Choosing your perfect car is a much more complex process than it may seem. It’s not just about the process of its manufacturing, production year, or model – your new car should have all the desired features you believe to be essential in a vehicle. The choice between cars with automatic and manual transmission depends on many factors: some drivers may be used to driving manual, while others want to keep their driving habits up to date by choosing automatic transmission. Here are some ways to choose between the two.
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Understand how they work
The main job of a transmission is to transform the limited number of speeds produced by the engine into the unlimited range of speeds required for safe and comfortable driving. As you can see from the names of the transmission, the manual one means the driver needs to change gears manually depending on how fast the car is going, while an automatic transmission goes between gears automatically as the vehicle accelerates or slows down.
Consider the costs
When it comes to transmission, costs can differ a lot, and not just the initial price of the vehicle and running costs, but also your future maintenance budget. The initial purchase of a car equipped with manual transmission will usually cost you less than a similar model with automatic transmission, which can be said both about used cars and brand new vehicles. Running costs, which mainly include fuel economy, also make manual transmissions a more budget-friendly option.
Finally, maintenance costs are where you’ll see the biggest financial difference, as automatic transmission is famously expensive to maintain and repair. The high maintenance costs of automatic gearboxes are understandable, since there are lots of tiny high-tech parts that occasionally need replacement, but they can still take a toll on your family budget.
How much power do you want?
Power is an important component of driving experience, and the type of the transmission you prefer can have major influence on how well your car is performing. Generally, you need to base your choice of a transmission on how much power you want to get from the vehicle. If you’re searching for a family car or a vehicle for commuting to work and back, opt for manual transmission, as cars with limited power perform best with manual. High-powered cars, in most cases, work better with manual transmission as well, although high-end vehicles like Ferrari and Porsche deliver amazing results with automatic gearboxes.
Get the best from both
If you can’t decide between an automatic and manual transmission, or if you want to enjoy the latest achievements of the automotive industry, there is a perfect option for you – a semi-automatic transmission, which is also known as the paddle shift. This transmission lets the driver change gears manually even though there is no clutch pedal, and the transmission mechanism is based on a myriad of sensors and processors. Usually the default state of a SAT is automatic, but you can switch to semi-automatic anytime you want to get more control over the driving process.
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