I've driven 3 autos in my time, a 1.4 Corsa, 1.6 Focus, and 2.0 Lancer (in USA). The Lancer was a total dog, the Focus was okay, but strangely the Corsa was the nicest car to drive. I'm kind of torn when it comes to auto gearboxes, I do like driving them occasionally as it's nice not to have to deal with gears and clutch.. But then I do miss being able to drive the car hard when I want to, with an auto gearbox you are somewhat stuck.
Gear Changing 5478Yes indeed - manual cars are cheaper than autos - and 1.3's are cheaper than 2.0 litres - both to buy and to run, and bottom of...
The biggest difference from a driving perspective is not having to dip the clutch when stopping. Personally what I would like is a car which is the same as a manual in every way, except that you don't have to keep the clutch down when stopped,, would make city driving so much easier!
Part of the problem with autos is that by their very nature they are reactive, rather than predictive, they can only respond to the what the car is doing at that particular second. Manual cars are fitted with a sophisticated system, (the driver) which will be able to select the particular gear in advance of a particular speed change or manouver.
