Mine is an auto , always preferred manual until this car now I love the auto for 90% of the time and the rest I'd like a manual, must be getting old I like the just sit in and steer effort of the auto , however I'd imagine a small engine and auto wouldn't be very enjoyable

 

I prefer manual but having driven Davy's car I could be turned to the dark side and some point in the future

(Fi put the foot down, why Davy, just do it, uhh ok, holy shite man )

 

I currently have an Auto! Ive also had a manual in a 5er too. While the Auto is great for normal day to day driving - I miss the manual for the odd spirited drive!
Plan is to have a manual and auto BMW sitting in the drive in the near future!

 

really depends on the car imo.

i think autos are better if the car is diesel or has a big lazy v8 in it.

if its a petrol car that you want to get teh power out of them manual all the way.

 

With you on this Eamo, the 530T is a V8 and auto, sometimes too smooth and comfortable, literally like driving your living room around from the couch! thankfully we have the manual Terrano to bring us back down to earth. So, it really does depend on the car...

 

aren't autos slower and heavier on juice??

 

Yes, but thats only really noticable when you do alot of town driving - but then thats when an Auto is at its best - so its a trade off!
On motorways or on a decent run, there isnt a whole lot of difference!

 

For every day driving, I think an automatic is the best. Just put in "D" and away you go. Sit back and relax and let the car do the work. Takes all the hassle out of driving.

If you drive like maniac all the time then an autobox will get frustrating.

Tiptronic and the likes can make driving an auto a bit more envolved but it will still only change gear when its ready so not always when you want a different gear.

However anyone who has an autobox attached to a decent engine will testify that "kick-down" is quite entertaining.

You just need to ask yourself the question. What sort of driving are you mostly doing. Most people will be around town or cruising on the motorway. How often do you actually get in to the twisty stuff where a manual would be more entertaining.

Generally auto's are more expensive and will return slightly lower mpg but an easier life doesnt come for free.

 

I've driven both over the years. I like some auto-boxes, others I hate.

Currently, all my cars bar the 7-series are manual and I prefer manual.

/M

 

would love to try out an auto for a while, they seem very easygoing!
what's the story with the clutch in an auto, apparently you never need to replace the clutch because it doesn't really have one?????

 

apparently you never need to replace the clutch because it doesn't really have one?????

No. Automatic gearboxes have a torque converter. But don't think, that that won't go bust. That can happen, too. The same as manual gearboxes, you can also get problems with autoboxes, it's still a mechanical device, that can wear down.

My old '93 Caravelle T4 had automatic and every 2000 km's it would decide to go into neutral. Most conveniently, when i was overtaking somebody.

I would then have to coast to the side of the road, stop there, switch the gearbox to park, switch the engine off, start again and all be grand .. for another 2000 km that is.

Now, that's obviously not the norm

/M

 

Depends on the car i suppose.
i would never want an Auto Evo but a 335d i would want in auto.

currently drive an auto 320d and had an auto X5 before too, reakon i will stick to autos from now on.

 

Depends on the car i suppose.

Very much so. I loved the self-adapting auto-box in the Volvo C70 I had. The Caravelle was just too heavy car (well, van) for the box to last.

/M

 

The only decent autos are from the E90 and E60 on. Remainder are typical auto and no matter what driving you do they will use more fuel. We don't all just get into our cars and are instantly transported to cruising speed, cars have to accelerate from time to time and autos suck the fuel up, don't change gear when you want, too eager to kick down and are basically inefficient. I don't like them at all, but they are brilliant in traffic/town driving.

I will never buy another auto given like for like choice over a manual.

 

would you ever consider buying something with a paddle shift (semi auto)???

 

My 520d is an auto, and I really don't think I would ever buy one in manual, the gearbox is excellent and perfectly matched for the engine, I have never been disappointed with how it performs or wished that is was a manual.

The M5 is manual and it greatly adds to the driver involvement/driving experience.

As others said it really depends on the car and the type of driver you are, I don't have any experience with BMW autos prior (other than my E24) to the E60 so can't comment although I have been told that the auto in the earlier E60s is not as good or smooth as the LCI models.

Richie.

 

If you are doing your own mechanical maintenance and repairs as I do the manual is more apppealing simply from the point of easier more economical repair. Auto boxes in modern cars are much more reliable and also more fuel efficient than their counterparts in cars of the 70's through to the early 90's. I had a fleet of cars in the late 70's and early 80's mainly Fords driven by auto boxes. The Borg Warner 35 or 45 was a favourite of mine and I felt comfortable with wet clutch pack replacement to spool valve chest replacement and brake band adjustments, buying the minimal parts new and using a donor box for spares.
I love the auto boxes in modern cars but I cant afford to take the chance and have to fork out big bucks to fit a replacement at the moment.
The days of diy fixing of auto boxes is long gone. Had a look at a 2 year old A6 diesel auto recently that ran off the road onto the grass verge. The main wiring loom enters the front of the box about 50mm above the bottom of the sump. The socket where the loom plugs in broke off on impact with the grass verge and oil drained as car was driven off. Quote for new gearbox was crazy and when you consider how easily it could get damaged again, you will agree that its cheaper for the diy enthuasist to go manual all the way.
OK DMFs (Dual Mass Flywheels) make it more expensive to stick a clutch in a modern car with a manual box. Dont ever consider a solid flywheel replacement as the manual gearbox will disintegrate if you are pumping bags of power and torque through it.
Maybe when the final mortgage payment is made and the last of the brood is finished college (some time in the future) I will be comfortable with shedding out whatever the git with the earings and the makeup asks to sort out my auto problem in my 10 year old 535d and let me roar off into the sunset around the ring of Kerry.

 

Had loads of both, Autos are just not as fun. There is no way the ease of life, point and squirt driving mentality of an Auto could ever be considered more fun than a manual shifter (no matter the engine).
However, if and when I was doing the M50 motorway tedium (stop and start, 20kph on a congested motorway) the Manual(s) are hell.

So sometimes fun is not what you want.

 

MPG on my manual 320ci is roughly 33mpg
MPG on my wife's Auto 318ci was 26mpg

Now either she is a closet petrol head which she hides very very well or the auto's are heavy on juice compared to manual

Drove both and they have there advantages but I would say your decision should be based on the type of driving you would be doing for the majority of your journeys.

As Matt said a stop start journey in traffic is eased considerably when in an auto compared to a manual but I never have that anyway so Manual for me

EDIT: I think I'm also right in saying that Auto's tend to have a higher spec as people have spent the extra money on the auto and usually add the extra's. Thats if your buying second hand and obviously not all will be this way.

 

Recently enough I switched from a 2.5 petrol auto to a 1.9 diesel manual. For a motorway drive, it doesn't actually make that much difference - having cruise control is really what counts there; not the gearbox.

When the traffic was very slow during the snow, I did find the the clutch quite tiresome. In normal driving it's grand though.

I think it just depends on the car itself. The auto box in my old car was excellent; but a bad auto is a lot worse than a bad manual.

 

Ive owned auto, manual and SMG.

SMG is the most entertaining obviously but if i had the option between identical cars in auto or manual id be going for the auto, the modern auto box is so smooth albeit a little harder on fuel, i cant see too much of a compromise on the performance.

 

My car is a manual, because there isn't many M Sport auto's around but I've great craic borrowing my dad's V8 merc just for blasting along overtaking everything with the kickdown. Only downside is it's a bitch to do a 3 point turn in, the gearbox takes a good few secs to switch from R to D.

I'd say though my next car will probably have a 3.0 diesel auto, with the 600euro tax. I considered a 330d when buying this time round but I couldn't stretch to a 2008 and I wasn't going to pay 1500euro in road tax

 

My car is a manual, because there isn't many M Sport auto's around but I've great craic borrowing my dad's V8 merc just for blasting along overtaking everything with the kickdown. Only downside is it's a bitch to do a 3 point turn in, the gearbox takes a good few secs to switch from R to D.

Generally means the theres something not 100% right about the autobox if it takes time to select reverse from drive. Might be worth having it serviced.

 

my thinking was always auto in 5 series ,and manual in 3 series...
like manual in most cars ,but if iam have'n a big lazy driving 5 series why not be totaly lazy and have auto