[sabujsen]

i absolutely don't miss the MT. Had moved to AT four years back. And no looking back. Infact, i find MTs extremely cumbersome to drive now. The only issue with AT (Torque converters) is low mileage, hope car makers give us ATs which are faster and give better fuel efficiency.

[Kingston]

Voted no – own a Polo GT TSI and man I love how beautiful the gearbox behaves.

Also have driven the ZF on BMWs extensively and have not once felt the need to manually intervene (the 1.2 TSI + 7DSG does require the occasional manual downshift or S on the highway).

It is a question of adapting to a transmission and in my experience it is possible to have fun with all types of automatics, save for a CVT which feels disjointed from the engine.

[kaushik_ak]

I had a Ciaz (sold during lockdown) for long drives and a new Santro AMT for city runabouts. Earlier, I used to enjoy that once in a while skill of clutch and gear engagement (I believe this will be a niche skill in the future) to convince myself that I can still drive. Now after the sale, its just the AT and I am afraid, I will get so used to just ATs that I will forget the good old MTs altogether.

[Joyb]

Voted NO. Honestly it depends on the vehicle. I drive a Endeavour 3.2 and before this a BMW 320d, in both the vehicles i never missed a MT. But yes, my wife rides a Vento Petrol AT and in that car i many times feel frustrated. So it all boils down to the engine and gearbox combination for me.

[chennai-indian]

Voted "NO". After using AT cars in US, when we shifted back to India, I bought a MT car. Office commute was a pain so decided to see the MT and buy an AT. Now have two AT/AMT cars - Honda City CVT and Tiago AMT. No regrets at all

[F1-Addict]

I thought and thought and though before I clicked on Yes I miss a MT.

I owned 3 MT cars prior to my first AT.

Yes I agree AT is a boon in traffic.
Yes I agree DSGs / TCs today are way way superior.
Yes I agree with all my friends opinions above on the benefits of an AT and how well they are made today.

But does the best AT in the world make up for a peppy MT? IMHO No.

The joy of simultaneously having both legs and hands connected to the car on a twisty windy road -- Pressing the clutch with your left leg -- dropping a gear with your left hand -- your right leg is playing with the accelerator & brake -- your right hand is feeling the steering wheel for the perfectly executed turn.

So yes I do miss a MT sometimes

But will I go back to a MT from an AT. Nope I don't think so.

[KPR]

NO is the answer to this question based on my daily traffic commute.
But when it comes to highway any day a MT for me in India. The thrill of highways, hill roads rest on my working left hand for sure. More rawness during drive is much better for me.

[Ashish0485]

Voted 'No'. However, it depends.

The last manual transmission car I had was the Honda City iVtec (4th gen) and my friend had the very same car with the CVT gearbox. I had done 2-3 long trips with my friend and extensively tested both cars on the same roads/routes. The CVT gearbox in the Honda City was comfortable but always left me underwhelmed, whereas, I just loved my manual gearbox. So, till that time (late 2017), I always felt jumping to an AT is a trade-off between convenience and performance.

The only other AT cars I had driven till then was abroad including the Volvo S60, Honda Civic, and Merc C-class. They felt brisk but my understanding (based on the Honda City experience) was that the equivalent MT of these cars would be more fast and also more fun. However, after watching several drag races of performance cars on YouTube and seeing the AT cars trumping their manual counterparts most times, I realized that as you go up in the price bracket, the performance of AT gearboxes start improving exponentially.

My first AT was Skoda Octavia vRS 230 with 6-speed wet clutch DSG and I was blown away by the performance and the second AT was ZF 8-speed of my BMW 3-series, which raised the bar even higher. All this performance to match with practicality is just awesome and now there's no going back.

[anilp]

10 years back, I'd have voted for a manual over an automatic. Not any more, due to a couple of different reasons. These are to do with technology advances as well as changing requirements:

(1) Auto boxes today are good. Very good, especially the DSG and DCT types when it comes to shifting speeds and fuel efficiency. We are not stuck with clumsy, noisy, 3- and 4-speed TCs anymore. Many of the new gear boxes shift far better than I'm capable of. There, I've said it :P

(2) Automatics are extremely good for commutes now considering the traffic scenario. Keeps my blood pressure much lower since I have one less thing to deal with.

(3) My requirements have shifted a lot towards long distance touring. When you have to do 700-1000 km driving days on Indian roads, the automatic introduces a lot of comfort into the equation. My left leg, especially, is glad for the no clutch/dead pedal option.

(4) I'm OCD about people messing up the clutch. For a car shared between extended family, friends and assorted driver employees/valets, the automatic is easier to trust them with.

(5) When it comes to senior family members who want to drive the car around, the automatic definitely makes sense considering the ease of driving. They are not as young as they used to be, and prefer not to deal with manual shifting.

Do I miss driving a manual? Yes, but only once in a while on maybe a winding ghat road. Not otherwise.

[akunchala]

Voted 'No'

All of my cars currently are Automatics and very likely my next potential purchase, Thar, will be an automatic too. I dont necessarily equate left foot usage to being connected with the car/road. I think the feel comes from the steering. Automatics actually allow me to have both my hands on the wheel!

In my garage, I dont necessarily like the CVT transmission on the Honda City. It takes too long to push the car forward when I press the foot down on the accelerator. Hate driving the City on the highways. For urban commutes, where the driving is usually sedate, it doesnt matter.

My first automatic was the Octavia with DQ250 Wet Gearbox. It was outstanding! Now my daily driver is a Merc with an MCT 9 speed auto. Performance of these new gen automatics is far superior to anything else that folks might have experienced a decade ago.

My preference: DSG/MCT(multi-clutch transmissions)/ZF > CVT > AMT

[cpabhijit]

Voted 'No'.

I drive a DSG GT TSI and now a Karoq with the same gearbox. I was a bit skeptical when I bought the GT TSI long ago but have never missed MT ever since. The gearbox is lightning fast, roars down highways, always has power available on winding hill roads and is oh-so-convenient. I hardly ever use the manual option. Just give throttle input and it'll downshift and zip away. I've used the manual shift maybe 4-5 times in the last 7 years, for overtaking, or for showing off to friends that there is an option to control the shifts, that's it.

[gulerianeeraj]

My Vote would be a No..it also depends on the car and the gearbox of the AT.

1. Small cars generally have an average or below average gearbox and won’t suit somebody who’s into cars and extracts pleasure from driving.
2. It’s true that AT is more convenient in City driving rather than Highway. Considering most of the ATs can be shifted into manual you can still find your inner purist on highway.
3. Reqmt of clutch : if you ask me personally I’d rather be more happy driving without clutch than with one. The ride is more relaxed and your attention in better on the road. Just my take.
4. If you have good gearbox such as DSG you’ll be actually blown away by the amount of precision and speed with which it shifts. I’ve never felt a need to shif to manual no matter what terrain I’m driving the vehicle.

[avsrihari]

No. I don't miss the MT given the fact 80% of my driving is within Chennai City traffic. The i20 CVT is a boon inside the city. While on the highway, I did miss the MT but once you get the hang of the CVT, it's easier to plan overtaking. For me Comfort > FE. Previously used a Polo Tdi and I started getting a leg pain in heavy traffic. Maybe my next car will be a Turbo Petrol with a MT that has a light clutch or even the iMT sounds cool.

[vipul_singh]

Voted yes, and it does not depend on the car - I have driven Planetary gearset ATs, DSGs, CVTs and Manuals.

Regardless of the type of AT 'box, I miss the sensory involvement from the left side of my body. It is like listening to a song with only one earphone vs with both earphones. Even with a monaural recording, using both earphones feels much better.

I miss the MT gearbox even in heavy traffic. Convenient as they are, no auto boxes are as satisfying as MTs, for me.

[GTB]

I am not qualified to participate in this Poll as I own a Manual and I miss AT in city. Especially in Traffic.