Motoring corner: “Manual Vs Automatic Gear Transmission”

There is this crave for either automatic or manual gear transmission vehicles. There are many pros and cons of the same; depending on how and where one lives or drives, the choice of one over the other may be a matter of personal convenience. It is not a widely accepted phenomenon that, one drives this type of transmission over the other. Notably, the choice for manual transmission might be based on a number of issues like, Sometimes it pays to have more control over gears. To give you more control in tough climate conditions or when negotiating a steep curve. The mileage on your automatic transmission car will drop 10% compared to manual transmissions. Automatics are known to consume more fuel. Also, they’ll probably be more expensive in terms of the initial cost, on average the autos cost about $700 above their manual counter parts. This may not be the overriding factor. If your automatic breaks down, you’ll need jumper cables to restart the engine. It is practically impossible to push-start it. Others argue that, getting a mechanic that could fix an automatic gearbox is a pain. Of course, there those people with a different opinion (from the above), who think that, they do not want to waste lots of their time shifting gears etc. Generally this kind of transmission is easier to operate. There are only two pedals, so it’s simple to drive. In a traffic jam, this is a big advantage. You’ll have one of your feet free and both hands on the wheel. With new options like “Manumatic” transmissions (have an elements of manual transmission control e.g. a gear can be manually selected instead of having the computer control all shifts), automatics may finally be gaining on manuals, combining ease of use with power. Choosing a transmission is not as simple as it may sound. You should take into account the maker of the car and your situation. For example, if you’re buying a high performance vehicle specifically for the performance reasons, you’ll probably want to stick to a manual and use that power. But if you’re a city commuter who doesn’t want to shift those gears on the drive home, go with an automatic. If you’ll be going to the mountains a lot, dealing with mud and rain, then a manual transmission is likely to hold up wonderfully. The heart of the matter is that there is a broad variety of opinions on this topic. Both sides are able to collect arguments that look remarkably convincing. Though there may be not much tangible information that could settle the argument one way or the other. It is, possibly, natural to assume, at first, that an automatic drive vehicle would be safer on the road. After all, there is less for the driver to do; as a result, this reduces the chance for things to go wrong. There is no need for the driver to remove one hand from the steering wheel in order to change gear, with all of the loss of control that could come with it. As a result, there is Less Stress for drivers of Automatic vehicles. Studies which monitor stress by measuring heartbeat have shown that drivers of manual-transmission vehicles do experience significantly more stress than those in automatics. In fact, so great was the differential that drivers of automatics experienced stress levels which were comparable to those of passengers! Nonetheless, there are those that argue, that by very fact that there is less for the driver to do, the driver of an automatic is inclined to pay less attention to the road-traffic environment and so is less likely to detect the signs of an impending accident. In fact, some go further and argue that the greater ease of driving an automatic leads drivers to take an excessively relaxed view of road safety and do things that they would not normally do while driving, such as fidget with objects, talk on mobile phone, etc, while driving. Many experienced drivers who have used both types of transmission argue that a vehicle with a manual gearbox is safer because it gives more control. An automatic is, in effect, making guesses about the best gear to engage for any given situation. Autos can never equate to the intricacy of a human brain and, while an automatic can usually be relied on to make good choices in normal driving conditions, some insist that manual control gives them greater flexibility to react to something unusual, such as a slippery road or a possible collision, by adjusting gears in a non-standard way. In the end, from a safety viewpoint, neither automatic nor manual transmission may have any critical advantage over the other. If this had been so, one would most probably have displaced the other by now. motoringcorner@live.co.uk

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Motoring corner: “Manual Vs Automatic Gear Transmission”