Driving Jonathan | 18 Dec 2008
Manual or Auto?
By popular belief, automatic cars are only for people who can’t cope with a clutch. They take away all your control. They’re always going wrong and when they do they’re very expensive to fix. As a keen driver you’d expect me to denounce the auto ‘box as the root of all evil. But, you see, they’re not.
I’ve just realised it’s almost the second anniversary of my first ‘Auto’ purchase, a Rover 75, and it has to be said my only regret is not making the change earlier. Normally at this time of year I’d run what I call a “winter banger” for commuting and keep the V6 Rover for longer journeys. As things have turned out, the [manual] Saab hasn’t turned a wheel in three weeks. On paper it’s the ideal car for the job of shuttling me to and from work every day in all weathers but if I’m honest, every time I drive the old 900 with its heavy clutch it just seems like a workout, and I end up taking the lazy option. The Jatco ‘box in the Rover is just brilliant and it’s becoming hard to imagine life without it.
Of course I still have the MG which, on the right roads and away from the congested towns, cities and arteries of the South East, is still hugely entertaining for recreational driving. Could we reach the point soon where manuals are ‘just for fun’, or am I getting old and lazy far too quickly?