When it comes to buying a new car there is always plenty of choice available, and that is even more so today because more and more cars are now being fitted with an automatic gearbox.
An automatic gearbox means the driver no longer needs to change gear as the car will do this for you, but are automatic gearboxes better than the more conventional manual gearboxes? A conventional automatic gearbox is smooth and very reliable; in fact the very best ones are almost undetectable as you drive along.
During the past an automatic gearbox has received a lot of bad press for a number of different reasons, with poor fuel economy being one of the main examples. This may be the case in some of the older cars that are fitted with an automatic gearbox, but the newer cars that are found on our roads today are more economical than their manual counterparts. This is so because cars that are fitted with an automatic gearbox change gear at the optimal point, which is something very few drivers are able to do when driving a manual car.
Also people believe that manual cars are faster than cars that are fitted with an automatic gearbox. This may be the case with some of the older conventional automatic cars, but the newer cars are in the right gear at the right time as they are fitted with the very best computers, again something that very few drivers are able to do when driving a manual car.
Many older drivers think that driving an automatic car means you have less control over a manual vehicle. Many new cars that are fitted with an automatic gearbox are also fitted with paddles on the steering wheel, which means you can override the automatic gearbox as and when you like, which means even greater control. These paddles are great when driving on winding and twisting roads as it puts the fun back into driving where the driver can exploit the vehicles full capacity.
Why not arrange a test drive at your local car dealership and ask to drive a manual car and one that is fitted with an automatic gearbox. This way you will be able to see for yourself how easy cars that fitted with an automatic gearbox are to drive.