Automatic Transmission v/s Manual

mukeshgoel · 4th December 2008, 18:46

Even I drive a Civic-AT and ZEN LXi.

Manual Car gives a feeling of Self-service fast food restaurant (not dhabas) whereas AT feels like a fine dining restaurant, something like 4-5 star.

raveen_2023 · 5th December 2008, 10:37

Major reasons for default manual trannys in india:
1. Automatic transmissions are relatively expensive and bump up the price which may push a car out of its competing segment.

2. Manual trannys give better fuel economy ( there are some exceptions like civic in US). In US fuel is subsidized and pretty cheap compared to india, so people can afford to trade in some fuel economy for convinience.

3. Automatic tranmissions perform better when mated to bigger displacement engines.
A 1.3L engine in india is considered as of decent size, where as in US even entry level compact cars carry a 1.8L engine.

raveen_2023 · 5th December 2008, 10:41

Automatics are for week day commuting

Manuals are for week end spirited driving

rutvij · 5th December 2008, 18:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by vijayrv

"Driving an automatic transmission is like marrying a pregnant woman "

Well Said..

I am sincerely thinking about marrying with pregnant lady.

Can any one inform here about regular maintenance issues involved with Auto Transmission in i10 kappa magna and also its fuel consumption.

CtrlAltDel · 5th December 2008, 21:09

dunno abt maintenance but expect an FE of 9-11 kmpl in city

mukeshgoel · 5th December 2008, 21:26

As far as Civic is concerned, there is absolutely no special maintenance required.

sudipta · 7th December 2008, 13:37

Hi All,

I am looking for a small car with A/T for only city driving (primarily to be driven by my wife). With what ever I read so far, Santro A/T is a decent choice. From the website I found that there is A/T model for i10 available now. Any feedback on this model will be very helpful for my decission.

Also please feel free to suggest on the maintenance cost and FE as I am not at all sure on that.

johnda · 7th December 2008, 22:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by sudipta

Hi All,
I am looking for a small car with A/T for only city driving (primarily to be driven by my wife). With what ever I read so far, Santro A/T is a decent choice. From the website I found that there is A/T model for i10 available now. Any feedback on this model will be very helpful for my decission.
Also please feel free to suggest on the maintenance cost and FE as I am not at all sure on that.

Make sure you check the Santro AT too, IMO The deal is a better one. rather than the i10, but i could be wrong. Maintaining an automatic is easy, coz the excessive abuse that a manual can go through is not there, Gear changes and braking, revving and other manual 'features' are missing...

But the flip side is a 'lower FE' from the manual counterpart. My dad drives a Santro AT and he gets about 11.5 and and maybe 13 on highway.
Once you drive it you are gonna love it.

superamerica · 8th December 2008, 12:54

The major grouse against A/T seems to be the rather low FE in Indian city conditions. Would this not be a valid case for the entry of a Diesel A/T in around the 6-7L segment. I have always wondered why no manufacturer has not even attempted this? Agreed the cost could be a double premium(Diesel Engine+A/T) on a similar petrol M/T car, but I believe there is a very good market for such a car. Imagine a Fiesta Diesel A/T for around 9L on road BLR, giving a FE of 12Kmpl in City instead of the 14kmpl for the Diesel M/T variant.

kpbhatt · 8th December 2008, 13:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by superamerica

The major grouse against A/T seems to be the rather low FE in Indian city conditions. Would this not be a valid case for the entry of a Diesel A/T in around the 6-7L segment. I have always wondered why no manufacturer has not even attempted this? Agreed the cost could be a double premium(Diesel Engine+A/T) on a similar petrol M/T car, but I believe there is a very good market for such a car. Imagine a Fiesta Diesel A/T for around 9L on road BLR, giving a FE of 12Kmpl in City instead of the 14kmpl for the Diesel M/T variant.

I have been waiting ( getting grey hair now) for Tata, Maruti, Fiat, now even GM and Ford to look at this market and launch a deisel hatch with AT and even a sedan with AT in the B+ and C+ segment. There is a market available for people who just dont consider FE as be all and end all for buying a vehicle. Driving comfort, less wear and tear and eventually less maintenance for essential parts of the vehicle should be a top priority while considering buying such cars

Guna · 8th December 2008, 14:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnda

Maintaining an automatic is easy, coz the excessive abuse that a manual can go through is not there, Gear changes and braking, revving and other manual 'features' are missing...

Of course you have braking in an auto

I have not used an AT but I think it is far more easier to keep the revs low and still drive in decent speeds in a manual trasmission than an auto.

entropy · 8th December 2008, 14:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by rutvij

Can any one inform here about regular maintenance issues involved with Auto Transmission in i10 kappa magna and also its fuel consumption.

I get about 8 KMPL now on i10-Asta. Pure city driving, short commutes. Zero rupees spent on maint so far (2300 Km done).

esteem_lover · 8th December 2008, 14:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by mukeshgoel

Even I drive a Civic-AT and ZEN LXi.

Manual Car gives a feeling of Self-service fast food restaurant (not dhabas) whereas AT feels like a fine dining restaurant, something like 4-5 star.

I think you are talking about the general experience in each of your cars, not just the transmission.

Rajesh Rawal · 8th December 2008, 15:08

Have been driving in an a/t santro since may 08 ,7000km till date ,2 services done ..

what i have noticed is after the 2nd service the pick up has definately improved....(but it can never match the pick up of a M/T)

touched about 135km/hr on it as the top speed( have installed k&n replacement air filter,so maybe an extra 2-3 bhp is is beacuse of that)...

FE would range between 10-11...

out and out the santro automatic is a good car ,total hassle free driving in the city,no worries on the highway too ( have done hyd-mum-hyd) and i coudnt feel any difference on the ghats/uphill/downhill/while overtaking in comparision to the manual transmission...

Anybody wanting to buy a santro A/T ,i would say go for it !

316kmph · 10th December 2008, 17:23

1. As quoted already, Fuel Economy, Low power of engines and to some extent competitive pricing are the reasons why MT prevails over AT in India.

2. A/t are certainly not going to have too many problems. However, because they have more electronic and mechanical parts that are relatively more complex in engineering and manufacturing, the chances that there might be a problem is slightly high over a manual. Adding to it, since the volume of a/t boxes sold in India are very low, these are fully imported and spare stocks are low and scarce and hence could be
expensive and time consuming to fix problems. (I had troubles with my chevy optra A/t, this version is no longer available)

3. Apart from the Santro and the City, i10, Wagon R(made to order) Scorpio offer Auto tranny option.

4th December 2008, 18:46	#31
mukeshgoel Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 1,234 Thanked: 2,142 Times View My Garage	Even I drive a Civic-AT and ZEN LXi. Manual Car gives a feeling of Self-service fast food restaurant (not dhabas) whereas AT feels like a fine dining restaurant, something like 4-5 star.
	() Thanks

5th December 2008, 10:37	#32
raveen_2023 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Hamden Posts: 120 Thanked: 55 Times View My Garage	Major reasons for default manual trannys in india: 1. Automatic transmissions are relatively expensive and bump up the price which may push a car out of its competing segment. 2. Manual trannys give better fuel economy ( there are some exceptions like civic in US). In US fuel is subsidized and pretty cheap compared to india, so people can afford to trade in some fuel economy for convinience. 3. Automatic tranmissions perform better when mated to bigger displacement engines. A 1.3L engine in india is considered as of decent size, where as in US even entry level compact cars carry a 1.8L engine.
	() Thanks

5th December 2008, 10:41	#33
raveen_2023 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Hamden Posts: 120 Thanked: 55 Times View My Garage	Automatics are for week day commuting Manuals are for week end spirited driving
	() Thanks

5th December 2008, 21:09	#35
CtrlAltDel BHPian Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: HyderaGr8 Posts: 500 Thanked: 24 Times	dunno abt maintenance but expect an FE of 9-11 kmpl in city
	() Thanks

5th December 2008, 21:26	#36
mukeshgoel Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 1,234 Thanked: 2,142 Times View My Garage	As far as Civic is concerned, there is absolutely no special maintenance required.
	() Thanks

7th December 2008, 13:37	#37
sudipta BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 297 Thanked: 88 Times View My Garage	Hi All, I am looking for a small car with A/T for only city driving (primarily to be driven by my wife). With what ever I read so far, Santro A/T is a decent choice. From the website I found that there is A/T model for i10 available now. Any feedback on this model will be very helpful for my decission. Also please feel free to suggest on the maintenance cost and FE as I am not at all sure on that.
	() Thanks

8th December 2008, 12:54	#39
superamerica BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 59 Thanked: 0 Times	The major grouse against A/T seems to be the rather low FE in Indian city conditions. Would this not be a valid case for the entry of a Diesel A/T in around the 6-7L segment. I have always wondered why no manufacturer has not even attempted this? Agreed the cost could be a double premium(Diesel Engine+A/T) on a similar petrol M/T car, but I believe there is a very good market for such a car. Imagine a Fiesta Diesel A/T for around 9L on road BLR, giving a FE of 12Kmpl in City instead of the 14kmpl for the Diesel M/T variant.
	() Thanks

8th December 2008, 15:08	#44
Rajesh Rawal BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: Back in Mumbai Posts: 384 Thanked: 159 Times View My Garage	Have been driving in an a/t santro since may 08 ,7000km till date ,2 services done .. what i have noticed is after the 2nd service the pick up has definately improved....(but it can never match the pick up of a M/T) touched about 135km/hr on it as the top speed( have installed k&n replacement air filter,so maybe an extra 2-3 bhp is is beacuse of that)... FE would range between 10-11... out and out the santro automatic is a good car ,total hassle free driving in the city,no worries on the highway too ( have done hyd-mum-hyd) and i coudnt feel any difference on the ghats/uphill/downhill/while overtaking in comparision to the manual transmission... Anybody wanting to buy a santro A/T ,i would say go for it !
	() Thanks

10th December 2008, 17:23	#45
316kmph BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Chennai Posts: 148 Thanked: 183 Times	1. As quoted already, Fuel Economy, Low power of engines and to some extent competitive pricing are the reasons why MT prevails over AT in India. 2. A/t are certainly not going to have too many problems. However, because they have more electronic and mechanical parts that are relatively more complex in engineering and manufacturing, the chances that there might be a problem is slightly high over a manual. Adding to it, since the volume of a/t boxes sold in India are very low, these are fully imported and spare stocks are low and scarce and hence could be expensive and time consuming to fix problems. (I had troubles with my chevy optra A/t, this version is no longer available) 3. Apart from the Santro and the City, i10, Wagon R(made to order) Scorpio offer Auto tranny option.
	() Thanks