Are manual cars still a thing? Is there even a future for the old gear stick?

[Geoff.D]

Slow crawl is inherently the stop start type, it's never a smooth crawl.

It all depends on the gear ratios and power available. And the skill of the driver, who quickly finds out how to squeeze optimum performance out of whatever he has available.
Autos take that away from you as a driver, esp in smaller low powered autos. Drivers become bored, start playing with gadgets and losing concentration.

 

[Geoff.D]

What hunting issue?

My 320D cruises at 120 in a single gear very happily and very very efficiently.... Yes I get more "fun" out of the car in the 150 range but it doesn't feel underpowered or sluggish or hunting gears at 100 or 120.

You have the power available plus a better designed gearbox presumably.

 

[Gtx Gaming]

What hunting issue?

My 320D cruises at 120 in a single gear very happily and very very efficiently.... Yes I get more "fun" out of the car in the 150 range but it doesn't feel underpowered or sluggish or hunting gears at 100 or 120.

Diesel has torque all the time, and the ZF 8-Speed is really good at what it does

 

[ToxicBunny]

You have the power available plus a better designed gearbox presumably.

Most new(er) cars have decent boxes...

The last time I experienced a hunting issue was in my mates Toyota Fortuner with its manky 4 speed box.

 

[BigAl-sa]

 

[6spdmanual]

Well, I guess this is the new Manual vs Automatic thread now. Its always nice revisiting this argument every couple of months.

 

[supersunbird]

It all depends on the gear ratios and power available. And the skill of the driver, who quickly finds out how to squeeze optimum performance out of whatever he has available.
Autos take that away from you as a driver, esp in smaller low powered autos. Drivers become bored, start playing with gadgets and losing concentration.

The slow stop start crawl is boring enough to do that too

 

[kolaval]

Daft argument.
When anything breaks on a car, you pay.
Besides, unless pulled through it's own arsehole, I don't see all these new auto's breaking all the time.

Daft argument.

Just as there is a difference in price between fixing a fiesta and a c class, so there is a difference between fixing a manual transmission and an automatic.

Besides, not everyone drives a new auto

 

[Stuey74]

Now drive that thing at 140 and you will see a difference. The age old problem with ALL cars manual or otherwise. The manufacturers have all failed to optimise performance at a speed of 100 - 120 km/hr. Instead the sweet spot is 130 - 150 km/hr.
Couple that with a crappy 4, 5 or 6- speed and you end up with this infuriating hunting issue.
It does not really matter what make of car it is either.
The fancier cars use sw to disguise the basic problem a little better.
Now, the truth will come out if you analyse the available gear ratios in that car @Dairyfarmer has got.

My 13 year old auto sits very nicely at 120 and doesn't hunt at all. Even when going up a hill, just squirts some more fuel in. On an early morning run to Kimberley via the N12, cruise control at (indicated) 120 it sat in 6th quite happily on all the inter town highway (generous use of the word) sections without changing gears. Even got the fuel consumption to something I didn't think I would ever see from that vehicle.

 

[C4Cat]

I suspect affordable electric cars will become widely available and common over the next 5 years

 

[Dairyfarmer]

That's a long post to compare apples with pears. What model did you have before and was the gearbox the only difference?
Which two are you comparing?

The first was a third generation Everest. 2.2 6 speed manual 2x4. The new one is the 2019 model 2.2 10 speed auto 2x4. Same engine, same diff, same tyres, only difference (other than the gearbox) are cosmetic.

 

[Zophos]

I suspect affordable electric cars will become widely available and common over the next 5 years

They are already common and affordable in most other countries.

I do hope that the market for these cars in SA increase and that they become more available.

 

[LinuxMan]

I have owned an auto for a year now, I don't see myself going back especially the ease of driving in traffic.
Next car hoping to be electric in the next 5 years or so..

 

[C4Cat]

They are already common and affordable in most other countries.

I do hope that the market for these cars in SA increase and that they become more available.

Maybe affordable means different things to different people. When a small electric car costs the same as a small petrol car, that's affordable. A quick search in the UK for example shows a new small hatchback (Hyundai i10, for example) is around the £10,000 mark while the cheapest electric hatchback is around £35,000 so still a huge difference. I think over the next 5 years the price of electric cars will drop to the same level, or cheaper, than the petrol equivelants.

 

[supersunbird]

They are already common and affordable in most other countries.

I do hope that the market for these cars in SA increase and that they become more available.

Affordable... so sub R300 000? I doubt even R500 000 will get you an EV...

 

[ToxicBunny]

Daft argument.

Just as there is a difference in price between fixing a fiesta and a c class, so there is a difference between fixing a manual transmission and an automatic.

Besides, not everyone drives a new auto

Well I had to fix an OLD manual transmission on my bakkie and it was not in the slightest cheap. 5 years ago it was around R14k to recondition the gearbox. The auto box on my 320D would cost me R70k at the moment to sort out if it went pop... I reckon a newish manual gearbox won't be significantly cheaper to fix with all the electronics and shyte inside it.

 

[Splinter]

The placebo the manufacturer uses to blind customers to the realities of owning modern appliances and devices.

You do realise these big bad manufacturers only exist to supply goods that customers want? A manufacturer that supplies a product that all us stupid customers don't want, doesn't stay a manufacturer for very long....

 

[Zophos]

Maybe affordable means different things to different people. When a small electric car costs the same as a small petrol car, that's affordable. A quick search in the UK for example shows a new small hatchback (Hyundai i10, for example) is around the £10,000 mark while the cheapest electric hatchback is around £35,000 so still a huge difference. I think over the next 5 years the price of electric cars will drop to the same level, or cheaper, than the petrol equivelants.

Yes, that is true. But what you did not consider is that in the UK and other European countries, you receive a tax break for buying EV's, and you also save on carbon tax (zero rated for EV's)

UK version: https://www.gov.uk/plug-in-car-van-grants

This is not directly reflected in the sales price comparison

Also, Renault Zoe £17k, Citroen C-zero £17k, Smart EQ Fortwo £17k

 

[C4Cat]

Yes, that is true. But what you did not consider is that in the UK and other European countries, you receive a tax break for buying EV's, and you also save on carbon tax (zero rated for EV's)

UK version: https://www.gov.uk/plug-in-car-van-grants

This is not directly reflected in the sales price comparison

Also, Renault Zoe £17k, Citroen C-zero £17k, Smart EQ Fortwo £17k

Still doesn't really compare. The Renault Zoe starts at £26,000 (not sure where you got 17 from) and that's the price after the plug in grant of £3000 - https://www.renault.co.uk/electric-vehicles/zoe/versions-and-prices.html
But I agree, they are getting cheaper all the time

 

[Zophos]

Still doesn't really compare. The Renault Zoe starts at £26,000 (not sure where you got 17 from) and that's the price after the plug in grant of £3000 - https://www.renault.co.uk/electric-vehicles/zoe/versions-and-prices.html
But I agree, they are getting cheaper all the time

Got the figures from this site:

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/best-cars/99735/the-cheapest-electric-cars-on-sale

You get a grant + Emissions tax rebate and additional savings depending on make and model

I do agree that they are still relatively expensive, but considering that we are not comparing the hybrids here as well, it is a bit one sided to just compare price

In EU, there is a lot of hybrid cars for relatively cheap compared to their fuel cousins available. Something you do not see in SA.

But, seeing that the topic here is on Manual vs Auto, I will leave it there.

In my opinion, Manual is for "fun", as it does offer a bit of nostalgia if you have switched to an Auto....