princessyin

i know for some cars having automatic transmission is a must, i.e luxury cars and pushes the value up. But does the same theory apply for supermini hatches?

Dilbrain

Not unless you are an idiot...........

what would scooby do

Having driven a Corsa automatic - loan car honest..

It made me feel quite ill driving it, lurch, lurch etc etc.

Mercs with autos are fine..

WRX Wannabe

Well last year my big end went on the Scooby

Had it fixed but never felt the same to drive

I px it back in for the Yrv Turbo

The car my not be much to look at(but in black as mine looks ok)

It has shift steer on the wheel and is VERY smooth

0-62under 8 sec 1/4 16.8(so far) and IMO drivers very well

Corsa was crap compaired to mine and saxo is not very good(so i have been told)

logiclee

Supermini's are usually bought to be economical runabout's with a decent purchase price.
Auto's usually kill economy and performnace especially on small power output cars and £1000 option could be a 15% increase on purchase price on some supermini's. Second hand you loose the money as second hand buyers don't want to loose the economy and are scared off with possible expensive problems. Also having compact boxes with small torque convertors make getting decent response and shift quality difficult.

On Luxury cars an auto box increases the luxury feel, economy and performance are not significantly altered and as a percentage of purchase price an auto is not an expensive option and on higher end models are standard. Second hand buyers who are buying into the luxury feel will expect an auto box so manuals are not as sought after with lower resale values.

CVT boxes and clutchless manuals are muddying the waters a bit and can be a sought after option on some supermini's

Lee

Franx

An automatic, around town at least, is nice, as evidently you don't have to change gear, but you do have to keep you foot on the brake when pootling along in traffic, which amounts to the same thing imo.
I had an old Range Rover with auto transmission, which was nice along the motorway, and in town.

The only thing I'm not sure about with the auto, is that you can't really change down, when you're hurtling towards a corner, and that isn't too good.

I'd probably buy an auto in most cars.

logiclee

Modern Auto's do not creep as much as old boxes, a few mph is about all with all feet off the pedals and a slight brush of the brakes to hold then stationary. Some Auto's especially when mated to diesels have no creep at all.

Most also allow you to change down via tiptronic style shifters, paddles or straight gear lever. Modern ECU controlled boxes also change down under braking and will hold lower gear when a down hill descent is detected.

Cheers
Lee

Spoon

You can come down the box with a vengeance in an auto if you so wish.

It's a simple nudge back on the lever to drop from top 1 gear, then any lower, you'll need to depress the button whilst nudging the lever back.

Can't be any simpler.

clarence

U can change down manually even if u don't have Tiptronic-style override facility. Just select '3' or '2' instead of 'D' when u're braking for a corner. Of course, it would help if u know which gear exactly the gearbox is in, but I found that once u got used to driving an auto, u'll know which gear it's in as if u've got a sixth-sense.
I found that u can still have fun driving an auto, & u can develop techniques on using the gearbox efficiently.

Tiggs

i would never drive a manual again....my 540 was auto and so is my wifes V6 galaxy.......both are fast cars and suffer nothing for the auto. (econ. may be worse? dont know, dont care)

in dec i am getting a Z4 and it will be auto without a doubt. the only time i would have a manual is if the engine was tiny...otherwise auto every time.

T

camk

modern auto/tiptronic boxes are very good. I've driven Audi,BMW and Porsche auto/tiptronics...all were good. All change down on braking and Porsche does not change up if the car is in a bend. I probably would make it one of the must haves in any car i bought in the future. The only caveat I would say is that its a better experience the more power you have in the engine.

Cheers
Cammy

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Have to agree about the Corsa auto, my father in law had one as a shopping car which is still hanging round despite him having bought himself and my Mother in Law new cars which are smaller and remove the need for a shopping car, truly horrible to make progress in, slow, noisy lurching contraption, it is however taxed,Mot'd and insured for any driver, hence its great for me to borrow when I am embarking on one of my repair jobs on my car or as something to leave at the pub, no self respecting ****** would nick it.

Gary C

Auto's ? Not for me,

Stick shift every time, would not even consider a paddle shift or sequential boxes on a road car. Not because they are worse or better, but because I like the involvment of changing gear and to be in total control. I decide exactly when and which gear and its my fault if I get it wrong, but then I feel good when I get it right with a bit of toe and heel.

Interesting to note quite a few road testers of the Enzo find themselves wishing for a manual box, even to preferring to drive an F50 & the 288GTO in a recent test.

Spoon

You can choose which gear you are in with an auto, you can have the same input if you wish. Most people choose to not want to know this.
Manual selection with an auto is manual selection.

This'll be more about letting people know that they think they are *real* drivers and nothing more. After all, most testers would be shown a clean pair of heels by a *proper* driver in a less powerful car anyway.

An auto driven properly is unnoticeable to a manual but to some (read most) it's just not credible enough to admit.

logiclee

You missed the last bit of my post mate, I said you could just use the gear selector to change down.

I currently run an auto, I love them when they are in the right car. Wouldn't have an Auto Evo and wouldn't have a Manual Jag.
Have previously owned an SMG as well, the new one's are very good. Don't believe the crap of the motoring Jurno's.

The fastest car round top gears track is an auto and would anyone turn their nose up at a DB9 or call it uninvolving to drive?

Try anyone of the AMG55 Mercs even though they use the old 5 speed auto not the new 7 speeder the driving experience is awesome.

Lee

WRX Wannabe

LOL

I drive my car like a car with gears but use the wheel to change gears

I never use the auto box in drive as it's far more fun with shift steer and i can keep my revs higher,thus my turbo is spinning faster

Dilbrain

I thought the thread was a **** take , hence my retort.
My C36 feels great with its 5 spd box , as did my previous 540 , super mini with auto? Let's hear from the OP again to see what they meant.
I'm lost , me...

Franx

Indeed you can. I never used it very often when I had the car though. A Rangie just doesn't really demand that kind of use of the 'box, as you're hardly going to stick it into a corner anyway...
I've never tried a faster automatic car though, but I can appreciate that it works...

MattN

Auto's a re great IMo on bigger cars.

Tiptronic is also pretty good but I found I always left it in Auto mode anyway. Kickdown is always a bit of good fun.

My Lexus was a great Auto and the sport button did all manor of things to make the car more sporty.

DavidChief

I hate autos. Whenever I drive an auto car I really miss the clutch and the ability to have complete control over gear selection.

I've driven a big Merc S500 which has a very competent auto box, but all the same I didn't enjoy the experience!

Gary C

Spoon, stop having a go at me

The point was not about being a 'real' driver. I enjoy driving manuals because I feel more involved. Its not about being faster, or better but to me more fun. Being the fastest driver on the road is pointless, its about enjoying the drive.

I find manual shifting with an auto box less satisfying, in the ones I have driven you cant be as precise when changing and the torque converter robs the car of some of the throttle response. They are though without doubt more relaxing and great about town.

I suppose in someways I enjoy a manual because its in someways not as easy and you have to work harder at your driving.

Tiggs

my dad used to enjoy cranking his engine over....then he thought aauto choke was to fancy......and dont start him on leccy windows

in 10 years all cars will run auto manual boxes with stuff like BM's SMG and Audis DSG leading the way.

T

princessyin

Been looking at a really nice mini cooper but the only negative point is that its a automatic- if i buy will this cause me problems when i come to re-sell?

workshy_fopp

I wouldn't buy an auto Mini. It's not a proper auto (cvt), doesn't suit the car (engine too small) and it's supposed to be unreliable.
So yes, bad for re-sale.

Phil M

I recently had the pleasure of driving brand new 330 sport auto, X5 4.4V8 auto, 330cd manual, M3 SMG and M3csl SMG.

and came to the conclusion for an everyday car to run in something like a merc or bm i'd have to have an auto ( wouldn't think about it if it were an astra). but then at the same time i'd have to have something in the garage as a toy too, but that would be a smg equipped car over manual.. and it could never be an auto

RRH

the motor trade seem to like autos in some of the smaller cars. many older people are buying them, and have been used to auto / aircon / etc etc in their former cars but want something smaller.

hence auto in a supermini doesn't always damage the value.

Spoon

Gary- It wasn't directed at you but my thoughts on the journo's being lucky enough to drive these cars but not actually being very good drivers in a lot of cases.

I hear your point and accept your views. All the auto's I've driven have either had big n/a engines or big powered turbos and have been robbed of nothing as demonstrated many times when up against either the manual equivalent or something else deemed quicker on paper.
If you hold a gear manually and listen for the engine note then you can shift right at the optimum point, losing very few revs. The same can be said for coming down the box.

You can certainly make more mistakes in a manual but a good auto driven hard can certainly be very involving all the same.

camk

you need to live with a modern auto for some time, then you will grow to love it. Test drives don't cut it.

Dilbrain

Is everyone daft or what?
The question above asks ,...read it......
Do super minis etc need auto transmission/must/push the value up etc.?
The question isn't directed at big N/a or turbo driven cars ( I have had both , C36 /300zx) but at super mini cars ...........Hello?

Dilbrain

Uh huh