[Rajeevraj]

GTO, probably there should be a 4th choice-'MT or AT depending on usage areas'. I think a person would be far more likely to buy an AT in a metro city as opposed to a smaller town or village areas.

Having lived with the vento tsi for 4 years, for the primary car, has to be an AT.

But I do have to admit that I do enjoy driving the manual Brio my sister owns in my home town. So I would not mind buying a nice performing manual if usage is in areas where crazy traffic has not caught up yet.

[Nonstop-driver]

Voted for AT only. My biggest gripe is clutch in/ clutch out in bumper to bumper traffic and for that reason alone, I want to have an AT option at all times. Although as GTO said, in a hot hatch or a big off-roader, the AT might make little sense.

[agambhandari]

It really depends on what you use your car for. I don't have a daily commute and I don't need to drive much on a regular basis. And thus I love the involvement of an MT.

But a couple of months, just so happened in helping out at my sisters wedding,I was made the default driver :lol , I loved it for a couple of days but when I had to drive 2-3 hrs daily in a place like NCR, and the stupid speed bumps of Gurgaon, I saw the benefit of ATs. Fortunately enough,I dont see much of a daily commute in my future either, So MTs it is for me.

[narayans80]

After experiencing the AT convenience on my current (2nd) car. I am never going back to MTs. I've driven this 4500 mm long sedan in the narrow roads of Madras, that I never dared to take my 3700 mm MT hatchback.

Add cruise control for another level of convenience to the AT.

[nmenon]

I would choose an MT or an AT depending on the car.
As GTO mentioned any car that is fun to drive and reasonably compact MT it is.
Any large and relatively relaxed car AT would be the choice.
The fun to drive factor can be magnified by an MT and at the same time be dulled by an AT since it may decide to change gear just when you don't want it to (AMTs are the ones most likely to do that).

[Ithaca]

My choice is AT only.
Preferably a 6 speed or above auto box.

Convenience, ease of driving, peace of mind, advancements and refinement of newer auto boxes are reasons I have opted for AT only. Also newer auto boxes are as fuel efficient or sometimes more efficient than their manual counterparts.

As I grow older, I find the manual transmission set up taking a slow toll on my left knee in the constant stop and go city traffic and this is bound to worsen as the days go by - both city traffic and my knee pain.
Another important reason for me is that in my immediate family and friend circle, most ladies are hesitant to drive or even learn to drive because they do not want the hassle of using a manual car. This has caused a subtle shift in preference to the autobox within my friend and family circle.
As our country progresses and people become more used to comfort and convenience, I expect to see a more pronounced shift in the transmission choice they will make.
Most manufacturers have caught on to the idea of launching top end variants as Autoboxes only and this will further aid the usage and popularity of auto boxes.
Maybe sometime in 10 years, most first time drivers would not know how to drive stick shift as is happening in the first world.

[The Brutailer]

I like AT because they upshift extremely fast (the dual clutch ones). It’s the downshift I have problem with. All these talks about DSG being very quick; the truth is even they lag in downshifting.

Now don’t get me wrong, they might even be faster than human action, but the problem is while it’s downshifting you’re basically waiting in a void where nothing happens. In manual, you’re doing something (changing the gears) so your mind gets involved but in auto, you’re just simply pressing the accelerator and getting no response.

Plus manuals are way more reliable and 100 times more fun (responsive paddle shifters come close).

So for me, manuals anyday. Until I stumble upon the traffic in Bangalore.

[RJ2285]

I would choose the transmission depending on the car. After driving the polo GT for the last few months and test driving the AMT's and torque converter transmissions of the hatchbacks in comparison , it's definitely a dual clutch automatic for me all the way. Even though long term reliability concerns will always be there at the back of my mind, willing to take that risk for the DSG experience. MT will always remain my 1st love though, it's only the dual clutch transmission among the AT's that I have driven, comes closer to the manual experience(I have not yet driven the ZF-8speed as yet and hence not comparing it to the DSG experience )

[NPV]

This poll is going to be tough for me to make a choice, so I will be a fence sitter for now and here's why:
Learnt driving and got my licence more than 2 decades ago but never drove much and soon moved to the US. Automatics were the norm even in the pre-worshipped market and so it was a no-brainer and the fact that I did not have too much MT driving experience at the time, it was easy, natural progression to the AT (and not much in terms of unlearning MT habits). Thru my stay there I enjoyed driving long distances on ATs including several rental cars and my own Honda Accord
Few years later moved back to India and it was back to the MT world and I did take some time to get acclimatised to traffic and manuals. Since then I've driven a lot in India mostly in the southern states and it's been MTs always so needless to say I love driving MTs especially on the highways and hills.
Today, driving in the city is a pain no doubt given our dense traffic conditions, so I think now I will prefer an AT, but probably not the AMTs. But when I think of the highway drives, I'm still thinking MTs hence the quandary.
To add to this, currently my daily commute for work is the 2 wheeler, so my car is almost exclusively used on highways. This adds more confusion to the decision making process for my next car!

[civic-sense]

After a decade of driving manuals, followed by a decade of automatics, I prefer the automatic, yet open to a manual if situation demands.

[joy_swift]

I would prefer an automatic transmission for city driving(drive a manual now) to make it effortless.Continuous gear change and clutch application becomes very painful to drive in bumper to bumper traffic.

On a highway,I would prefer a manual though.

[Shome]

I used to always think that people who drive ATs aren't actually 'drivers'. They can never get the most out of their cars to behave like the way they want, will always have to fight the car to get complete control because of mistimed shifts.

Boy was I wrong! Even though my daily drive is a CVT, I've driven the big 3s regularly and realized that you can actually get the car to do what you want with the correct inputs; paddle-shifts and tiptronics are a bonus! Add to that the advantages of driving an AT in bumper to bumper traffic, the pros simply outweigh any of the remaining cons with new age DSGs. So, an AT it is from me

[SmartCat]

A long time ago, I used to shift like this too - immediately after paying toll at a booth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cefC0DPlHFQ

But these days, I've moved on to automatics - I just stomp the accelerator pedal and let car mechanicals do the work.

[ferrarirules]

Recently I switched from MT to AT. And any future car i will buy will be an automatic only.

The reason for the same was one and only - TRAFFIC!!!! I drive 35 kms a side from Faridabad to Noida daily. Driving an automatic is such a pleasure in traffic and higher fuel efficiency is an additional benefit.

Finally as I drive a DSG, hence driving pleasure is not a problem.

[AtheK]

AT for me too, but then when i say AT i mean DSG or CVT not any of the AMT variants. I currently drive a Vento AT and it has closked almost the same number of KMS in 2 yrs, that my honda city MT did in 5 years.

AT all the way, and current AT anyway has the option of Paddle shifters/Manual switch over to manual.