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Automatic Transmission or Manual?

Discussion in 'Life in the UK' started by Anon220806, Mar 9, 2015.

  1. Aromulus
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    Aromulus The Don Staff Member

    One of the most imprtant reasons for applying for Provisional license, was that as her passport has expired and no chance of renewing until july 22, earliest appointment date at embassy, she needed another recognised ID.
  2. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    years ago provisional licences were valid for a relatively short time..is that the case now ? does the learner have to take a test within a certain time frame ?
  3. Aromulus
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    Aromulus The Don Staff Member

    I don't know about tests, but we need it so that my wife can get to Jersey with me, for my daughter's wedding next April as it is a valid ID for ferries and plane
  4. DavidAlma
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    DavidAlma Well-Known Member

    Apart from my classic cars, my last manual transmission vehicle was a Dodge Ramcharger with a 5l V8 engine, driven from 1982-84. If you didn't have a back problem before, you'd certainly have one after driving that beast in traffic for an hour or so!!
    Now, 10 auto vehicles later, including Nissan, Ford, Landrover SUV's and a few Jaguar sports cars, I'm onto my existing Ford Ranger Wildtrak 3.2l 4x4 diesel. It's beaut to drive. Would I ever consider buying a manual again?, absolutely not a chance in hell. Modern autos are sophisticated, smooth shifting, reliable and efficient. If you prefer making shifts yourself, slot into Sport mode and shift manually without needing to operate a clutch pedal. Wife has had a couple of Peugot 206cc autos and now Chevrolet with CVT transmission. She loves it and it certainly is very smooth.
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  5. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    We have the car now. It kept cutting out when we stopped in queueing traffic. We thought whoooa, wtf is this? We discovered eventually that there is an eco function button labelled A, that was switched on and cuts the engine when stopping in traffic for example. We genuinely thought it was a fault.
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2021
  6. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    At work we are all insured to drive the company cars so for example my boss can give me his car and I can drive it even though I don't have a company vehicle.

    So the point being that I've had to borrow these vehicles occasionally Audi's and Merc's, the Audi drove me nuts as it had a horrible pushbutton handbrake this was an £80,000 or more car and me in my automatics when I stop I go to neutral and apply the handbrake, try that in the Audi and moving off again is a horrific lurch.

    The Merc a £50,000 car well I got totally stuck at a junction trying to restart the damn thing after it cut out and I could not find the appropriate combination of kicks to get it going again, eventually got it started again with drivers behind getting very angry, horrific overengineering in my opinion, I don't really want to have to read the manual before I get into a car I have not driven before.

    I'm guessing these modern highly computerised vehicles like Tesla's are even worse.
    • Funny Funny x 1
  7. ChoiAndJohn
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    ChoiAndJohn Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    I've driven exclusively automatics since 1998 and wouldn't drive a manual again. Feels so primitive and mechanical and the constant messing with the clutch in traffic is a pain. I feel that automatics are so much more relaxing to drive especially in traffic - and if anyne is like me and just wants a comfy relaxing car like a mercedes or a jaguar it's usually automatic anyways.
  8. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    LOL. Yes, so many cars have push button ignition now and the same for the handbrake.

    Mrs Ash loves the car as it comes complete with Appleplay along with the other technology :D

    However we were not prepared for the engine cutting out in crawling traffic or at the lights. There is an override switch though, so we use that.
  9. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    I have got used to automatics. And like them. For me at least, they are easier to drive. I have never yet had one breakdown (touchwood) though Mrs Ash’s Nissan Juke had a few issues with the automatic gearbox which Nissan replaced at no cost to ourselves.

    I switch between automatic and manual as my car has a manual gearbox. I seem to be able to switch quite easily.
  10. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    what next--a starter motor ? power steering and brakes ?
  11. Jim
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    Jim Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    They have brakes? Not over here they don't, at least the brake lights don't work on most and at night they don't put the lights on at all.
    • Funny Funny x 1
  12. Druk1
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    Druk1 Well-Known Member

    Got sent some footage the other week, some guy moaning and trying to stand up, died of internal bleeding a short while later, riding his motorbike without lights, my kids cousin died the same way shortly after graduating a number of years back, waste of life.
  13. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    my wife tells me: in the philippines if a person is knocked down by a vehicle, and injured,..then the driver is liable to support the person--even for the rest of his life. So to speed "the rest of hisl ife" up a bit--the driver will simply reverse back over him.
  14. Jim
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    Jim Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    The driver will either go to jail for life or pay up. (Blood money) if he gets caught.
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  15. Jim
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    Jim Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    So sad. I'm surprised there aren't many more accidents the way they drive. I drive almost every day and I see the way they drive, scares me how the bikers and trikes just come out of a side road without looking.
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  16. Druk1
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    Druk1 Well-Known Member

    I knew a guy years ago, killed an old bloke near GenSan, he stayed in hospital to avoid arrest and eventually agreed a sum of cash with the family as a way of wriggling out of arrest.
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  17. Druk1
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    Druk1 Well-Known Member

    That was always the rumour on the cebu City - Dumaguete bus, the drivers drove like maniacs :)
  18. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    My S2000 had a big red Start button which was pretty rare on cars back 20 years ago also had a digital dashboard where the tacho went up to 9000 rpm before it hit the red line, loved that car and I loved the Start button but in keeping with being a sports car the box was manual and a lot of fun and of course the handbrake was a real handbrake.

    (not my pic but the only UK/Japan RHD I could find)
    [​IMG]2001.11 Honda S2000 2.0 Type V LA-AP1 Lime Green Metallic (21) by Ray Penber, on Flickr
  19. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    Personally I feel better for having a proper handbrake and conventional key operated ignition, but I guess it’s a case of getting used to changing technology. Mrs Ash likes all the modern stuff in the car.
  20. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    I got my first automatic in 2001 and I feel the same as you, although I do enjoy a great gearbox in a dedicated sports car but at my age now I'm not about to get a sports car again, the one thing about older automatics was the poorer fuel consumption that's now much less of a problem these days with some of them coming very close to manual transmission and these new CVT things are even better I think.

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