New learner driver - manual or auto

Don’t need to buy a manual car so he can learn on it, that’s what the driving school is for.

Problem with an auto license is you’ll never be able to (legally) able to drive a manual and later down the line will need to do the license over again if you needed to.

Also most driving schools do manual.

Also good to have it in case of emergency and needing to drive someone else’s car.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rh1
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.
Click to expand...
manual
 
  • Like
Reactions: rh1
Make him get his 15 ton truck licence. Manual. Legally allowed to then drive his future EV SUV with gross mass over 3.5ton
 
No such thing as manual cars anymore. It's the same as ADSL or Fibre. Auto is Fibre.
 
My son learnt on an auto, got his license on the auto and 3 months later passed out on a manual.

He picked up manual like a shot since he was already comfortable with all the other aspects of driving.
 
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.
Click to expand...
Growing up on a farm I started driving when I was around 7. Naturally on manual vehicles. When I bought my first automatic car all it took to getting used to driving it was the distance form the garage to my home. today we have a mixture of manual and automatic in our fleet and switching between them does not even require any thought. When I am in an automatic I drive automatic and when in a manual I drive manual without even thinking about it. My advice let him do the test in a manual switch to driving a automatic is far easier than switching to a manual. Ask my wife she learned to drive an automatic and her first cat was manual.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rh1
I know this might be taking it further (maybe even too far) but I really regret not doing an EB license (its a PITA to convert B to EB)

If I had to teach my lightie to drive I would teach him in a manual and get a driving school with a trailer to help him pass an EB drivers test.
 
Thanks for all the comments.

Some thoughts on this:
- My son's cousin is the same age. They live in Canada and there you can get a driver license at 17. There everything is auto only and not him nor any of his buddies are even considering learning to drive a manual car.
- Driving a manual transmission car is not a sign of masculinity - probably the exact opposite.
- I received my driving license in 1992 when I turned 18 but started driving long before that on gravel farm roads. I owned plenty of cars during the years. The last time I have owned a manual car was a good 7 years ago and I don't foresee myself going back to manual ever again. There is no joy in sitting on the N1 in peak hour traffic for an hour shifting between first and second. The only time a manual is worth having is if you own a M3 and drive it on a twisty mountain road - that is it .... there is no other time having to continuously shift gears qualify as "enjoyment".
- Having had both "proper" auto (including dual clutch and torque converters) and CVT, I prefer CVT for its smoothness. As a matter of fact both my current cars (Honda and Kia) are CVT.
- Manual models are dwindling in first world countries and I do believe that the advent of electric cars will result in the manual transmission technology becoming even more obscure in the next few years.
- We (RSA) are behind with still plenty of manual models on the road. The average age of a car in SA is between 11 and 13 years so a new manual car bought today will be on the road for a long time still.
- Driving is not difficult but getting the hang of clutch control, smooth gear changes and especially changing gears before turns take some practise and most of us actually only learned how to drive properly after we received our license, and you are exposed to a variety of road conditions and on-road situations.

If I am in a position to buy him a car, it will be an auto - I will probably give him my car as my wife and I should be able to get along with a single car. I will get him comfortable on the road (he can drive but without a learners he has never driven in traffic) with the auto and then send him to driving school to get comfortable with manual and get a drivers license that allow him to drive manual for the odd chance he does have to operate such a model.
 
AfricanTech said:
My son learnt on an auto, got his license on the auto and 3 months later passed out on a manual.

He picked up manual like a shot since he was already comfortable with all the other aspects of driving.
Click to expand...

this here statement makes no sense.

He got his license...then 3 months later got his license again?
 
Nemesys said:
Growing up on a farm I started driving when I was around 7. Naturally on manual vehicles. When I bought my first automatic car all it took to getting used to driving it was the distance form the garage to my home. today we have a mixture of manual and automatic in our fleet and switching between them does not even require any thought. When I am in an automatic I drive automatic and when in a manual I drive manual without even thinking about it. My advice let him do the test in a manual switch to driving a automatic is far easier than switching to a manual. Ask my wife she learned to drive an automatic and her first cat was manual.
Click to expand...

Jeez you bring back memories.

I learnt to drive on a manual Mazda bakkie where the gears were behind the steering wheel and not a stick shift in the centre console.

Now that was an abomination.
 
South Africa is Far FAR behind the rest of the world when it comes to cars and Auto/Manual licenses,

if I'm not mistaken our Driving test still dates back to the 60's?

so in future cars will be auto, because you dont NEED gears on a EV,
maybe changing gears and clutch control will go the way of pull starters and manual engine starting procedure, where it CAN break your wrist.
 
Jet-Fighter7700 said:
South Africa is Far FAR behind the rest of the world when it comes to cars and Auto/Manual licenses,

if I'm not mistaken our Driving test still dates back to the 60's?

so in future cars will be auto, because you dont NEED gears on a EV,
maybe changing gears and clutch control will go the way of pull starters and manual engine starting procedure, where it CAN break your wrist.
Click to expand...
Nope, K53 was introduced in the late 80s/early 90s
 
Jet-Fighter7700 said:
still hill starts, with electronic handbrakes, still emergency stops with ABS and ESC cars,
car technology has advanced quite a bit since then. is it still necessary to check it in the Driving test?
Click to expand...
Yes, because we are 3rd world, and 80% of our cars don't have all those features, to make it affordable in SA
 
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.
Click to expand...
Then you will probably never have a woman want you quite as badly as when you drive a manual, hold her hand, never let go of her hand but rather just guide her hand on the gear stick as you change gears :sneaky:
 
Affieplaas said:
Thanks for all the comments.

Some thoughts on this:
- My son's cousin is the same age. They live in Canada and there you can get a driver license at 17. There everything is auto only and not him nor any of his buddies are even considering learning to drive a manual car.
- Driving a manual transmission car is not a sign of masculinity - probably the exact opposite.
- I received my driving license in 1992 when I turned 18 but started driving long before that on gravel farm roads. I owned plenty of cars during the years. The last time I have owned a manual car was a good 7 years ago and I don't foresee myself going back to manual ever again. There is no joy in sitting on the N1 in peak hour traffic for an hour shifting between first and second. The only time a manual is worth having is if you own a M3 and drive it on a twisty mountain road - that is it .... there is no other time having to continuously shift gears qualify as "enjoyment".
- Having had both "proper" auto (including dual clutch and torque converters) and CVT, I prefer CVT for its smoothness. As a matter of fact both my current cars (Honda and Kia) are CVT.
- Manual models are dwindling in first world countries and I do believe that the advent of electric cars will result in the manual transmission technology becoming even more obscure in the next few years.
- We (RSA) are behind with still plenty of manual models on the road. The average age of a car in SA is between 11 and 13 years so a new manual car bought today will be on the road for a long time still.
- Driving is not difficult but getting the hang of clutch control, smooth gear changes and especially changing gears before turns take some practise and most of us actually only learned how to drive properly after we received our license, and you are exposed to a variety of road conditions and on-road situations.

If I am in a position to buy him a car, it will be an auto - I will probably give him my car as my wife and I should be able to get along with a single car. I will get him comfortable on the road (he can drive but without a learners he has never driven in traffic) with the auto and then send him to driving school to get comfortable with manual and get a drivers license that allow him to drive manual for the odd chance he does have to operate such a model.
Click to expand...

I converted to an auto about 3 years ago (and won't go back thanks) which is why he did his driving test on an auto in the first instance (the only car available to him).

The reason my son went for a manual certification was because the car he could afford* to buy on his part-time salary was a manual transmission. So he bought the car, then learned to drive it (only accompanied of course) and passed his test with it.

I'm quite proud of him for sticking to his budget, buying within his means, and doing what needed to be done to get himself fully licensed. I'm also quite happy that he can drive either (I have a family member who never learned to drive a manual and who therefore only ever owned autos).

* he could have gotten an auto, but because there is still a premium price on autos in SA, it would have been a much older, poorer condition vehicle than the one he got.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X