New learner driver - manual or auto

epah said:
What is the point of Hill Assist in a TC Auto?
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Funnily enough you can still roll back on significant hills in a torque converter auto. In our driveway I can roll back my Mazda 2 (Skyactiv auto which is a torque converter but with a clutch to assist in responsiveness and fuel consumption) and my Dad's Suzuki Fronx (classic 4 speed torque converter).

And since so many auto cars are dual clutch or CVT, it just makes sense to tick the box with Hill Assist so you don't have to worry about it.
 
Affieplaas said:
My son turns 17 in two months, and I have to start thinking about teaching him to drive once he gets his learners.
Both my wife and I do most of our driving in peak work-hours traffic and have switched to cars with auto transmissions. I don't own a manual car.

The question is, should my son learn to drive a manual or start off on auto? I guess there are pros and cons to both sides of this coin.
The biggest consideration for me is that if he learns manual, I will have to get a manual car specially for this.

If I look at all the new cars, even entry level models all come out in auto in any case so I guess in 5 years' time you won't even be able to buy a new manual car unless it is a special order.

Any compelling reason why I should not let him learn on auto and get an auto only driving license?

I'll listen by the radio, fanks.
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Problem is he might be in a situation one day where he is required to drive a manual, then he won't be able to (legally), and/or won't know how to
 
Dan C said:
I got my license in an auto. But convinced the tester to give me a 'normal' one. Changing from auto to shift is not that big a deal.
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Learning in a manual is a safer bet than hoping for a corrupt examiner... or at least it should be.
 
Get the licence in Manuel. it is better for long-term even if he opts to go auto. If he needs to drive work/rental cars in future, it will make things easier as they may not have Auto cars and with Auto only licence, you can only drive Auto.

However, some people are just natural strugglers with driving and there is no shame in that. If he really struggles to get the hang of it, consider Auto.
 
Didn't read all the responses, but I taught both my kids to drive in an auto. That way (at least according to my reasoning), they get the chance to learn to drive, obey the rules and get comfortable behind the wheel. Once they were proficient enough, I sent them for driving lessons through a driving school. They both passed their licenses on the first try after three or four lessons.
 
Affieplaas said:
My son turns 17 in two months, and I have to start thinking about teaching him to drive once he gets his learners.
Both my wife and I do most of our driving in peak work-hours traffic and have switched to cars with auto transmissions. I don't own a manual car.

The question is, should my son learn to drive a manual or start off on auto? I guess there are pros and cons to both sides of this coin.
The biggest consideration for me is that if he learns manual, I will have to get a manual car specially for this.

If I look at all the new cars, even entry level models all come out in auto in any case so I guess in 5 years' time you won't even be able to buy a new manual car unless it is a special order.

Any compelling reason why I should not let him learn on auto and get an auto only driving license?

I'll listen by the radio, fanks.
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manual, then he can drive both and aspire to being manly. He will be licensed to drive a manual and auto then.

You can arrange driving lessons with a driving instructor and make use of their car. He can still learn some things in your auto, no reason he shouldn't be comfortable to drive both.

manual cars aren't going anywhere soon and almost every car available right now is available in a manual option and cheaper, its actually that you can't get auto in as many models and variants as you can a manual.
 
Steamy Tom said:
manual, then he can drive both and aspire to being manly. He will be licensed to drive a manual and auto then.

You can arrange driving lessons with a driving instructor and make use of their car. He can still learn some things in your auto, no reason he shouldn't be comfortable to drive both.

manual cars aren't going anywhere soon and almost every car available right now is available in a manual option and cheaper, its actually that you can't get auto in as many models and variants as you can a manual.
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Not to mention 90% of Sub R500k cars only come in CVTs and not proper Autos. When its time to buy he will be stuck with a CVT if he doesn't know how to drive a manual.
 
It has to be manual because when he has his first accident and your insurance wants to arrange a hire car he can easily get one.

If he has a auto only license the restrictions are going to cause chaos in your life.

If he is a "man" then manual is the only way to go.
 
Teach a man to fish with a fishing rod - he feeds himself.
Teach a man to fish with dynamite - he will be useless.
I guess what I am trying to say is - teach him manual

Or as my Spanish / Mexican friends call it

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NR7 said:
Driving an auto car with hill hold assist has made driving fun for me. I never got the whole "real men drive manuals" thing because there's nothing manly about fondling a stick every 5 seconds versus holding your BFs hand while you drive one handed in an auto.
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Fix'd.
 
I will teach my daughter to drive manual, cause this is Africa. One day her main car can be automatic, but she should be comfortable enough to drive manual, as life happens, and sometimes you might need to drive a manual.
 
NR7 said:
I never got the whole "real men drive manuals" thing because there's nothing manly about fondling a stick every 5 seconds versus holding your GFs hand while you drive one handed in an auto.
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Use flex cuffs. They’re much less likely to escape that way.
 
Manual would allow him to drive manual and auto, whereas with auto he can only drive auto.

Do note though that they will put him in a car without hill start assist, so it can roll. Some lower powered older automatics roll back. Especially those Hyundai Atos models. Also the rest is very similar.
Learners test just doesnt reflect the clutch.
And with drivers, you will have to handbrake your auto at each stop, and keep looking around.

I can only drive automatic, and I have never had an issue with anything in buying a car etc. Most of America 95% is Automatic, Europe looks manual.

But the future of cars is automatic, especially the Traffic assist that drives itself in traffic etc. ie stop go by itself. Including the self parking option, which cant work with gears.

So the choice is yours, and ultimately his. If he wants to drive manual he would need to redo the entire test, both learners and drivers.
 
Manual.

I made this mistake back when I got my drivers, I used my only car to do my drivers license as I couldnt loan a manual one, the problem is when you do your license with a automatic car they restrict it stating you can only drive automatic vehicles, while it wasn't a problem at the start , it became one later on, I couldnt use company cars to do work for instance, couldn't drive some one elses car if it wasn't auto.

Only way to remove the restriction is to redo your license from scratch, meaning new learners license and finally drivers.

So my suggestion is to get him/her driving lessons trough a proper driving school with some one with a manual car, and loan/hire the car when he/she does the actual exam, most driving schools allow this.|

When its done you can allways get him a manual or automatic car, bare in mind manuals are cheaper and you have a lot more options on the second hand market.
 
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rh1 said:
I will teach my daughter to drive manual, cause this is Africa. One day her main car can be automatic, but she should be comfortable enough to drive manual, as life happens, and sometimes you might need to drive a manual.
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Exactly that ... and I have to say, my son is concentrating much more driving the manual vs. when he is in my auto. I believe this is making him a better driver
 
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@Affieplaas If you decide to buy an auto just don't get a CVT, they are not reliable as of yet.

I was naturally good with a manual when I started driving, played a lot of racing video games at the time and was a "car guy" so I had a basic idea of how a clutch and gearbox work, if you show your teenager the principles of how it all works then learning to drive a manual is much easier.

Best advice is to tell them 1st gear is for pulling off only else they will bugger up the synchro's.
 
I insisted that my 2 daughters get manual which they did. Also insisted for SO as well when she went. basis is for them to be able to drive a manual if they don't have access to an Auto or for emergencies and they need to drive my car.
I drive and prefer manual do always had a manual for as my car and family car (which SO drives to work) always auto.
 
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