Is it better to buy a manual or automatic car

Less likely to be stolen : As more automatic cars make its way to market, the newer generation are not learning the finer points of a manual gearbox. Which means that if they are looking to steal a car, it is said they are less likely to steal a manual. Better control : A manual transmission will give you more control over your driving.

An example of this is slowing down the car using your gears instead of the brakes. American movies, more particularly the Fast and Furious saga, is the perfect example of this. Some drivers feel a certain level of satisfaction when shifting gears themselves, or as many describe - just having something to do in the car. This is achieved when driving a car with a automatic transmission but rarely possible when driving with a manual transmission.

Traffic : A lot more effort goes into driving when sitting through traffic in a manual car, so much so that driving to work or home can feel like a chore, and a tiring one at that.

Whereas automatic transmissions will allow you to easily move with the traffic. This is something to keep in mind, especially if you travel a distance on a daily basis. Stalling : It can be quite embarrassing stalling your car at a green light, but with automatic cars that almost never happens unless there is a mechanical problem. Hills : Hills and inclines are not a problem for autos - no matter how steep a hill is, an automatic transmission will do the work required to get you smoothly up.

PDK or seven-speed manual? Let us know in the comments below, and remember: The correct answer is one of each. Car Life. Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories. We've got both sides of the coin below. Add your comments at the end. Wes Raynal, editor-in-chief, flappy-paddle swatter: PDKs rule. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses.

Every transmission features a gearbox containing a system of gears, and these gears engage one at a time to provide different levels of power to the wheels according to the vehicle's needs. For example, a car driving uphill requires a different gear configuration than a car driving on a flat road. Manual and automatic car transmissions each have advantages and disadvantages, and the car transmission that's best for you depends on your style of driving.

Automatic cars typically have simple shifters that let you alternate between four driving modes: park, reverse, neutral, and drive, in that order. Many automatic shifters sometimes allow you to shift gears to handle specific driving conditions.

Manual transmission cars, also known as stick shifts, are different. They tend to feature shifters with five to seven forward speed gears, plus reverse gear. The gears are numbered, with higher numbers corresponding to a greater distance traveled per engine revolution. In addition to a more complicated shifter, manual transmission vehicles have a clutch pedal.

The clutch pedal, which sits to the left of the acceleration and brake pedals, allows the driver to engage the vehicle's clutch plate to control the vehicle's speed. To drive, you hold down the clutch pedal while starting the engine, then gradually ease off it while pushing the accelerator. You also hold down the clutch pedal with your foot off the gas pedal when shifting gears. Automatic cars are the most popular new cars in America, mainly due to how much simpler they are to drive.

Because automatics lack clutch pedals, many new drivers see them as having easier learning curves and requiring less maintenance. Driving through hilly areas in automatic cars is also easier, as you don't have to switch gears each time the steepness of the road changes.

In particular, accelerating from a dead stop on a steep climb is less tricky in automatic cars because there's almost no chance of the car stalling. There's also little to no risk of the vehicle rolling backward once you engage the gears to move forward.

Stalling isn't a problem in automatic cars unless there's a mechanical failure. You don't need to worry about your vehicle losing power if you're at a stoplight and forget to activate the clutch. Another benefit of automatic cars is that you can keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times. You can respond to road hazards more quickly since you're not fiddling with the shifter. Similarly, heavy traffic isn't as much of a problem for automatic drivers as it is for manual drivers since you don't have to change the gears in a constant stop-and-go fashion.

Although automatic cars are convenient and easy to drive, many drivers feel they don't perform as well as manuals since they sometimes switch to the wrong speed gear when they interpret driving conditions incorrectly.