If you’re soon to start learning to drive and are debating whether to choose automatic or manual, here we’ll give you 6 reasons why you should learn to drive automatic.
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- It’s easier and quicker to learn in an automatic car
- Automatic cars are now much more popular
- In cities and towns, it’s much easier to drive an automatic
- Automatic cars are fun to drive
- Automatic cars are more fuel efficient
- By 2030, there’ll be very few manual cars
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1. It’s Easier and Quicker to Learn in an Automatic Car
One of the more common reasons why people choose to learn to drive automatic is that it’s easier and quicker. There is of course no manual gears to learn and more importantly, no need to learn clutch control – which means none of that tedious stalling.
It’s difficult to know exactly how much quicker it is to learn in an automatic because if you’ve never driven a manual car, then you’ll not know how easily you’re going to find learning the clutch and gears. But for most learners, it certainly is easier and quicker to reach test standard in an automatic car.
2. Automatic Cars are now Much More Popular
No too long ago, if you asked anyone if you should take your test in an automatic, they would likely say that’s it’s not a good idea due to your licence limiting you to automatic cars only.
However, things have moved on and there are now many more choices available to automatic licence holders. For every model of manual car manufactured, there’s usually an automatic version made. In fact, many new cars, particularly hybrid vehicles are exclusively automatic only.
Once, the ever popular manual car has, for the first time in 2020 been superseded by automatics with 54 percent of all new UK cars sales being that of cars with an automatic transmission.
3. In Cities and Towns, it’s Much Easier to Drive an Automatic
Now, this is a very popular reason why you should learn to drive an automatic. When driving in cities or towns, we have to deal with never ending traffic lights, junctions and traffic queues and in a manual car, this can become very tedious. The constant stopping and starting for drivers of manual cars means that they need to press the clutch down and lift it up just to get moving, each and every time. After a little while, this gets quite tedious and can even make your leg ache.
Why would you possibly want to do this when an automatic car does it all for you? The fact is, many drivers who hold a full manual licence often end up driving automatics because of this reason alone.
4. Automatic Cars are Fun to Drive
Over the last decade or so, automatic cars have come a long way. Prior to this, many drivers would complain that automatics are boring to drive and suck the fun out of driving.
Car manufacturers have addressed this problem by building automatic cars with fast, responsive gearboxes that have a manual gear change option in the form of gear paddle shifters behind the steering wheel.
This means that automatic cars can be fun to drive due to the driver having the option of changing gears and by choosing a semi-automatic car with a twin clutch system, you’ll be changing gears at a faster speed than any driver of any manual can ever achieve. For further information about how to choose a fun automatic car to drive, see are automatic cars fun to drive?
5. Automatic Cars are More Fuel Efficient
Admittedly there are some variables with that statement as it depends on the type of technology that an automatic car is equipped with and when compared with a manual car, it depends on how the car’s being driven.
Modern automatics are vastly different from the heavy, slow and fuel inefficient versions of old. They’re now intelligent and know precisely when to change gear in order to maintain the best fuel efficiency possible.
On manual cars, each time the driver changes gear, engine power is reduced and the vehicle loses a little speed all of which increases fuel consumption. Many modern automatics incorporate dual auto clutches capable of changing gear far faster than any human or instead of gears, some autos have a transmission that doesn’t have gears at all and is constantly running at optimal fuel efficiency.
As technology has improved, most automatic cars either equal the fuel efficiency or their manual counterpart and in cases, improve upon it.
6. By 2030, There’ll be Very Few Manual Cars
Manual cars are on the decline, part due to the increasing demand of automatic vehicles, but also due to car manufacturers preparing for the ban on fossil fuel powered vehicles by 2030.
Many leading car manufacturers have stopped production of their once popular manual vehicle models, to be replaced by automatic versions only. This trend is set to accelerate with each passing year and by 2030, the sale of all new internal combustion engine powered vehicles will be banned. Instead, all new cars will be electric or hydrogen powered, all of which will be automatic.
If you ever need a reason why you should learn to drive in an automatic rather than a manual, then that’s 6 of them.