this post was submitted on 03 Feb 2024
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Why do British people have such a dim view of Automatic cars? (feddit.uk)
submitted 9 months ago by Oneeightnine@feddit.uk to c/askuk@feddit.uk
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I've been driving an automatic since I passed nearly a decade ago. In that time whenever I tell anyone I drive auto, it's usually met with some level of derision. I think that attitude is changing, but I'm still kind of confused by it in the first place.

Why?

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[–] dragontamer@lemmy.world 19 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (6 children)

American manual/stick driver here.

Manuals are cheaper, more responsive, lower maintenance than wet-automatics. So even here where automatics are common, knowing that my skill gap vs you is literally saving me thousands in maintenance costs is definitely a big portion of my superiority complex.

However, with the dawn of CVT automatics, this is no longer true. CVTs are nearly maintenance free, have instant response, ideal power delivery.

So technology has changed, but not everyone recognizes the new era of advanced automatic transmissions.

But I'll absolutely still look down on any old-style wet clutch / torque converter based automatic.

[–] GONADS125@feddit.de 5 points 9 months ago

Manuals are also an effective anti-theft measure here in the US, as most of us (myself included) don't know how to drive them properly.

I've read multiple stories of thiefs realizing they were stealing a manual transmission, and literally just giving up after driving a few feet. Pretty hilarious.

[–] GreatAlbatross@feddit.uk 3 points 9 months ago

This answer hits the nail on the head.
Autos used to be really shit, in a country where fuel is expensive, and distances smaller, you'd only get an auto if you physically couldn't use the clutch.

Nowadays, they're much better.
If I don't end up fully electric on the next car, it will definitely be CVT.

[–] Mac@mander.xyz 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Define "instant response"

[–] dragontamer@lemmy.world 8 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

CVTs are always "in gear", and quickly adapt to whatever torque vs RPM band your engine needs. At no point is your engine every "out of gear". Their "noise is wrong" to anyone used to older transmissions, but their performance cannot be denied or ignored. I'm very impressed with their tech. Its just a matter of getting used to it IMO.

Manual transmissions can "shift ahead of time", so with enough brainpower and paying attention, you should usually be in the correct gear for any situation. But any particular gear-shift takes time to accomplish. The exception are 0-60 kind of drag-races (erm, 0-100km/hr for yall Brits), where the manual effort to gearshift is unavoidable, but typical driving with a manual is very pleasant because normal roads are far more predictable and no one is trying to drag-race around every corner on public roads.

Traditional Automatic transmissions all take time, and the clock starts after the user pushes the pedal (unlike manual which starts when the driver notices that another gear would be useful, often ahead of time).. So automatic transmission is always slower.

[–] mannycalavera@feddit.uk 6 points 9 months ago

0-60 kind of drag-races (erm, 0-100km/hr for yall Brits)

Brits still use miles per hour. You might be thinking of the Irish, they use KM/H.... although they don't like being called Brits 🫠.

[–] Mac@mander.xyz 2 points 9 months ago

And yet any time you change throttle input they change gearing and have horrible "lag". While they may be always engaged they're never in the right "gear".

[–] Fudoshin@feddit.uk 2 points 9 months ago

How many dragons have you tamed?

[–] synapse3252@sh.itjust.works 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Even the zf8?

[–] dragontamer@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

I can't say I'm a car buff unfortunately, so I can't say I've experienced that particular transmission yet.

Reading up on the transmission: it sounds like the torque converter could be replaced with mild-hybrid electric engines to help kickstart the transmission. This is very interesting to me, and I think that's a great way around the problems of traditional torque-converters.

I'd imagine that Mild-Hybrid ZF8 (torque converter replaced with electric motor) would be a serious contender in feel and response.

There's too many different cars with the ZF8 and too many different configurations to generalize. It seems like a promising design, but I'm going to bet that mild-hybrid ZF8 is the best feel. There's just a lot of downsides to the traditional wet-clutch / torque-converter frontend of transmissions IMO.

[–] synapse3252@sh.itjust.works 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I don't personally have experience with a diverse multitude of cars (and transmissions) as a whole either, but i've heard plenty of good things online about the zf8 as probably one of the best torque converter automatics on the market for sporty driving (e.g. having very responsive shifts). It supposedly does not feel like a "slush box" which i'm assuming exhibits many of the behaviors that you're describing for a typical torque converter automatic.

In terms of drivetrain choices for daily driving, fully electric bevs seem to be the best fit. Instant torque, lots of torque, probably lower maintenance(?). And i say this as a lover of manual transmissions (my miata is currently in the shop though 😢)