When you get behind the wheel and pull out of that parking
lot or driveway, do you like to shift gears yourself or would you rather have a
transmission that does the work for you? Put another way, do you prefer manual
or automatic transmissions? Perhaps a better question is as follows: which is
better suited for you?
This will of course be dependent on many factors. While
personal preference plays perhaps the biggest role, there are other things to
consider as well, such as the driver's age, physical condition, multi-tasking
skill level, and even where the vehicle in question will primarily be driven.
With that established, let's examine each of these factors for a moment:
Many younger drivers enjoy shifting gears manually. For
starters, the technique is not as hard to learn as some would lead one to
believe, and it's actually fun. A sizable portion of this demographic,
particularly automotive enthusiasts, can't envision driving a car without a
manual transmission, and contrary to popular belief, this includes both
genders. Many drivers begin to prefer automatic transmissions as they age. Of
course, this isn't always the case, but for most, the passage of time also
brings more aches and pains that pushing a clutch pedal and moving that
shifter, can aggravate. This brings up the issue of physical condition.
The fact of the matter is that we don't stay 20 years old
forever. As the years pass, our bodies age and certain muscles can become more
worn and thus weaker than they used to be. Perhaps a touch of arthritis has
affected the hands and/or legs and feet. In the case of pushing a clutch pedal
with your foot while shifting with one hand, this can become cumbersome and
even uncomfortable. If any of these issues plague you, then an automatic
transmission makes life a lot easier when driving. There is far less
multitasking involved. Just put the selector into Drive and go!
Where will you be doing most of your driving? Do you commute
to work or school across wide, open spaces in a rural setting, or do you deal
with bumper-to bumper traffic and stoplights situated every few hundred feet?
Do you live in a mild climate, or do you see snow and ice for half the calendar
year?
If you are blessed with an open highway, either type of
transmission is equally suitable, but if you must routinely deal with urban congestion,
an automatic makes more sense. Certainly, some people drive cars equipped with
standard transmission in these settings, but the constant stop-and-go traffic
is hard on a manual clutch. Likewise, a warm climate free of the ravages of
winter is appropriate for either an automatic or manual, but in snowy and icy
locations, vehicles equipped with manual transmissions have the advantage of
better traction. If you're stuck in a snowbank, for example, placing the
drivetrain manually into a low gear results in nearly as much gripping power as
a vehicle equipped with 4-wheel or all-wheel drive. As for ordinary 2-wheel
drive automatics? They will have a tougher time.
In days past, cars with manual transmissions got better fuel
economy, but this is not necessarily true anymore. Automatic transmissions have
made great advances in recent years, and many cars with today's examples will
enjoy the same fuel mileage as their manual counterparts. Another factor many
overlook is that while manual transmissions cost less initially and can last a
good 30%-50% longer than those that shift themselves, there's a catch: the
clutch typically has to be replaced at some point, and this isn't a cheap
repair by any means. By the time this inevitable cost is factored in, the lifetime
expense of that manual transmission will end up being about the same as that of
an automatic. Finally, it is important to note that in the US, there are a lot
more vehicles equipped with automatics than stickshifts. In fact, the ratio of
automatics to manuals is about 9 to 1, and it's quite possible that the
standard transmission will soon become a thing of the past.
The discerning car shopper is advised to take the factors
listed above into consideration, but in the end, it all comes down to a matter
of preference and practicality. A Sheehy Nissan of Mechanicsville sales associate will be happy to
help you find the driving style that's right for you
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