[Santoshbhat]

Only AT for me. Yes, I am a 100% AT convert now with the last MT car in the house(A 2005 Santro) being sold off recently.

When it comes to convenience and ease, MT cars have absolutely no case and when it comes to driving pleasure, modern automatic transmissions can be just as fun with their sport modes and paddle shifting options. DSGs and ZF boxes are supremely competent and more fuel efficient too. Even cars with basic ATs like the i10 are good for slow speed urban environs. But Maruti's AMTs are a serious punishment! My non car enthusiast family members have almost forgotten how to drive MT cars . Can't go back to MT now.

[Turbohead]

Voted #3

The highway cruiser has to be a manual and the city crawler has to be an automatic. One for pleasure and one for purpose.
Weirdly, I like both the cars to be independent in terms of character- you honestly don't want to drive a driver oriented stiffly sprung car in badly maintained city roads! Prefer to save the best for the finest moments

[Axe77]

Very true on how much AT acceptance has increased.

My sense is many people who pick option 3 will also want it for niche / specialist cars - or alternately where they spend next to no time at the wheel - a beater for instance / pure offroader, very small hatch where comparable AT not available etc.

If this poll was around whether your only car would be AT / MT, I suspect the % would be even more skewed towards AT.

Personally, I would only own an MT as an absolute last resort. For instance, want a very small cheap hatch and no credible AT option (I simply can't buy AMT). Even there I would seriously consider if Uber is an acceptable alternative.

I have come to a point where even my AT cars are largely driven by a driver. I'm happy to just sit around in day to day routine movement. Driving is more fun for early morning runs or weekend drive outs. But even if I anticipate 15% behind the wheel time, I'd really try hard to pick AT.

[sandx]

Voted for MT.

The future is automatic anyway, will lay back and enjoy the full autonomous potential of a vehicle when there will be. Heck, i spent so much time to learn the stick and the clutch, better put it to some use.

I will have one more of that MT magic before it goes into the annals of history but i agree that the ICEs and MTs are equally doomed in the near future. Would reconsider when someone wakes me up at the point where the Indian Roads are as smooth as Hema Malini's cheeks (sic).

[FIAT3031]

MT - No More
Reason: Long distance runs are few
With maddening city traffic, MT's just don't make sense to me anymore.
By the time I get home (30km and 1.5 hours), the left leg is worked out so much that I don't need to go to gym

AT - Yes
Mostly city running with 90% office to home commute.

Also once back home, using my TVS Jupiter for short distance drives are so comforting [Literally no gear shifts and no clutch]

So yes, I'm sure on my next purchase to be AT.

[starter]

Currently have a Brio AT to be the city warrior.
But, ensured it's a MT 4X4 on the Fortuner for our highway and touring needs.
PS: Like GTO says, there shall always be a MT with me.

[Sudeep_Kimster]

MT or AT depending on the car is my choice.

I would agree an enthusiast's choice should be a manual any other day, but when you are trapped in bumper to bumper traffic, all tired after a day's work at workplace, I would not want numbness on my knee or ankle operating a clutch.

All I would need a light weighted accelerator and occasional braking that would take me home.

But nowadays we do have AT's in varied form, enthusiastic DSGs, frugal AMTs, evergreen CVTs.... we are spoilt for an enthusiastic choice.
AT is the future.
I dont see any electrics coming in Manual either.

[Latheesh]

Voted for AT

My 3 KM office commute takes 20 min to 1 hour depending on the traffic condition and road quality is pretty bad in first 1-1.5 KM.

I will be in the market for a new car next year to replace my 2009 Spark (which is approaching 1 Lakh KM on the odo). But till now there is no good AT cars ~ 10L price range which meet my requirements.

Primary requirements - Petrol, AT, Dual airbags+ABS, rear seat space, and few mm extra GC.

Available Options:
Jazz V Auto - Meets most of the requirement except GC (other -ves are no magic seat in AT and built quality is not good comparing to previous generation Jazz)

Baleno AT -ves Light built quality and GC

Ecosport -ves Rear space, No S mode in Trend+ AT

Polo TSi -ves Rear space

[Brishti]

Thinking about switching had even booked a Octavia vRS but my number did not come but now looking into second hand certified BMW.

The point is my last car which was a diesel was driven 1lac km in 12 years so I dont think I should buy a Diesel again but the low KM's does mean I dont particularly need a AT so again I am at a bind.

[PuntoMania]

I voted for the AT.

But in reality, what I really want is a Paddle Shift MT, like we see in F1 cars.

If there ever was a choice between a Paddle shift MT and an AT, I would go with the paddle shift 10 out of 10 times.

Most people on this forum, are voting AT or giving a preference to ATs because manuals bring with it additional energy expenditure of having to move the hand and the left leg for each gear shift.

And if most people are auto-enthusiasts like me here, then we are still 'sacrificing' the joy of owning a manual, the sheer pleasure of controlling the horses of the engine through a corner on our occasional sporty drives at 10 pm after a late night at office.

What I wouldn't give for an easier to use manual transmission.

[Higgs_Boson_i]

I used to be a big MT fan! I owned a FIAT LINEA T-JET and really enjoyed driving it.

However after about 2 years of ownership and driving in Bangalore I realized it is almost pointless to drive an MT in Bangalore traffic. The constant gear shift is plain painful.

I have moved abroad on an assignment but when I am back I will definitely go for an AT. The Octavia vRS seems to be a way forward!!

[e2p]

only AT for me. After driving the Vento GT TSi for nearly 2 years now, I have become a fan of AT. My other car Alto VXi is an AMT. Wagon R that I have is MT and I now sometimes forget that I have to shift gears while driving it. Once or twice I just pressed the break pedal and tried to start the car. AT is it for me!!

[Asish_VK]

Voted Option 3.

Even though I would prefer a manual if the car is only used by me and involves mainly highway rides. But my next purchase will definitely be a "competent" Automatic (not the AMT). The advantages are so much over the MT

Easy and stress-free on the maddening traffic
Easy for my Dad and Wife to drive around
More relaxed on highways
Since AT's are getting better day by day, the worry about reliability and fuel efficiency also is diminishing

[Kamran Mohsin]

I shifted to AT quite by default about 5 years ago, what i wanted was a white double cab pickup truck and the only white piece they had was an AT. I picked it up & was sold even before I reached back home. After that all my vehicles have been AT and almost all of them have always been 4x4's.

Therefore, from my experience from a 4 wheel drive vehicle standpoint, AT loses a bit on the fuel consumption part compared to MT but you won't notice it that much unless you are driving a petrol vehicle and if stuck, you cannot tow the vehicle.

AT is kinder to the gearbox, no loss of inertia while gear change, if you bush bashing a lot, then AT allows less water ingress into your gear box, MT wins coming downhill but AT wins going up hill. And in traffic, you cannot beat the convenience of the AT. It is less fatiguing by far. 4x4 ability wise, an AT vehicle will go everywhere a MT vehicle will, driving by the same driver or otherwise.

[MaheshY1]

MT — All The Way

ATs are sooo boring. Unless I'm expecting to get stuck in traffic, I'd choose MT. I don't care about the speed of shifting, saving precious seconds, etc.

Engagement is more important. Slotting the stick through its gates and choosing how many gears to skip are things I can't afford to lose even if I'm promised an algorithm that'll always put me in the right gear.