One for the auto lovers out there...

http://www.autocar.co.uk/blogs/motoring/ma...-miss-them

So in summary - people who drive manuals are luddites!!!  Freelander 2 TD4 Auto, SE, Narvik Black, Alpaca full leather, Rear Headrest Entertainment System, 6 CD, 18 HSE Wheels, Privicy tints

Last edited by Captain Worm on 23rd Jan 2013 3:55 pm. Edited 1 time in total

Personally I hate autos - they change gear when you don't want them to. Change up just before an overtake and then has to change back down again etc.

I could live with auto, but I prefer manual

Automatics are great for city traffic, but the ideal for a 4x4 is a manual with a low range. (Are you listening Land Rover?)

Edit: Reading it again, they're classing paddle-shift boxes as automatic, even if the changes are manually-commanded. So here, manual <> manually-commanded changes.

Would I want a flappy-paddle 4x4? Not convinced, even if it had low range. And definitely not if it had a torque converter.

Last edited by pab on 23rd Jan 2013 1:33 pm. Edited 1 time in total

Excellent, we haven't had a 'debate' (is that the right word ) between auto and manual for a long time

I like good autos for town driving - my Jag XJ had a lovely autobox and it suited that type of car far better than manual. The thirst of the Fl 2 auto is outrageous however - in the region of 7 mpg worse than the manual - that is a huge cost differential over the length of time I like to keep my cars. So I will stick with a stick rather than the current hopelessly inefficient auto. Autos don't necessarily have to be more thirsty than the manual - my wifey and one whippet have Honda Jazz manuals while the other whippet has the Jazz cvt auto - and it does exactly the same mpg as the manuals.
As regards off roading or on snow - I would have a manual anyday - one with a usefully low first gear would keep at least PAB and I happier on the slippery stuff!
Robin

Well I wonder why all Landrover Experience centres have automatics perhaps they are too lazy or perhaps the clutch would drop out the bottom in pieces, or maybe an auto goes some way to delivering a 'crawl' without a low range.

In traffic then 'drive' is your relaxed friend.
Want to overtake in a hurry, anticipate and move it to 'sport' it will then hold its correct gear in readiness. or just tootle by in 'drive'
Want to behave like a 'luddite' then gently push/pull to change or hold its gear.
'Command Shift' excellent for engine braking.
Fuel thirst, I don't care.

No end to the possibilities and I feel so relaxed after a journey

Last edited by EYorkshire on 23rd Jan 2013 2:27 pm. Edited 1 time in total

Not commenting, waiting for the response from The Doctor

EYorkshire wrote:

Well I wonder why all Landrover Experience centres have automatics

Ah right,
So we need two cars to take a journey one for rural and one for urban, perhaps keep one in a city outskirt car park.

Both have their place..... depends what you need to do really.

I do have to say some auto boxes suck compaired to others and the same goes for flappy paddels. I had these on my last car and ended.up using the stick more. I will say even in manual I had to fight with the box too....

T Terran



'The' Car For The Modern Day UK Roads ( ie all the pot holes )

'A Freelander that leaks oil is just marking its territory' - Wise words

Now a member of the FL2 'Silly Bill' Club

Why fit low range on a softroader at the expense of cost, space and complexity when an auto does a good job??

As for flappy paddle semi automatic gearboxes in Landrovers, it will never happen (I hope) they are hopelessly dim witted just in stop start traffic let alone on a 45degree incline. They have there purpose on the race track and anyway the new generation of torque converters are now so effitient and quick to change the average person would never know.

As for the fl2 gear box - it may be a bit thirsty but it works well. Thing that gets me is that people assume just because it is an auto then you don't need to 'Drive' it - wrong it just means you don't drive with your left led anymore - there are still skills and techniques used to get the best out if it in the same way you would a manual. Except it is generally easier!

Oh and don't forget the fl2 is now using old tech. Wait for the new autos in the fl3 to pop up to start seeing real improvements.

I was once an autosceptic and now a convert...

Still like a manual in a small sports car mind  Freelander 2 TD4 Auto, SE, Narvik Black, Alpaca full leather, Rear Headrest Entertainment System, 6 CD, 18 HSE Wheels, Privicy tints

what's wrong with having a choice? The tech which just die when eventually there is no demand for it. I'm sure some people still listen to vinyl, have a decent CD collection and yet also have a Spotify account.

We have an automatic and a manual car in the family for years now and I guess it's good to remember how to shift gears so we'd have stories to tell the grandkids about cars in our day. I love the autobox in the FL2 as it's exactly like the auto system I had in the BMW. Use it in full auto most of the time, push the lever across for sport mode if you need the car to hold the gears a bit longer and also not randomly change gear in the middle of a bend on the twisty roads; and then if you want control of which gear you're in then just push the lever up or down (arcade style!) I find that, out of habit over the years, when i overtake i automatically whack it into sport mode and then put my foot down - definitely no hesitation by the gearbox at all.

This was also the same for the Mercedes 7Gtronic autobox with the flappy paddles - which was actually quite intuitive (it's actually no different really to pushing the gearknob up or down except you don't have to take your hands off the steering wheel). It was fun shifting up and down like some F1 driver for the twisties but i'd say 90% of the time, the car was just in full auto comfort mode.

Nowadays, the auto versions of a car is sometimes more mpg efficient than their manual equivalents which was something i found out when looking at VWs and Audis.

I have to add that a manual car is a right ball ache in stop start traffic and would take an auto any day for commuting in and around Birmingham  11 SD4 HSE Stornoway Grey / Black Windsor Leather

Manual gearboxes in ordinary cars are like starting handles on cars and kickstarts on bikes. I used to have them, know how to use them but don't want another Their time has been and gone.

OK, you use more diesel unless you have a good cvt box. That's more than compensated for by the superiority of autochanging in traffic, slow roadworks on motorways and especially for towing.

If I had an MX5 or an historic vehicle then maybe I'd feel differently but our last six cars have all been autos and I don't see us regressing. Ours - 2008 Stornoway Grey HSE Auto
Tricia's - 2006 Royal Blue Beetle Cabriolet Auto
Mine - 2014 Vespa GTS 300 Super Sport Matt Black
Ours - 2007 White Bailey Pageant Champagne

It just shows people are getting lazier and lazier, soon you will be able to push your bed into the back of your car and drive it from there to save having to get up in the morning

If you have a MANUAL that is what you got .. a MANUAL..

IF you have an AUTO you got a MANUAL as well...!!! (Command Shift Knock the lever to the left )



SIMPLES ..!!



 Wales
Were the mud is thicker, and the ruts are deeper.
(And we have the water to wash it off, and more on the way..! )
Sd4 and chrome Ar*e piece, Auto box for best fun
09 Xs Gone
12 xs Gone
HSE with Leather seats and 4 years warrenty.. staying for now !