What To Choose Between Manual And Automatic Transmission
While everyone agrees that a transmission is absolutely essential to the inner workings of any car, there is no general accord regarding what kind of transmission is better—automatic or manual.
To understand simply; A transmission system allows the vehicle to shift gears, thus transferring power from the engine to the wheels in the most dynamic way possible. In a manual transmission, the driver is responsible for changing the gears using the gas pedal and clutch. In the automatic transmission, on the other hand, the car determines when you shift and automatically it will switch the gears for you. Each comes with their own advantages and disadvantages, there’s a constant argument among drivers as to what transmission type performs better on the road.
Another important aspect that distinguishes the kind of transmission and the kind of care adhered to it. You need to take special care of the transmission as its deals directly with 2 important moving parts on each side – the engine on one side and the wheel on the other. Team Automen and their expert service mechanism make sure that your car runs smoothly without giving any transmission trouble.
Manual Transmission:
To switch gears, a clutch disc sandwiched between the engine and the transmission needs to be dispensed via a third pedal located on the left side of the brake. Release the clutch, select the desired gear, and engage the clutch again. Driving a stick-shift, you feel a connection to your car that is difficult to emulate with an automatic transmission.
Automatic Transmission:
An automatic car tends to be effortless and more comfortable to drive than a stick-shift, especially in stop-and-go traffic. An automatic typically requires less maintenance than a manual as well, though that can vary from model to model.
The automatic transmission does, however, require more care as you may never know what problem you are facing till the problem worsens. And at this point of time, your service intervals which are provided by your manufacturer becomes obsolete as they may ignore the deep checkups that professional service and repair centers like Automen provide.
Which One is The Best:
When buying a new car, it is a good idea to test drive both a manual and an automatic if you are on the fence regarding a transmission choice. While a manual transmission will give you more control over the vehicle and may enhance the driving experience; An automatic is easy and convenient.
Automatic cars were not most preferred in India, all this while is mainly because of the fear of low mileage. But the latest automatic cars in India have newer types of automatic gears like AMT transmission, Dual clutch transmission & CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) transmissions.
Here we compare the two transmission types based on factors – cost, power, fuel efficiency, ease of use, maintenance, thrill comfort, convenience & upkeep.
| Factors | Manual Transmission | Automatic Transmission |
| Initial Cost | Initial cost of manual transmission cars is low | Initial cost of similar automatic transmission car is higher |
| Power | If you are looking at a low powered vehicle, a manual transmission is often the best bet. An entry-level car with a 1.5-liter 4-cylinder engine is going to benefit from a manual transmission. | Once you move into higher-powered vehicles, such as a V-6 or V-8, an automatic might be more fitting. |
| Fuel Efficiency | Fuel Efficiency of Manual transmission is higher because of low energy loss of a clutch plate based system | Fuel Efficiency of Automatic transmission car is lower compared to manual transmission because of energy losses in hydraulic torque converter are higher |
| Preventive Maintenance Cost | Preventive maintenance cost for Manual transmission is slightly lower. | Preventive maintenance cost for automatic transmission car is slightly higher. |
| Breakdown Maintenance Cost | Breakdown maintenance cost of manual transmission car due to transmission related failures is lower compared to automatic transmission because of lesser complexity of manual transmission | Breakdown maintenance cost of automatic transmission car due to transmission related failures is higher compared to manual transmission because of more complexity of automatic transmission |
| Sporty Thrill | Manual transmission is usually more sporty compared to automatic transmission because the choice of changing the gears lies with the driver so he/she can choose whether to drive with more acceleration or more fuel efficiency based on the driving style | Automatic transmission decides the gear changing speeds and changes it automatically, so the driver does not have full liberty to choose what gears he/she wants to drive in, thus it is less sporty as compared to the manual transmission |
| Comfort and Convenience | Manual transmission is less comfortable as the driver has to operate the clutch to change gears and it can be a lot of inconvenience in a congested city traffic with stop and go type of situation. | Automatic transmission is very comfortable as the driver needs not worry about the clutch and there is no need to manually change the gears with changing speeds. This adds a lot of convenience in city traffic where we have lots of frequent stops and go conditions. |
| Driving Skill | It requires more skills to drive a manual transmission car as there has to be a coordination between speed and gears. Also, the driver needs to operate clutch whenever moving from a stopped position and while changing gears. It takes more time to be habitual of smoothly driving a manual transmission car | It requires lesser skills to drive an automatic transmission car compared to manual transmission car as the gears are changed automatically by the transmission system of the car so the driver needs to operate just the accelerator, brake and steering. The driver need not coordinate for the gears as per speed and does not need to operate the clutch pedal. Thus, it takes less time to be habitual to drive an automatic transmission car smoothly compared to manual transmission car. |
Always test drive a vehicle as many times as necessary to make sure you are comfortable not only with the vehicle but the transmission as well. And make sure that you get you vehicle deep checked after every 5,000-10,000 km’