[srh]

I drive a slow gear changing AMT. But it is still way better in the urban scenario of Bangalore that a MT. The creep function is godsend. And once you are mentally tuned to the behavior of the auto box, you can harmoniously drive your car without absolutely any issues. Highway overtaking maneuvers can be easily managed by slotting into manual mode.

[simplyself]

Well, this is new, the automatic. Apparently, various types of automatic transmissions exist. Yet to drive an automatic. And at 47, I still feel I am more of a manual transmission guy but that may be because I mainly drive over longer distances and for shorters ones I prefer bikes. But, a city driver might acutely feel the need for an automatic

[RaghavEvoX]

Voted YES.

I drive a Verna Petrol Torque Converter AT. It has served the purpose well for the last 3 years. The reason I bought an AT over MT was that, my wife can also drive the car and will be easy for her. Personally, I do miss taking things completely under my control but that was a conscious decision which I was willing to sacrifice.

On another note, there are hardly few manual cars above 30 lakhs. I wish at least some luxury brands provided a good performance car with a manual stick. Hope it becomes a reality in next few years by the time I can afford to buy it

[mmxylorider]

Originally Posted by DudeWithaFiat

I drive a manual so I cannot vote, but I have another question:

Do long time AT users lose their ability or fluency to drive an MT car? Do you get de-skilled?

I guess that depends on person to person. I have been able to drive on Indian roads on an MT literally within 3 hours from landing. Having driven in India for a long time, I guess what one sees triggers some muscle memory.

On topic - I would not trade an AT for MT. With the horsepower available on tap on vehicles here, there is no reason for looking at the gear/power bands.

[thehighwayman]

No, not really . Given our chaotic traffic don't think I will ever go back to a MT.

[tejas.negandhi]

Nice question....

I have voted a "NO", keeping in mind my daily usage.

I would love a manual only if I am chilling out on a weekend, may be on a trip to Lonavala or dune bashing in deserts. Those would be just one or two days a month

I have driven 10 plus years in Mumbai traffic and it was always a manual car. Only I know how much I have damaged my knee. I seriously wish I had bought an automatic for my second car (as it was available).

My current car is automatic and is quite powerful. Don't even miss that sudden pull of the second gear.

[landcruiser123]

No. With smarter gearboxes and more powerful engines, the gap between MT and AT has been closed. Forget the performance oriented DSG or ZF, even the FE focused Corolla/Honda City CVTs are pretty nice to drive. It's only the OLD 4 speed ATs which aren't suited for people with aggressive driving styles- despite the gearbox, the Fortuner (previous gen) & i20 (1.4 P) still perform pretty well due to their engine, but the Ciaz and Ertiga falls short when driven aggressively.

I absolutely hate AMTs in the all cars I've driven them in - Alto and Celerio.

Originally Posted by DudeWithaFiat

Do long time AT users lose their ability or fluency to drive an MT car? Do you get de-skilled?

Depends from person to person. Personally been a non-issue for me.

[Beast_of_Burden]

Voted Yes...but. ATs are great for sheer comfort and convenience in the city. The family really loves fhe CVT. Even on highways where speeds are higher, I always felt a little less anxious as I always felt I had a great deal more time to react to emergency braking situations. Restricted access toll roads are a myth in India for the most part. The AT feels like an extra safety net. On a really long drive I feel fresh and alert for a lot longer and I am not as dead beat at the end of the day. I have been accused of being fickle before, but for the highway drives I would still like a manual.

I have to say, some cars owe a lot of their character to the MT. The Getz CRDI for one with only brakes for safety - white knuckles anyone? The Laura TSI for another, but then VW was always famous for their manual. In an unfamiliar car, MT can be intimidating sometimes. I was stalling the Laura a lot initially, the engine is too quiet. It also took me a while to figure out using all the gears. I wasn't using 5th much for a long time, but boy is that the gear when you want to get a move on. There is a bit of a learning curve with MT, one has to pay attention to engine's power band and ratios to develop the skill till it becomes intuitive. It takes time and patience. Then the skill becomes its own reward. I have had the Laura for a year and I am still learning. As good and really fast as the Performance ATs are, I am willing to bet that a manual in a powerful car like the VRS or 330i would make them truly engaging machines. Something special.

[kamal_parashar]

Of approximately 4 odd lac kilometers that I have driven, I must have only driven around 3-5k in automatics. Always been an MT guy. Chose MT over AT all these years. Loved to change to gears, loved to shift down whenever I needed power at my steering, over the years however, I have seen my priorities change.( Most of us would have too). Add to it my City's traffic - Bengaluru !
My next is going to an AT.. I have had my share of Gear Changing fun.
I am still worried about the sudden stops on braking that a newbie faces during the transition from the MT to AT. Would sure need to be extra cautious on that.

My final take on this.
NEW WORLD. ITS AT TIME.

[swiftgeorge]

I would like to vote NO.

I purchased my first AT in 2017, a pre worshipped 2012 Civic V and have never regretted the decision. This purchase came after about 250000+ kilometers driving manuals such as Zen, Swift and Innova in Petrol and diesel variants.

After getting over the initial left leg twitch to depress the clutch and the much favored (by me) city driving stance of keeping hand on the stick shift, the experience has been great.

Agree it is a TC and not so great for the mileage - but I have come to very much appreciate the lack of effort needed in city driving. I also do a fair bit of highway driving for which I hit the sports mode the moment I am out of city limits. The fun of using the paddle shifters to indulge in some aggressive driving grows on you.

To add - having an automatic was the final point (and most attractive one) to convince my wife to pick up driving again - something that she had sworn off because of the convenience of using a Activa for her trips to town. Not only has she picked up driving full time she has moved on from Activa to a Nano AMT which she now drives around with great joy.

No going back to MT for me.

[Yieldway17]

Originally Posted by akaushik.in

Today, 'Scooty' are on the rise, and while conventional scooters are resting in peace, 'macho' motorcycles continue to exist in prominent figures.

It's amazing how the opinion on CVT scooters changed massively in less than a decade.

A scooter was the only vehicle in my home for long time when I grew up in the early 2000s in a small town and I used to take it everywhere. People always equated it as a woman's vehicle and never hesitated to thrown in a comment.

Forward to around 2015, I return to my hometown after long time and first observable change was that scooters were everywhere driven by all kind of people, men or women. My friends who had ridiculed about scooters were all riding Activas, Dios primarily and their Bullets, Pulsars etc. parked safely at home reserved for longer rides.

Everyone suddenly had got the convenience part of it and scooters took off like a wildfire.

Note: Mods, if this is off-topic as topic was originally about cars, please remove.

[adv.yzr]

Greetings,

My answer to this will be a no but it’s entirely not the case, I do miss MT when the gearbox gets confused and shifts down a gear or two while overtaking or is not in the appropriate gear as I would like it to be.

But on the whole, the automatic suits me due to my drives largely in the city and it comes as a blessing in disguise in bumper to bumper traffic and other similar scenarios.

Thanks.

[srgntpepper]

Voted Yes.

Own the B8 Passat, and continually marvel at how intuititive and smooth the DSG shifts are. have no experience with any other auto box.
I was actually looking fwd to using the paddle shifters. But have to admit, the DSG is good, I never find the need to use them. Partly becus the engined is silent and I don't get the aural feedback that i'd use to decide on when an up-shift was due. I haven't gotten round to using the rpm needle to help.

I thought the Polo GT TSI 1.2 made a mistake by not providing the DSG. But based on my experience on the Passat, its not needed. Wanna throw it around? switch to sport mode, and it holds the revs long enough for mortals with sub-narayan karthikeyan skill levels.

If it reduces costs, complexity, i'd be fine with the B8 in only auto mode, with no manual overide like paddle shifters or even the tiptronic push-out the gear stick and tap option.

However, I also have the 1.8 TSI laura. And the utter joy of downshifting on a tight corner, holding the gear in second or third is something that I haven't gotten over yet and I don't think i will.

On highways you don't shift gears that often anyway, and I'd take either.
for city traffic, the auto is a no-brainer, but am not willing to forget stick shifts yet.

[kraken]

Voted YES.

Coming from a pure MT dominated garage, I went ahead and upgraded from my Maruti Suzuki Swift 1.2 K series to a Rapid TDI DSG. Having only driven a few Torque converters and on one very joyous occassion the VRS 230 for a short distance, I'm amazed at how well the DSG shifts at your convenience. The Rapid is at 13.5k kms and due for its 1st service in a week, I can safely say I have used the manual option and the sports mode like 4 times in the past year. Safe to say DSGs have spoiled me and my next upgrade would inevitably be DSGs as well.
But I do sometimes miss revving the K series, shifting at will and the slotting it into gear. All this time I thought it was the moving to diesel factor. But then I drove my brother in law's XUV300 1.5D and boy I did love the manual feeling.

So, yes I do miss the stick shift, but will I buy one is a question for another day .

[Shanky_1002]

I have driven XUV 500 AT extensively, though it was not as fast/responsive as the DSG but it sure was really convenient to drive in Bangalore traffic and also on a Bangalore to Goa trip. Slight lag in power was evident however the practicality quotient made me forget that and enjoy a leisurely drive in ghat sections and open highways. I've 3 MT cars at the moment and the next upgrade will surely be an AT.