Driving an automatic - Advice please

[LittleMinx]

Due to me having problems with my knees and hips we have decided to sell our manual car and get an automatic, the doctor said it will be less strain on me as the clutch side is my worst side.

Anyway, i learnt in a manual and have never driven an auto... and my OH has always said they are boring to drive!! Now i love driving, but hate the pain so an auto is the only way to go. Looking at getting a Vectra or Zafira

Are they easy to drive and are they really boring?

Pros and cons please girls xx

 

[dgirllamius]

I have a smart car, and it's soooooo fun to drive! It's such a lazy persons car xD

It might just be mine, but it doesn't have a lot of acceleration. Other cars might be different.

Once you've had it a while, you'll wonder why you ever started off with a manual.

I won't stick to an automatic though, I want (and need) a VW Golf so will have to go back to a manual, but I definitely recommend an automatic, they're not boring at all.

 

[LittleMinx]

Thanks for replying I love smart cars, they look so cool... I have found some lovely Zafiras and am getting quite excited, i put off driving as i know it will result in pain... so knowing i will be able to jump in the car and drive is awesome.

xx

 

[twinkle1975]

I've got an automatic - it wasn't a choice but my lovely boss gave me his wife's old car for free. When I first started driving it I put it into neutral a couple of times at the traffic lights & then forgot I had & wondered why I wasn't moving! But now it's fine, as dg says it doesn't accelerate that well once you're going I don't find it much different from driving a manual car.

I'm glad you'll be able to drive without being in pain! xx

 

[embo216]

No they aren't boring to drive! Ive only ever driven auto's and currently have a 330 BMW, its so much fun to drive and I feel like I can enjoy it more because Im not having to worry about the clutch and the gears

 

[LittleMinx]

Thanks girls.. I've found some lovely 2.2l Zafiras, I do like me a powerful car xx

 

[embo216]

oh me too!

 

[Tegans Mama]

I drive an auto. I have an 11 plate Fiesta, sometimes I have to kick it down gears to get it to speed up but other than that it's perfect

 

[LittleMinx]

Oooof! 3l V6 Vectra Sri ... think I'm in love. Cant wait to get my new car now

 

[embo216]

You'll love it!

 

[LittleMinx]

Even my OH is excited now! xx

 

[lauzie84]

I only just passed my test in an auto. They are definitely not boring to drive. I drive an audi a4 estate, which has sports mode and a thing where you can select the gears yourself. good luck with the new car. xx

 

[LittleMinx]

Thanks for the replies girls.. well we have found a few we like. Going with a Vectra and we are tempted by the 2.8 V6, 0-60 in 6.6 seconds But the tax is £475 a year .. So might have to go with the 3.0 V6 or the 1.9 sri.

Will let you all know what we get and how she is to drive

 

[binxyboo]

Another Smart car driver here. I love driving it. It is soooo easy!!

 

[LoraLoo]

I was given an automatic as a courtesy car when someone wrote mine off. Took a bit of getting used to, and i hated it at first, but when it came to giving it back, i really didnt want to. I would definately have one again x

 

[LittleMinx]

We are going for a Vauxhall which have the tiptronic gearbox, means my OH can have more of a manual control I know it won't be quite the same for him, but i need to drive with school runs, hospital appointments ect!

Just selling our car and then we will be finding our new one x

 

[Marima]

I'm one of the few people who thinks automatic is boring. Yeah, it's easy but to me it feels boring. So if I buy my own car, it'll be manual

 

[LoraLoo]

They are dead easy to drive but if you learnt in a manual it is boring as you have less control over the car.

The worst thing is changing up and down can be slow depending on the car you have.

The best thing is that on a hill you don't have to do the clutch balancing!

The one i had, had a gear thingy on the steering wheel, so you could knock the gears up or down if you wanted xx

 

[suzib76]

Years ago my gran bought a new car and she gave us her automatic Clio as a second car. I kept the scenic we had at the time and dh used the Clio for running back and forward to work. He drives a bus and they are all auto now so it didn't bother him much, but I am a driver and I love to drive, which means I felt a bit lost without me gears

 

[Nibblenic]

I would try a tip-tronic vaxhall before you by it. I have had terrible experiences with tiptronic vaxhalls but the autos are some of the best in the field.

Ive had a auto and tip-tronic corsa, a tip tronic aygo and yaris and a auto Jazz

Personally out of all off them id buy the Aygo again but i like little cars which you can do 90 in in 2nd lol

With autos they are all different even between manufacturer so for example the aygo/yaris have different tiptronic boxes to the tiptronic Auris.

Personally I would go with a full auto, my Jazz is full auto with a flappy paddle gear box if you want to control the gears. Tiptronic dont come with some of the advantages of a full auto but have all the draw backs

Just because it doesnt have a clutch doesnt make it the same. You really need to get some test driving done. Id never buy a auto/tiptronic without a good test drive as they do vary greatly