you can understand why you might want to drive at all rather than entirely give up on driving and ride in an autonomous car, you can understand why someone would want a manual box.

You just have difference preferences for which parts of the driving process you'd prefer to be automated.

Personally, if I couldn't have a manual box, I'd find something else to waste my time on that cars. Auto boxes completely kill a driver's car for me.

 

[Whytar]

Why cook dinner when you can order take out?

Well, there is a sense of immense satisfaction that one gets when ingredients are sourced, washed, prepped, chopped, saute'd and brought together to deliver a taste sensation.

Yes, you can get someone else to do it, but when you do it yourself it's just better.

 

[MNC911]

There was a lad the other week in Wilmslow who completely backed the traffic up all day because of his Range Rover Evoque automatic gearbox. I tried to help him as we've got the Autobiography Evoque. Basically it was an electronic error on the dial to go into drive or reverse. The AA couldn't fix it & Range Rover Assist came & couldn't fix it. It couldn't be pushed out of the way, just sat there in embarrassment for hours until a four-wheel vertical lift could grab vertically onto a flatbed.

Moral of the story if the automatic goes duff, it's going to be embarrassing, long wait, non fixable at the roadside, expensive to recover and possibly very very expensive.

Have you seen how expensive a PDK transmission unit is to replace or repair? You'll see to be sitting down when they give you a quote and be prepared not to have a Christmas card from the bank manager that year ha ha!

 

[spongebob squarepants]

I've just got back from a 4 day break in Jersey during which time I did 155 miles in a brand new Vauxhall Corsa. The 3 cylinder 1 litre Turbo is all you need in an island where 30 mph is the norm and the national speed limit is 40 so I had no issues with lack of power.

The biggest thing for me was the fact that it had a manual gearbox. It all functioned very well and I was very pleased that I didn't stall or find myself in the wrong gear once but it only took me a couple of hours to start asking the question ...... Why, in the 21st Century, would anybody choose to buy a manual car for everyday use?

NB: I'm not attempting to reignite any Manual v Tiptronic/PDK debate so I'm not referring to sporty type cars I'm querying why so many 'ordinary' car drivers choose to buy a three pedal car.

Once upon a time small-engined automatic cars were rare and the ones that did exist were horrid to drive. Nowadays however most cars are available with a 2 pedal option and almost all perform well enough for the lack of 'ccs' not to be an issue. Despite this, every day, I witness people (especially oldies and women) crunching their changes, rolling back on slopes and struggling to manoeuvre when parking and they really can't enjoy 'stop-starting' in traffic.

It's 12 years now since I last owned a manual car although I have still driven them occasionally but it was only this week that I really got to thinking how, for 90% of people, it just doesn't make sense.

It got me wondering as to why UK car owners have never cottoned on to automatics for regular use.

Thoughts :?:

+1! After 15 years as a driving Instructor I'd agree 100%. After spending many hours on clutch and gear control ( including now in Iraq) most people exhibit very poor vehicle control, autos are the way forward. Just picked up a Land Rover Discovery Sport 9 speed Auto tonight and it's wonderful.

 

[chrisu]

Manual = Motorcycle

Auto = car

Wife has 2 manual cars but mine are all auto...

 

[kas750]

I can't imagine driving a boxster with a manual box.It makes so much sense particularly when the top is down and you are wafting around the country lanes.

 

[Alex]

Just been out in my 'manual' 996 tonight and covered a few miles of local ground. 2nd gear does everything from 10mph to 65mph. Why have an auto?

 

[infrasilver]

I would never have a daily with an auto trans, I just enjoy mixing the pudding, whatever the engine size.

 

[igaffz]

Dog leg manual in my 928. If your moving its ok but any sort of stop go traffic and it truly awful, bet it would convert you lot to autos lol.

 

[T8]

There was a lad the other week in Wilmslow who completely backed the traffic up all day because of his Range Rover Evoque automatic gearbox. I tried to help him as we've got the Autobiography Evoque. Basically it was an electronic error on the dial to go into drive or reverse. The AA couldn't fix it & Range Rover Assist came & couldn't fix it. It couldn't be pushed out of the way, just sat there in embarrassment for hours until a four-wheel vertical lift could grab vertically onto a flatbed.

:? regarding this argument.

For every car broken down at the roadside due to a broken slushbox I bet there's been hundreds of manual cars stranded with broken clutch cables etc.

 

[T8]

Just been out in my 'manual' 996 tonight and covered a few miles of local ground. 2nd gear does everything from 10mph to 65mph. Why have an auto?

Sorry Alex. I've already done that one to death to prove my point. :grin:

=> That argument works both ways

 

[infrasilver]

There was a lad the other week in Wilmslow who completely backed the traffic up all day because of his Range Rover Evoque automatic gearbox. I tried to help him as we've got the Autobiography Evoque. Basically it was an electronic error on the dial to go into drive or reverse. The AA couldn't fix it & Range Rover Assist came & couldn't fix it. It couldn't be pushed out of the way, just sat there in embarrassment for hours until a four-wheel vertical lift could grab vertically onto a flatbed.

:? regarding this argument.

For every car broken down at the roadside due to a broken slushbox I bet there's been hundreds of manual cars stranded with broken clutch cables etc.

knock it into neutral and push it :?:

or drive it