The advantages and disadvantages of an automatic transmission
The automatic transmission is more and more common on new vehicles. Before, as we all know, the automatic gearbox was a luxury, only available on expensive cars and now can be found even on the cheapest models.
Even so, there are still a lot of skeptics about buying a new car with an automatic gearbox, not to mention a used car with an automatic gearbox. So why people still prefer a manual gearbox and which are the advantages and disadvantages of an automatic transmission?
The comfort. The main quality of an automatic transmission. The driver no longer has to care about pressing the clutch pedal, changing gears, he needs to focus only on braking and accelerating which is ideal in a crowded traffic.
Low fuel consumption. The latest models with automatic transmissions are capable of doing something that a manual transmission can't do anymore. Now, the automatic gearbox is computer-aided and knows exactly when to change gears. Before, on older models, the fuel consumption was higher than a manual gearbox because the gears shifting was made at higher speeds.
Reliability over time. And this is an important side of an automatic gearbox! The gearbox itself is as reliable as a manual gearbox, BUT it needs more careful maintenance. At manual transmissions, the oil is changed at very large intervals when an automatic gearbox requires a more often oil changing. The manual gearbox has a clutch that is consumable (the automatic gearbox has clutches, but let's not get into details) and needs to be changed from time to time.
Increased performance. An automatic gearbox is more powerful nowadays than a manual one. We are talking about the latest generation dual-clutch transmissions, which are changing gears much faster than a manual one. That's why all super and hypercar manufacturers are using automatic or sequential transmissions for their cars.
The pleasure of driving disappears. The fans of manual transmissions will say that there is no pleasure driving an automatic. Or that you won't be able to control the speed and the revs as good as a manual does or that you will not feel the car and so on. It is not necessarily true because on newer and most expensive transmissions you have the possibility to change the gears manually from the gear stick or from the paddles which gives you total control.
Expensive. Is true and it should be like that. An automatic gearbox gives you something that a manual can't. And this costs money. Besides this, an automatic gearbox has some very complex built-in mechanism, a hydraulic circuit or some very expensive computers that does all the thinking and so on. While a manual gearbox has just some simple mechanical parts.
In the end, I will let you take the final conclusion based on the things mentioned above. I would be curios to know what you think. I still believe that there isn't a good or bad transmission or that one is better than the other. You have to choose the transmission for your needs and based on your driving regime.
Even so, there are still a lot of skeptics about buying a new car with an automatic gearbox, not to mention a used car with an automatic gearbox. So why people still prefer a manual gearbox and which are the advantages and disadvantages of an automatic transmission?
The comfort. The main quality of an automatic transmission. The driver no longer has to care about pressing the clutch pedal, changing gears, he needs to focus only on braking and accelerating which is ideal in a crowded traffic.
Low fuel consumption. The latest models with automatic transmissions are capable of doing something that a manual transmission can't do anymore. Now, the automatic gearbox is computer-aided and knows exactly when to change gears. Before, on older models, the fuel consumption was higher than a manual gearbox because the gears shifting was made at higher speeds.
Reliability over time. And this is an important side of an automatic gearbox! The gearbox itself is as reliable as a manual gearbox, BUT it needs more careful maintenance. At manual transmissions, the oil is changed at very large intervals when an automatic gearbox requires a more often oil changing. The manual gearbox has a clutch that is consumable (the automatic gearbox has clutches, but let's not get into details) and needs to be changed from time to time.
Increased performance. An automatic gearbox is more powerful nowadays than a manual one. We are talking about the latest generation dual-clutch transmissions, which are changing gears much faster than a manual one. That's why all super and hypercar manufacturers are using automatic or sequential transmissions for their cars.
The pleasure of driving disappears. The fans of manual transmissions will say that there is no pleasure driving an automatic. Or that you won't be able to control the speed and the revs as good as a manual does or that you will not feel the car and so on. It is not necessarily true because on newer and most expensive transmissions you have the possibility to change the gears manually from the gear stick or from the paddles which gives you total control.
Expensive. Is true and it should be like that. An automatic gearbox gives you something that a manual can't. And this costs money. Besides this, an automatic gearbox has some very complex built-in mechanism, a hydraulic circuit or some very expensive computers that does all the thinking and so on. While a manual gearbox has just some simple mechanical parts.
In the end, I will let you take the final conclusion based on the things mentioned above. I would be curios to know what you think. I still believe that there isn't a good or bad transmission or that one is better than the other. You have to choose the transmission for your needs and based on your driving regime.
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