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-   -   So, why don't you buy an Automatic? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/111215-so-why-dont-you-buy-automatic-23.html)

The A Star has a 4 speed box. May be a bit small and cramped tho'.
What about the new Dzire - technically not a hatch I know - but with the shortened boot it is almost there.:) 4 speed here as well.

Hi GTO

I think there should be another option there - drivers!

We have 4 drivers in our house (joint family). Our extended family has around 8 drivers. They all have no idea how to drive and worse, how to maintain an automatic.

One of our drivers drove my cousin's auto like a maniac with both feet - was good enough reason for our elders to shun away from them...

But with our generation things are changing and all of us are atleast considering automatics as our next option.

On the contrary, many drivers means many different driving styles, Autobox makes it easier on the car as ECU adapts and lower gear/clutch/engine abuse.

Agree with Sn1p3r. If you have a driver then all the more reason to get an AT. He can't lug the engine in wrong gear, he can't abuse the clutch and he ends up being more smoother in an AT car with less jerks.

If your chauffeur driven the best is to get an AT car.

For me....it will always be a manual transmission. There is always something about cars that I (and most others) 'connect' with. So, you are driving at 30kmph in the 4rd gear and you want to accelerate (for whatever...may be to out-accelerate the Ferrari that just passed you or to catch a glimpse of the girl in the passenger seat!) and the car refuses, but obliges as soon as you downshift to 3rd. It is somewhat like human behavior that as a driver I 'connect' with. But with an automatic this 'connection' is gone. And with it the fun factor.

The opinion poll should have one more option for people like me:-

"I already have an Automatic"

My Altis here and our Jaguar in U.K., both are automatic and having experienced the convenience I don't think we will ever go back to a manual car in future. Few reasons below for my choice...

Modern automatics are getting very smart and they understand the driver's mood to change the gears accordingly. Multiple driving modes like Normal, Sports, Hill and Winter take care of different driving conditions. They protect the engine from idiotic driving and provide optimized driving in hills, snow and off-road conditions for which the driver may not be trained properly.

They take some stress out of driving for the driver and provide a jerk free comfortable ride for passengers.

Off course there is a penalty of increased costs to pay, but here it becomes an individual decision.

Normally I like to be in control of the car performance and choose the gears depending on what I want, so I prefer manual. May be when I have to do a lot of B2B traffic, I will think of an automatic.

Stating the already stated.
- Most folks dont look at AT because of price. AT in India are always slotted at higher price points. So who would like to pay more and also for a pricier version and at the same also pay for fuel bills?
- Give the public an AT in the same price as an MT, some will change.
- Then give them an AT which is more fuel efficient (DSG, Dual Clutch etc) at the same price many many more will change.

- Our country I think has crossed the stage, where cars were luxury. Now at least most urban elements can afford a small hatch and which is a necessity not luxury.
- So if an AT can rise over the "Kitna Deti Hai" syndrome, we should see more ATs being sold.

True -but going by the number of Hyundai i10 ATs in town (looks like about 1 in 3 are- no exaggeration):) it looks as tho' at a price point, customers are willing to consider them - esp women - notwithstanding the higher cost and the lower FE.

Exactly my point. Today AT vehicles in most places form the second car in the family.
AT will start selling much higher numbers, when the FE aspect gets out of way.
If you see status in the small car territory we have only the i10 and the A-Star.
Why can't we see a swift or a Wagon-R or a Polo like vehicle coming up with AT versions?

Technologies like DSG/Dual Clutch need to scale down in price to be made affordable for such hatch segments.
No company today is willing to invest for such things as its a highly price sensitive segment.

Right. And imagine if they came out with an AT version of the diesel Beat, Figo etc - agreed the price would be higher by 50 K upwards from the petrol versions - but that would certainly turn that (AT) segment upside down.:)

None of the above reason stopped me, when my wife loved to drive Auto. We bought an i10 1.5 yrs ago, we are very happy with that. It was a wise decision in many ways.

But the options are two low, I believe we have only around 10 cars in sub 20L category.

A true car lover will always go for a manual. For me, a manual because -

- Its smoother than a AT
- Initial response and pickup is much better. No lag
- AT's are more prone to failures than a manual
- I am total control rather than a computer
- Fuel efficiency will always be higher in a manual if your driving style is right notwithstanding what the car companies may claim
- Last but not the least, I love manual transmissions!!!

4 points out of the 6 you mention apply to older generation automatics and not the new ones in the market.

- AT gearbox especially CVT's and DSG are infinitely smoother than a manual transmission. Gear shifts are not even noticeable. The idea of CVT is changing gears with no change in rpm thereby no jerks whatsoever.
- A torque converter is designed to remove the lag of slipping the clutch so the torque converter in an AT will always provide better better initial pickup than an MT.
- AT's are known not to fail (except for DSG). In MT clutch can get worn out depending on driver and traffic condition. In AT the ECU takes care of gear changes thereby minimizing wear and tear. AT boxes are literally sealed for life.
- DSG transmissions always give better FE than the MT. In a DSG box you can be in 6th gear at 50kph. Try doing that in your MT and driving comfortably.

The other 2 points of being in total control and loving MT's I agree with.:)

If you have technologies like DSG (VW) or dual clutch (Ford), they can actually give
you similar mileage than MT. But cost of these technologies are very high to sustain the price of a small car.