[sanjayatarizona]

AT's are the way of the future. If cars cos in India can do Diesel+AT comos across all segements, the products would be ChartBusters IMO.

[nithi]

Originally Posted by DieselFan

Maruti Udyog the biggest Auto manufacturer in India doesn't have a decent Automatic transmission and have no plans of getting one. They have an outdated 3Speed AT which they have been plonking it in WagonR for quite a while where there are no takers. I feel they should invest on a good AT technology to build AT for all their range of cars. It will sell very well and capture all the AT market at least in the B, B+ and C segment.

Hi DieselFan,

Check out this thread by sidindica. According to him the new Wagon R will have 4 speed AT.

But IMO what India needs now is AT on small Diesels as lot of i10 AT users are reporting very low mileage, Diesel will be more economical. But, will Maruti do that?

Regards!

[Dippy]

Been driving Automatics all my life now spare for the rare occasions I ake to MTs. Its nice to see that India is finally opening up to ATs. For today's bumper to bumper traffic, the ATs are the way to go. Where will you expolit the shifting fun of the MTs anyways except when you are on the highways?

Every day my fellow building friend crib about shifting in the highway traffic jams. All I do is smile.

[sgiitk]

I guess with increasing congestion and traffic crawling at 5kph the economy is about equal. You keep ypour cool with an AT.

As a long time AT fan (over 10 years) I look forward to more advanced AT technology on the road. Not so long ago after the Zen/WagonR you had no AT till the City!

[mohan41]

I own a Santro AT since July 2007. I bought it so that my dad can drive comfortably in Bangalore traffic. Now he is lot more comfortable driving, compared to the my earlier Santro MT. The car has run 9000km so far (including a few long trips) and there are no problems. FE is 9-10 km in pure city driving.

Is there anyone who has used a Santro AT for long time (> 5 years/50k Km)? Is the maintenance more expensive in the long term really?

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by TheDoors

When I switched my booking from AT to MT, the sales person told me that it is a lot easier to sell a MT in the second hand market. Apparently most AT buyers prefer a brand new car.

Also, he mentioned that that the re-sale value drops more for an AT than for the MT.

By now most auto enthusiasts must know how *intelligent* car sales people are. This statement was true, I know this from first hand experience since I have been looking for a used Automatic in Chennai for my wife for a couple of weeks now.

This is what my obervations are for used Hyundai Santro Automatics. Autos typically have a 50K + premium in the used car market over the equivalent manual Hyundai. For example there was a 2003 Hyundai Santro automatic with about 35K miles on the odometer. The person was asking 2.5 lakhs for it. I offered 2.25 Lakhs and next day uped it to 2.35 lakhs. The offer he got was 2.45 lakhs and he sold it for that price. 2003 Hyundai Santro MT can be had from 1.5 lakhs depending on the condition. My post here is from first hand experience trying to find a good used Santro AT.

Originally Posted by mohan41

Is there anyone who has used a Santro AT for long time (> 5 years/50k Km)? Is the maintenance more expensive in the long term really?

I have a 2002 Hyundai Santro Zip plus Automatic with ABS option. It has done 54,000 miles. The only problem related to the AT was it was sometimes not shifting to the correct gear.

For example, if I was doing about 80 on the highway and slowed down for a speed breaker to < 10 kmph and then tried to accelerate, the car would remain in top gear and the engine would shudder, just like if you try to drive too slowly in 5th gear in a MT car. I also noticed that the speedometer would randomly show a much higher speed than the car was going at. it was kind of erratic. For example if I was stopped at a traffic light, the speedometer would keep going up and down as though I was moving and the craziest thing was that the odometer would actually roll forward as though I was driving but the car was standing still.

So, I kind of figured it was the speed sensor. Hyundai Santro AT(maybe MT as well). Have a digital/electronic speedometer. It is not the old ambassador type where a cable goes from the drive-shaft all the way to the speedometer. I took it to Hyundai Motor Plaza in Chennai and there is usually a 2 week backlog for service there. Anyways the service tech figured that it is the speed sensor as well since the automatic ECU was getting the wrong speed reading from the speed sensor and hence was not maintaining the right gear. Since the car wasn't booked for a service appt he just removed all the electrical contacts of the speed sensor, cleaned them out and put them back and voila, the car has been running fine after that. Cost = 0 rupees. So the problem was with the speed sensor as I had guessed. Other than that no issues with the Automatic transmission to date.

[Need4Spd]

Most car sales people are poorly trained, ignorant of recent trends and more of SALES than of CAR background*.
Another true story - was recently trying to estimate the price of Santro A/T for resale (thinking of buying the City A/T). Put an ad in Sulekha and the response for a slightly used Santro Xing A/T was Tremendous. The price for a 18 month old Santro same specs but with M/T is about 80K less.
So the salesman was an idiot*.
Anybody thinking of buying one of the newer Automatics should do so without any hesitation at all (after doing their own research).

* With apologies to all committed Car salespeople who take the time to learn about Cars and the market - if you exist.

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

By now most auto enthusiasts must know how *intelligent* car sales people are.

[manishk123]

The only reason i'm not buying the Fortuner now is that they dont have it with an automatic transmission. This time round toyota should have offered the AT as an option atleast when they have positioned the Fortuner as a luxury offering. Makes driving such a big beast around the city so much simpler. Hope they offer it soon. Wont even mind paying 50k - 75k extra for it.

[jacobgeorge]

I drive a NHC AT and personally speaking I dont think I will ever go back to a MT, just considering the sheer convenience that an AT provides in this madenning traffic. Its a pity we do not have much choice in the small car segment except for the i10 and probably the Wagon R which isnt much a choice anyways.

[akj53]

I drove an AT first time last year in UK which was my son's BMW 525i and was hooked immediately. I was there for 6 months and got addicted to that car. I bought Altis AT in March after coming back to India. This car also has a superb transmission and shifts are very smooth. Only grouse is that it is a 4 speed, should have been atleast a 5 speed. But surprisingly Toyota sells this car with 4 speeder in USA also. Though they have a 5 speeder for Camry.

It makes the journey less tiresome and is worth the extra cash and less FE

[diffsoft]

Originally Posted by mohan41

Is there anyone who has used a Santro AT for long time (> 5 years/50k Km)? Is the maintenance more expensive in the long term really?

Hi Mohan:

I own an AT that is in its 5th year ( 4years + 2 days ) and about 52,000 km on the ODO. I have had to change brake pads more frequently but no other item. The car is aging but no problems at all so far. FE is around 10 in the city. Send it to Trident at S'puram every 6 months for servicing.

I would hazard that it does not seem more expensive to maintain than if I had owned a manual save the brake pads.

But that is well worth the comfort of having an AT in go-stop-go-stop-go traffic. One of those odd days when it takes 30 min to cross a 1 km stretch, you pat yourself on the back!

It is certainly holding up better than the M800 we had at the same age.

Cheers,

[Live To Jive]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

For example there was a 2003 Hyundai Santro automatic with about 35K miles on the odometer.
I have a 2002 Hyundai Santro Zip plus Automatic with ABS option. It has done 54,000 miles.

I guess you mean Kms. There will be a huge difference in the resale value of a car that has done 54K Miles and one that has done 54K Kms.

[Simhi]

Finally, more choice will be available for buyers of Automatic Transmission vehicles. I had opted for i10 AT since I had no other good option.

Source: Car cos shift gears: Auto transmission coming to compacts-Automobiles-Auto-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

Extract: Volkswagen Polo, Nissan Micra and Honda Jazz too are expected to offer autogear variants, company officials said. The four-speed autogear A-Star would come at a premium over the existing top-end version that has a price tag of Rs 4.2 lakh.

[AvonA7]

It`s a welcome change. Is this a confirmed news? Sometimes press (especially ET) publish news purely based on their guess without any confirmation from the manufacturers.

Maruti (if true) did a good job with AT, but probably they should have done it with Swift (or Ritz) and not A-Star, this is purely my opinion.

[nithi]

Originally Posted by AvonA7

they should have done it with Swift (or Ritz) and not A-Star

Right. They should have given AT in Ritz. IMO, It'll have better FE than i10 [which is where the i10 AT fails], better engine and good space. Ideal for small families. What is the point giving AT in A*?

The ET article says

"Maruti Suzuki will launch an automatic transmission variant of its hatchback A-Star in the next few weeks to challenge Hyundai i10’s autogear model that has generated impressive numbers within one year of its launch. "

I really doubt A* AT will challenge i10 AT. What were these guys thinking whey they wrote it?

And the article did'nt specify which variant [petrol / diesel] that will get AT. But anyway, If the article is true, then it is a wonderful news.

Regards!