Automatic Transmission v/s Manual

[sgiitk]

There is also another thread with a very similar content
Automatic Transmission
running and active. i feel they may be merged. Am unable to contact Mods hence this post.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by Sankar

Are we confusing true automatics with mechanised manual transmissions?

If it's mechanised manual (rally cars/f1 cars, cars with dsg boxes and similar) then it's in a different league altogether when it comes to performance, control and efficiency. These cannot be just grouped into autos that have torque converters (most autos here; santro,i10, maruti, civic) even if they provide a paddle behind the wheel.

I think this is a extremely valid point. When we are comparing manual vs. auto, we cannot bring paddle shifts, triptronics and DSGs as they are again variants of manual (when operated in manual mode).

In my view, these cars which can be driven either in full auto, or manual mode, offer best of both words from the driving experience perspecyive. But they can be expensive, complex and probably the long term reliability is yet to be seen.

[The Saint]

I have a automatic Honda civic from last 1.5 years and believe me the auto box i just rocking and the paddle shift is like a dream come true of actually driving a F 1 or a expensive brand. Believe me the transmission is just perfect and I love it.

[csnanjappa]

Auto box are really getting into market these days , but we do not have choices for less than 10lacs.
Still surprises me why Maruthi , FIATS , Ford and GM do not have any Auto option here in India.

[sgiitk]

I hear the the WagonR has an auto box (3-speed). The i10 (earlier santro) had an auto box. None of these have a clutch lock up.

[sjcherian]

The Wagon-R AX (4.25 ex show chennai) takes a long time to order/deliver and the dealers usually convince you to not go for it. The I10 Auto comes in at 5.3 Ex showroom - same issue the dealer will talk you out of it unless you are firm and ready to wait. The next automatic is the Verna at 8.65 ex showroom. The Scorpio comes in just under 10 lakhs ex showroom. All the Reva models are CVTs and range from 3.6 - 4.6 lakhs ex showroom.

[sgiitk]

I have a satro AT. I was lucky, they located one in the plant and I got it within a week. The Verna uses the same AT (beefed up) as the Santro/i10.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

Mechanised manual transmissions like DSG are more advanced than the older autos. FE is the same as a manual. The i10, Santro, Wagon R etc have the older type. BTW what's your opinion on the auto-clutch in my previous post.

There was a thread in which a member had installed this in his car. Conclusion was that he was not very satisfied with it as there were some niggling problems with the system. It's an old post and if you search i think you might be able to find it.

Instead of losing reliability and peace of mind with such a setup i would prefer a true auto even if it means a little less on fuel efficiency.

Originally Posted by Guna

I think this is a extremely valid point. When we are comparing manual vs. auto, we cannot bring paddle shifts, triptronics and DSGs as they are again variants of manual (when operated in manual mode).

In my view, these cars which can be driven either in full auto, or manual mode, offer best of both words from the driving experience perspecyive. But they can be expensive, complex and probably the long term reliability is yet to be seen.

Yep any auto with a clutch instead of a torque converter has to be viewed as mechanised manual. s. The bane of the auto which is the lw efficiency fluid drive is altogether eliminated in the design.