[Chillout]

Originally Posted by veyron_head

I do want to buy an AT but, may be it sounds silly, I am worried I will forget driving MTs after sometime!!

Trust me, that will never happen, these days you get motorized tooth brush, once you start using them, will you forget to brush with a regular brush, the answer is No. I started with a manual and switched to AT when i was Onsite for six years and reverted back to manual on return. Did not find any issues in adjusting to the change. However due to traffic conditions I have switched to an AT now and if you are in the city, that's the way to go.

[Lone Ranger]

Voted "depends on the car"

Ideally I would like to have a car in my garage that has been bought purely for its driving pleasure - basically for those drives to nowhere and back.

For everything else, definitely an automatic. On a lighter note, rush hour traffic in the metros has become the great social leveller, where performance wise, the humble Alto can easily go toe to toe with the S Class. In fact the Alto is probably better off because of its smaller footprint! The S Class just becomes a much nicer place to be in while you both crawl from traffic light to traffic light.

[balechaparka]

I voted for MT, for me, highway ride MT is must , MTs are great fun, frequent up shifting and down shifting is not necessary on highways and feels like full control on vehicle and overtaking with great confidence .Yes I also feel ATs are better for Bangalore traffic.

For my second half I am planning to buy AT. I test drove Ignis, Celerio and Tata Tiago ,out of 3 I found Ignis AT is better.This week end will try Baleno CVT and need to finalize.

[vittalnrv]

For hatchbacks and sedans I vote for AT, I simply love the DCT on the Ford fiesta. SUVs nothing can match the MT for it's all commanding power and presence.

[aniyo]

I voted for MT.
I drive a Honda Brio, it has a nice light clutch and I am quite comfortable with changing gears.
I drive about 50 min one way to work. Very few times have I got stuck badly in traffic, but to use the manual gears on highways and ghats is amazing fun.
Mostly i will stick to hatchbacks as I do not like and do not need big cars. So for at least the next few years it is a manual for me.
My wife is clear, no MT or AT, it Uber and Ola only

[Srikanthan]

Voted for AT.

All my rides are MT till now. With age catching up and me sometimes getting knee pain with short city drives on a diesel MT gear-box, I prefer an AT.

[srh]

For me, there is a fourth option selected - MT or AT depending on location. In congested metro, it would be AT, everywhere else, it would be MT

[rambo1o1]

I voted for the third option.
For me it depends on the vehicle. I was also a always MT type driver but after driving various cars, felt some MT shift quality weren't all that good.

MT gives you absolute control over your vehicle, however in start stop traffic jams, your left leg will not forgive you.
The old Ecosport ecoboost, Mahindra XUV, Petrol WRV either had rubbery gear shifts(ecosboost) or too hard and small gear lever(WRV) or both rubbery gear shift and long clutch travel(XUV). In these cases i felt The AT was needed, hence our decision to go for the AT XUV.
I still love the gear shift quality of my 2011 Figo, still prefer it over our 2012 1.5 honda city.

Things in favor of the AT include resting of your left leg, less stress to body and clutch plate and allows you to better focus on the road.There are some auto boxes like the zf-8 speed in the BMW that makes you realize why they dont offer a single MT option.

Now there are also issues with Auto boxes. Some either are slow to upshift,downshift, jerky etc. Hence its very difficult to blindly choose either, hence depending on the Car and the quality of gearbox, traffic in my area etc will determine my choice of either.

regards

[MS_Auto]

I guess all auto enthusiasts love the level of control that is provided by MT.
Personally, I love AT cars which have paddle shifters. You get the convenience of AT and can switch over to the level of control provided by MT.

Considering the traffic on our roads, AT is gaining importance in our cities and MT gives the convenience of driving to your style on the highways. However, keeping 2 cars for the individual purposes is not viable for all either, for want of space or money or simply because of lower usage.

[diwakarmuthu]

For me it depends on the vehicle. For city I prefer an AT just to ensure I keep my temper in check.

For highways, it is a definite MT for me. The joy of making the car dance to your tunes is a feeling that can only be experienced. Also in the ATs I have driven, I find its shifting ratios just don't go with your driving styles if you like speed.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by diwakarmuthu

Also in the ATs I have driven, I find its shifting ratios just don't go with your driving styles if you like speed.

This is a very valid concern. Apart from the ZF 8 speed and the VW DSGs, the only other automatic that I have found to be truly able to mimic an aggressively driven manual is the Hexa's. Even Merc's 7GTronic can be found a bit wanting sometimes.

One of the main reasons why I rejected the Crysta/Fortuner and ultimately opted for the Hexa is the slushbox. The Toyota/Aisin unit gets easily confused and can be jerky. It either shifts to the highest possible gear for max FE, or the lowest possible for max performance. There is not much middle ground. Tata's is much more well rounded and the shifting logic is far superior.

This is something that car manufacturers need to work on. Also, shit like AMT will not work once the market matures even a little bit.

[pannags]

For starters, I clicked "C".

When I was in the market for a car in 2014, my shortlist had a serious contender in the Rapid DSG. One of my uncles - someone you can call a jack of all "technical" trades - found it hard to believe that I was actually considering driving an AT.

I can't agree more with how in half a decade, ATs have become the preferred option from being an acceptable alternative.

BTW, my choice would depend also on the technology, with the order of preference being DCT, CVT and AMT. Not a fan of the conventional TC.

Trivia: Not sure if things have changed, but as on 2015, the RTO did not have a driving test for AT cars. We were told by Maruti Driving school that they did not have an AT car for learning and that using an AT car for the taking the driving test needed special permission, usually granted only to the differently-abled.

[fireblade007]

I am using Sx4 deisel now. Recently I am getting left knee pain when I go for long drives. So I would definitely buy an automatic when I change this car.

[AdiSolEn]

I voted "only MT"! It is manuals all the way for me! The connection you feel with the car in a manual is something that I will sorely miss on an AT. And considering that the future is all about automatics, this is probably the last generation of cars that you can buy with a MT! So, enjoy it while you can. as everyone will inevitably have to shift to auto-boxes in the not so distant future!

[abhishek46]

I have voted for Manual.

The reason is that, I get a confused feeling, something like "what is going to do next" feeling in an automatic.