Tell me about..Automatics(Cars)

[dyna-ti]

Thanks for the advice y-all but I think ill look at smaller 2nds and the specs, see how the grades of gearboxes goes, as harry says

Should have bought my Dads S-type, that was a J shift :? automatic I think he called it. Didn't get much for it on the trade in and id have been better and cheaper storing it. :? though running it would only be one day a week .

 

[ajm]

Re:

In general, big automatic cars are vastly better than small automatic cars (which can be jerky, dangerously sluggish, or automated manual gearboxes - worst of both worlds.)

A good automatic however is a real delight to drive - my last three "main" cars going back over the past decade and a half or so have been auto (all Volvo.) Particularly on long journeys, or those with lots of crawling in traffic or stop/starts, they are very significantly less tiring to drive.

You can always sit an automatic-only test first of all and then do a manual one later, one of my family members did that (due to her having learnt to drive on the other side of the Atlantic.)

 

[legrandefromage]

Many cars have paddle shift at the steering wheel allowing for total control and attention on the road but shift quality can vary from manufacturer

I found a diesel Passatt (early DSG model) to be surprisingly slow even when warm, I'm sure there had to be something wrong with it. The Mondeo autos are notoriously thirsty - the petrols get around 24mpg at best. Around here they are all leased to the US military as they still pay around $1 a gallon so dont notice...

* I'm rumbling around in an old Merc diesel 5spd auto. I get high 40s mpg and it seems to have loosened up a bit since the 12th of June - I've done 9500 miles so something should have bedded in by now!

 

[Wold Ranger]

Re:

My other half now has an Automatic, after she said she never would, now she wouldn't go back to a manual, but the spec of car she wanted would only come in Auto, as a standard manual box and clutch wouldn't take the torque from the 3 litre V6 twin turbo, in the vehicle.
I think this is the key, as Auto's need plenty of power to work properly and a good number of gears, seem to think hers' has 8 if not 9 in each mode and several 100 bhp on tap, but it's not bad on economy considering the performance.
Personally I wouldn't buy anything Autobox without at least 170bhp as they can be slow and thirsty otherwise.
Surely you would soon get used to a manual box?

 

[legrandefromage]

Metro 1.3 4spd auto!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUSTIN-METRO- ... 28054c618d

 

[FluffyChicken]

Re:

My dad's Volovos have all been fine.
So is my father in laws Skoda fabia vRS 1.4 DSG automatic. (Small car)


He loves it as it's automatic and he's a classic car rebuilder. Currently with two Healey 3000.

I've use the big tourer type in the US and they're fine too.

But them I'm not a person who needs the power an split second gear changing (I cannot manually change faster than the automatic)

 

[markyp]

remember.....you save on clutches, but you can't bump start an auto........oh, hang on, some/all autos now have a direct drive......hmmmmm

 

[legrandefromage]

It was in the handbooks of my old auto V8 Mercs that they could be bump started in 2nd.

 

[mattr]

Depends on the torque converter fitted. And the transmission ratio. Just means there was so much drag in 2nd that you could actually get the transmission pressure up enough to turn the engine over.

No chance of doing that in anything modern. DSG or conventional auto.

 

[markyp]

.......and I don't think you should tow an 'auto'....unless driveshaft is removed