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I want an Automatic Maruthi Ritz Diesel. Hope they listen to us customers. A lot of us would like a small diesel car with auto transmission so its easy to drive/park plus economical.

In India AT is considered "for the ladies". Moreover, how many of us will feel the thrill of driving without having to change the gears? Taming the machine is more fun than having a tamed machine right?

I welcome you to 'feel the thrill' in my daily commute - some days of which one might use up 1.5 - 2 hours to cover a stretch of 22 kms :), which should ideally take 35-40 minutes (normal traffic).

I had an opurtunity to live with a santro AT for a few days.It was really good feeling particularly in the city.A few KM mileage difference is not that big an issue as we project it when it translates into cost per kilometer.
ram

Have one and use it everyday, even though its actually my wife's. But due to the legroom be very less for me, it would be great to have an auto Ritz diesel as its legroom is fantastic. Even an i10 auto diesel would be great.

Do civic/City ATs have torque converter lock? I felt that the locking happens whenever you use S mode (rubbery feeling goes off in S mode).

I bought Altis Automatic in March 09. I live in Noida and the traffic in NCR is simply maddening. So AT is a boon and leaves me free to concentrate in dodging the bikers and other 'so called drivers' on our free-for-all-roads.

The FE loss should be around 1.5 kmpl but that is not an issue. The only grudge I have is the 4 speed AT box provided on Altis. Toyota must provide a 5 or 6 speed AT box.

I dont think I will buy another manual transmission car in future.

I do appreciate that manual box may provide more thrills but only if you have an thrilling engine, which are sadly absent in more than 95% of our cars. And our road conditions + our driving habits have ensured that even the joy of a relaxing / soothing and safe drive has evaporated, so hoping for a 'thrilling' ride is rather 'high hopes'.

Very callous remark here. AT for the ladies? Hello? Please try to drive the 12.7kms every evening in Bombay's pothole ridden roads from Andheri East Saki Naka to Bandra West every evening in horrendous conditions within 1.5-2 hours without going insane. AT's are a boon and a blessing in Start-Stop Urban Cities' Traffic scenario's where the "thrill" of a manual gearbox can never be "relished". Sorry for going OTT but don't generalise stuff just like that dude. To each their own. Puhleez.

Ya, after i started to drive AT, tension and anger in the Roads with bumper to bumper traffic has reduced considerably.Now i can concentrate on music not on gear or clutch. :) I just to release and put break without even pressing accelerator as the car moves at 5-10 kmph when in drive mode.

I think so. It is engaged above a certain speed. Look at the US-EPA ratings. The Highway rating of the AT is 1mpg higher than the manual - most probably due to the higher gearing of the AT. I was myself amazed to get 13+kpl on a trip to Lucknow with a brand new car, with less than 200km on the clock.

What you refer to as the 'rubbery feel' may be the engine free-wheeling with transmission free at lower speed. Is an eerie feeling in the beginning.

automatic for ladies what part of india do you live in ? in bombay a 10 km drive can take about 100 mins or so which is stupid, the roads in bombay are lame as they can get. where exactly are you going to pump 5th and 6th gear again ? india barely started getting good highways not cities are still horrible. i gave up driving manuals 5 years ago and living in india surely aint buying a manual again. automatics are awesome, no maintainence issues or less fuel economy. its all crappy indian mentality. tell bmw and mercs to make manuals for indians, they wouldnt even care at all. in 10 years time or so all cars 90% will be autoboxs on the road wait and watch

I agree. Sometimes I feel driving a manual inside the city is like cooking on a kerosene stove instead of a gas stove because of the thrill of priming, pumping & adjusting the flame.

I agree Automatic is definitely much more convenient in out stop-start traffic, but driving a manual has never bothered me, you don't really tend to notice shifting gears, it become second nature.
Also for me, personally, there is just something so "unmanly" about driving an automatic (no offence to you autobox owners out there), and driving a manual just makes me feel calm. For some strange reason, I feel more connected to my car with manual, like I'm one with the machine. (I know this sounds weird, some of you must be wondering what exactly I'm smoking).
However, for all the regular commuters out there, who aren't on the same substance abuse that I am lol:, having small automatic hatches can make a world of a difference to their comfort and road rage. Hope more manufacturers try and sell automatics at affordable prices, and not just with only the top-most variant like a lot do right now,

its only obvious why most of the new cars are ONLY automatic even super cars and hyper cars as well the reason is most of the errors are done by human itself while driving. changing gears is a thing of the past. 75% of india cannot even drive properly. no turn signals, take u turns anywhere. brake lights do not work and so on so i can imagine how they ride their clutches as well. im sure in 20 years there will be no manuals.