Modern passenger cars are equipped with a manual or automatic gearbox. Each of them has both supporters and opponents. To determine which is better than a manual or automatic car, you need to get to know their strengths and weaknesses.
The main purpose of any gearbox is to transmit torque from the engine to the vehicle's chassis. Depending on the road conditions, the torque must be adjusted in a timely manner so that the car moves smoothly and without stopping in any driving situation.
Which car to buy, with automatic transmission or manual transmission...
What do you friends like best? Do you prefer to shift the gearbox yourself, or do you want the car to do the job for you? We believe that you should take this into account when choosing a car. Well, if you don’t care what gearbox you have in your car, then there is no point in overpaying for an automatic transmission. But which gearbox is better...? What is the difference between them and is it worth pursuing technology? Let's find out together, friends, which gearbox is preferable to buy a car with.
How to drive a manual car (manual transmission): Ten simple steps
When it comes to choosing a gearbox in a car, many of you have probably asked yourself this question: Which gearbox is better and more reliable? But the final decision for many buyers was probably related to convenience and comfort. After all, most often for many drivers this is the most important thing. And I must say even more than reliability, efficiency and cost of maintenance.
As a rule, a manual transmission is available by default on all basic trim levels of a particular car. Yes, of course, in recent years, many automakers have begun to refuse to install manual transmissions on their cars, thereby installing automatic transmissions even on basic versions of cars.
Most often (at the moment) we see the disappearance of manual transmissions on premium car brands. But, nevertheless, on a global scale, most cars are still available with manual transmission. And I must admit, this is pleasing, since we believe that the driver personally should always have a choice.
Cars with automatic transmissions are known to be much more expensive compared to cars with manual transmissions, and all because the cost of these cars with automatic transmissions is much more expensive for manufacturers than cars with manual transmissions.
But still, not every driver today wants to buy a car with a manual transmission. But what to do then if a car with an automatic transmission costs much more? Is it worth paying extra for it?
The first thing you need to do is determine for yourself whether you need a car with an automatic transmission. To do this, you need to think about how and where you will most often use your car. This way you will understand whether a car with an automatic transmission will suit your needs.
For example, on your way to work every day you get stuck in traffic jams. As a result, all 5 days a week your car most often moves in stop-start mode and all this is due to traffic jams or due to a large number of traffic lights. Or let's say you want to enjoy the process of driving without worrying about changing gears... Then in this case, a car with an automatic transmission may be best suited for you.
Otherwise, let’s say you prefer to have maximum control of the car in any travel mode. Or you are an avid motorist and love driving in low gears... Then perhaps a car with a manual transmission is best suited for you.
You still can’t decide which gearbox to buy for your car? Then our special guide to the world of cars will help you, friends, finally decide which car to buy for yourself and which transmission is the best choice for you.
Is it necessary to depress the clutch when starting the engine on a manual transmission?
I treated automatic transmission without hostility and without fear. There's just no way. Well, people travel, to each his own. I didn’t understand one thing, how does it feel to give control to an automatic machine, instead of getting high yourself?
Therefore, when I bought the Toyota Avensis 2006, at first I was even upset that it was automatic. Well, the circumstances were such that it was necessary to take it. And, I think, I’ll drive it, if anything happens, I’ll sell it.
Well, what can I say: I was wrong. And many people say the same thing, I read auto forums: “I switched to an automatic, I’ll never go back to a manual,” I subscribe to every word.
Two men had a fight in the comments under a video about traffic violations - now one is in the morgue, and the other is in custody
Why such a sudden change? Everything is relative. I knew in what ways manual transmission was cooler, but in practice many points were not confirmed. For example, I didn’t notice increased fuel consumption.
Manual Transmission
Pros: -Ability to use gears more efficiently; better efficiency than in cars with automatic transmission; cheaper car cost; reliability and durability.
Cons: -Shifting gears requires more physical effort than in a car with automatic transmission; tedious gear shifting in traffic jams when driving in start-stop mode; If you change gears incorrectly, this box can quickly fail.
For some car enthusiasts and avid motorists, there is only one transmission in the world, and that is the manual transmission. Such drivers believe that automatic transmissions have completely ruined modern cars, since they are not able to unleash the full potential of vehicles.
But the fact is that while driving a car with a manual transmission, you independently control the gear shift, which means that all control over the car is completely in your hands. This also means that you decide for yourself when and at what speed you should drive in a particular gear.
Also, thanks to a manual transmission, you can feel more confident on slippery roads, since you get the opportunity to brake directly at speed, including downshifting when driving at the right time. As a result, such a box helps you slow down and reduce the risk of losing traction.
Including, cars with manual transmissions are much more economical than their older versions of cars with automatic transmission. The point is that the driver in a car with a manual transmission can change gear speeds in time (at the right time, when the engine torque is ideal for turning on a certain speed), when cars with automatic transmissions are most often late in changing the gear speed. As a result, all this leads to excessive consumption of fuel by the car.
In general, drivers of cars with a manual transmission get more pleasure from driving, and all thanks to greater control of the car while it is moving.
Of course, it is nice and good for the human soul when you get more pleasure from driving itself. But, if you have a car that you most often need to travel from point A to point B, and your intermediate trips most often pass through traffic jams, then in this case it is possible that driving a vehicle with a manual transmission will be a chore for you and uncomfortable.
That is, if you drive around a city with heavy traffic most of the time, then it is natural that most of the time you will drive your car in stop-start mode, and all this is due to constant congestion and numerous traffic lights on the road.
In this mode, I must admit, it is not only boring but also a chore to drive. The main disadvantage is the rapid wear of the manual transmission due to constant gear changes.
Including, when driving a car with a manual transmission in the city, you will change the clutch on it much more often, which, as you know, is not cheap.
It is also worth noting here that many novice drivers have difficulty driving a car with a manual transmission. For this reason, more and more novice drivers prefer to purchase cars equipped with automatic transmission.
In addition, novice drivers, as a rule, do not always change gears correctly on a manual transmission and do not fully depress the clutch pedal, which ultimately leads to rapid wear of the main components of the gearbox.
However, we still do not recommend studying at a driving school in a car with an automatic transmission. Even in those cases when you think that you do not need a license with permission to drive cars with manual transmission. After all, don’t forget, friends, anything can happen in life and perhaps someday you will still have to get behind the wheel of a car with a manual transmission.
But if you pass a license with access to cars only with automatic transmission, then you will not be able to legally drive a car with manual transmission.
Also remember, if you learn to drive a car with a manual transmission, you will gain more valuable driving experience that you will never be able to get driving a car with an automatic transmission.
The only disadvantage of a manual transmission, which can stop many, is the problem of selling a used car with a manual transmission. This is especially noticeable in large cities of Russia, where the popularity of cars with automatic transmission has grown significantly in recent years.
Ultimately, the owner of a car with a manual transmission may encounter problems when selling it. This is especially true for cheap, non-premium car models.
The main problem here is the residual value of the car. Accordingly, we conclude that the less demand for a car, the cheaper it costs on the market. And as you probably already understood, friends, many car models with manual transmission may have little demand in the car market. As a result, this will lead to increased losses in price and an increase in the time it takes to sell the car.
However, don’t be upset, there will always be a demand for “mechanics”. Therefore, you can always sell a car with a manual transmission.
Automatic transmission
Pros: -Easy to use; smooth gear changes (less loss of speed when shifting); the opportunity to relax while driving.
Cons: -A car with automatic transmission consumes more fuel; has a high cost; more expensive maintenance and expensive repairs compared to cars with manual transmission; automatic transmissions have a shorter service life.
There are many different types of automatic transmissions you can find in the auto world. Especially in our time of high modern technologies. But, as a rule, ordinary inexpensive cars always use a conventional classic automatic transmission with a torque converter to transmit torque from the engine to the wheels.
Such boxes use a hydraulic system that allows you to get rid of the clutch. As a result, this system controls automatic gear shifting while the car is moving.
As a result, driving a car with an automatic transmission is very easy, since the driver does not participate in the process of changing gears and is not distracted while driving.
But there is a major drawback to any automatic transmission.
This is not the efficiency of shifting gears, since only a person sitting directly behind the wheel of a car is able to change gears at the ideal moment. As a rule, almost all automatic transmissions are late in changing speed, which leads to excessive fuel consumption and, in some cases, loss of dynamics.
Cars with automatic transmissions are ideal for those drivers who often sit in traffic jams while driving. But, if your path often runs along winding roads, then in this case, and of course, if you want to get more control over the car, then it would be best for you to buy a car with a manual transmission, since an automatic transmission will not be able to provide you with confident driving at good speed on the roads with a lot of turns, and so on. directions.
The same goes for CVT automatic transmissions.
CVT is a continuously variable automatic transmission.
This type of transmission is equipped with a certain mechanism that can constantly change gear ratios. But this variator, just like a regular automatic transmission, changes gears automatically. As a result, this means that the driver's participation in changing gears is also limited.
The main advantage of a CVT in comparison with automatic transmissions with a torque converter is the efficiency of fuel consumption by the machine. Yes, yes, cars with continuously variable automatic transmissions are more economical than vehicles with a classic automatic transmission.
See also: Manual transmission: What you need to know when shifting gears
The fact is that gear shifting on a conventional automatic transmission depends on the engine power and its speed. Ultimately, this leads to excessive fuel consumption.
In addition, the cost of CVTs themselves is cheaper than conventional automatic transmissions, which affects the final price of the car.
For example, on an inexpensive car costing somewhere up to 1 million rubles, a CVT transmission will cost 30-50 thousand rubles less than the same classic automatic.
What are the main advantages of a car with automatic transmission?
Of course, this is primarily about control comfort. After all, you don’t need to worry about changing gears and pressing the clutch pedal, which is simply not available in cars with automatic transmissions.
This is especially convenient in cases where you often have to drive and stand in traffic jams, or when your driving mode most of the time is stop-start.
In particular, for novice drivers, cars with an automatic transmission give more confidence, especially when starting from a standstill on an incline. After all, a car with an automatic transmission stands still and does not roll back when you start on a slope, since the automatic transmission always works, even when you stand in one place.
Semi-automatic transmission
Pros: -Smooth and smooth shifting; fuel economy; better driving experience compared to automatic transmission.
Cons: -Complex design and technology of the box; expensive repairs; small resource compared to a classic manual transmission; The design of the gear shift knob is not very attractive in comparison with the same automatic transmission.
In the auto world, there is an “intermediate” transmission option that sits between an automatic and a manual transmission. We are talking, friends, about a robotic semi-automatic transmission with a double clutch.
The most famous dual-clutch transmission is the DSG transmission, which is installed on Volkswagen and Porshe cars.
Also no less popular is the PDK box, which is produced by.
How does this semi-automatic transmission differ from conventional automatic transmissions?
Unlike automatic transmissions and CVTs, a robotic transmission uses a clutch system to change gears.
But, despite this, the car where it is installed also does not have a clutch pedal. The clutch operation process is controlled electronically. As a result, the driver, just like in cars with automatic transmission, does not need to press the clutch pedal to change gears.
The gear shifting process in dual-clutch transmissions can be controlled electronically or by the driver himself (manual gear shift mode).
That is, the driver, being in a car with a robotic gearbox, can independently select the gear to drive by moving the gearbox shift knob forward or backward.
Also, in some car models, manufacturers equip cars with a robotic gearbox with gear shift paddles, with which the driver has the ability to control movement in certain gears.
See also: The strangest technologies for shifting automatic transmissions
The dual clutch system itself uses two clutches to select gears. One for the currently engaged gear and one for the next gear (pre-selected by the system) to be used as the vehicle speed increases.
Often, dual-clutch transmissions are installed on powerful sports cars. The fact is that even the latest conventional gearboxes often cannot cope with the high torque in modern sports cars. As a result, it turns out that a dual-clutch gearbox is best suited for such cars.
For example, McLaren and McLaren use exclusively dual-clutch technology in their supercars.
On ordinary cars, a double-clutch transmission, as a rule, has the same number of gears as on cars with a manual transmission (sometimes there are more).
Robotic gearbox. has been proven to change gears faster, smoother and more efficiently than a driver does while driving a manual car.
Since this dual-clutch transmission is controlled entirely electronically, it selects the optimal gear in all driving situations (depending on engine torque). Thanks to this, the fuel consumption of the machine is optimized.
To fully understand how much a dual-clutch transmission saves fuel, it is necessary to compare the technical indicators of the efficiency of cars with a manual (mechanical) transmission and with a dual-clutch robotic transmission.
As a result, you will not notice any difference in fuel consumption, and in some car models you may find that cars with a “robot” are more economical than some car models with manual transmission.
Sometimes, cars equipped with a dual-clutch transmission are also equipped with a stop-start system, which automatically turns off the engine when stopping and automatically starts the engine when you press the gas pedal. This allows them (the cars) to further reduce fuel consumption at idle. As a result, such cars with robotic gearboxes are considered the most economical.
If you like to drive in sport mode, then the dual-clutch transmission is usually equipped with a sport mode, which, when activated, keeps the car in one gear for much longer.
In addition, in sport mode, you can select a manual gear shift mode on the car, which will allow you to fully control how the car moves.
Some cars with a robotic gearbox use a gear shift lever, which allows you to independently change gears by moving the gearbox handle back and forth, similar to the principle of shifting gears on a motorcycle.
There are also car models that are equipped with steering wheel shift paddles, which allow you to get a driving experience similar to what you can get behind the wheel of modern racing cars.
The main disadvantage of such dual-clutch transmissions is their high cost when compared with a manual transmission or a classic automatic transmission.
Also, these robotic gearboxes do not have a very long service life (some models and modifications of cars), and the cost of repairing the transmission can be comparable to the cost of a new manual gearbox.
Including, in a robotic gearbox there is twice as much risk that the clutch system may fail. The reason for this is two clutches that wear out sooner or later.
Which is more economical and cheaper to maintain?
Automatic transmission repairs are more expensive. Due to the more complex design of the unit and high price. In terms of fuel consumption, cars with an automatic transmission are higher. According to statistics, the value is 5-7% higher.
However, proper operation and regular maintenance of the automatic transmission reduces the amount of fuel consumption. You will need an additional 1 liter of fuel for every 100 km. More often, savings are observed among inexperienced drivers who completely trust the car to solve all problems independently. The machine makes the most optimal decisions.
Which gearbox is right for you?
If you are passionate about driving a car and for you driving it is more than just moving from home to work, and also if you want to get complete control over your vehicle, then the best option would be to buy yourself a car with a manual transmission with a classic clutch pedal.
But if you most often travel by car in the city and want to simply relax while driving, and at the same time enjoy your trips to work or to the store. and so on. space, then the best choice for you will be a vehicle with an automatic transmission.
Well, if you want something universal for yourself, for example, between a manual and an automatic, then you can buy yourself a car with a semi-automatic transmission (dual clutch), which will allow you, when necessary, to turn on the fully automatic gear shift mode and relax. For example, when driving a car while in a traffic jam. But here’s the plus: when you want to gain control of the car, such a robotic gearbox will allow you to turn on a special mode and then select gears yourself.
Naturally, friends, there is nothing ideal in the world. Each gearbox has its pros and cons. So gentlemen, the choice is of course yours. It all depends on the type, class of the car and its operating conditions, as well as on your personal preferences and your driving style.
To make the right choice, you just need to better study all the pros and cons of each transmission, and then decide which transmission to buy a car with. Good luck to all!
Advantages of mechanics over automatic
- Only a driver who respects and feels the machinery can understand the beauty of driving with complete control of the car.
- You begin to love and understand manuals only when you have gained a fair amount of experience, but an automatic is for girls or novice drivers. It’s not for nothing that O was introduced into his driver’s license: he has mastered an automatic, which means he can’t drive a manual one. On the contrary - please.
- This is a technique for real aces, only they can squeeze out all its potential from the mechanics and make everyone on the track.
