Change in driving when moving from oldschool to modern car

I'm finding it damn hard to unlearn and learn. I guess you can imagine the differences.

BHPian ggkg recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I've only driven one vehicle in my life - Trax Gama with no power steering. After a bit of effort, I drove it fairly well for about 15,000 km with no major issues. That was almost four years ago. I sold it off and since then never drove.

Now I've bought a Hyundai i10 Nios.

I'm finding it damn hard to unlearn and learn. I guess you can imagine the differences. But the main issue is figuring out what gear to start, stay in for slow steady drive and when to shift, I mean at what speed.

With Trax, that was easy cos it whines loudly and you shift. Of course you learn along the way. Here the engine sound is an unreliable indicator. Further, it seems to accept gear change at any speed to any gear unlike Trax, that'll stall if you shift too early at lower speeds.

Also, my seller who was a very nice guy told me it's not necessary to use accelerator at all at lower speeds, just shift gears to speed up. Is this correct or safe? This is also the opposite of Trax where you keep foot on the accelerator and give gentle prod or it slows down. He suggests keeping the right feet on the brake, not accelerator.

The guy also taught me to shift quickly to fourth even if my speed is below 40!.

These issues plus the layout of gears, much softer press needed, much more limited feedback, and much lower play or distance to press etc keep me confused. Guess it'll go away after few km, but I don't want to learn bad habits that'll stay.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

You have 15000 km of driving experience, but the 4 year gap is a bit concerning. Still, no big deal at all. I move from an oldschool vehicle to a modern car every week. One of the cars in my garage is a 24-year old Jeep which is as basic as an automobile can be. Two of my other cars are as cutting-edge as a modern car can be. I switch between them easily.

In fact, I'll say that it's easier to move from a Trax to an i10, than vice versa. Will just take a little getting used to as both have extremely different characters. The i10 is modern, refined, comfortable and boasts way better engineering.

Spend a couple of days & km behind the wheel. If you still find yourself struggling, then simply take driving lessons as other BHPians have smartly recommended.

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