Unpopular opinion: the automatic shift is a completely unnecessary waste of money

Yes, I drive in a city. Yes, I drive in the traffic, frequently getting stuck in it as well.

I don't really get what's the "frustration" people get about the manual shift, after one year of driving you become the automatic shift yourself; why pay over €2k just to eliminate something that you do without even realizing?

While also:

a. adding unnecessary complexity, more parts that can break, and that are expensive to replace

b. actually adding frustration in the process, changing the way you drive (at the very least, how you operate the brakes?)

c. hurting performance to some sensible degree, in particular acceleration

Is it only me?

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ElwoodBlues · M

I don't think there's a simple generalization to be made at the moment about automatic vs manual transmission.

For example, VW is convinced that their dual clutch automatic is faster and smoother than any human driver. There's one clutch for the odd number gears; a different for the evens, so there's no good way for a human to control it manually.

For efficiency, nothing beats Toyota's hybrid + power split device. It enables a more efficient Atkinson cycle engine, with a narrower power band and high efficiency in that band. Also very few moving parts so lower maintenance.

If we go back a generation and compare typical 5-speed manuals to 4-speed automatics, the manuals were uniformly better. As for myself, I drove manuals from 1980 to 2005 when we got a Prius, and when renting in Europe manuals are cheaper so we get them. Rented a 6-speed manual in Spain 3 years ago and it was fun but didn't bring back nostalgia.