While the majority prefers auto nowadays, some really love the stick shift.
Manual Or Automatic
The automatic transmission trend in India picked up pace since the last 5 years and today it is the most preferred choice of car buyers in the country. Thanks to the introduction of AMT by Maruti Suzuki, the two-pedal tech became accessible to a large audience in the country.
If you notice these days, there are hardly any cars that don’t offer automatic transmission option. And that’s a good thing. Considering the congested driving situations in our country, why would anyone choose MT even when the price gap has shrunk between manual and automatic over the last few years.
Now, there are still some enthusiasts like us who would any day prefer MT over AT even if our left calf muscles are about to burst driving in traffic. We are the people who like to have their engine speed in full control. We are the ones who enjoy the whole mechanism of driving.
Even if our head is shouting out loud (BLOODY GET AN AT PLEASE!) in bumper to bumper traffic, our heart is in denial – no matter what, I’ll keep driving MT till my last breath. I sometimes wish they come up with a tech that has “traffic mode” in MT cars where you don’t need to use the clutch.
Well, that’s the scene with the purists, we can never part ways with a manual gearbox. Me, Parth and Faisal in our team have a similar mindset but there are some people like Dr. Javeid who like driving manual but cannot compromise on convenience that automatics offer.
He even loves driving AMT for the sheer convenience and practicality it offers. He believes AMTs are convenient, offer similar mileage as MT and are affordable, so a sensible option to buy. Duster AMT is his all-time favourite car.
Yes AMTs are practical and sensible to buy but what about drivability? I get irritated with the pause between the shifts and the sudden jerks but some people are used to it. I don’t enjoy it at all, and it feels as if someone is sitting inside the gearbox, changing the gears for me.
Then there’s this continuously variable transmission (CVT), I consider it as AMT’s cousin, simply no fun in driving. It is a belt driven single speed transmission which has a typical rubber-band feel when you rev the engine hard. It works well at moderate speeds and returns good fuel efficiency with part-throttle input.
I’m totally not a part-throttle person, I love revving the nuts out of the engine. But yes, I enjoyed driving the Amaze diesel CVT just for the surge of torque that pulls the car quite well.
The conventional torque converter AT nowadays seems to have no USP. It sips fuel like crazy, there is power loss, gearshifts aren’t that quick and they are expensive too!
Yes, dual-clutch auto transmissions have that fun quotient we enthusiasts like. The shifts are quicker than a wink and if it comes with steering mounted paddle shifters, that’s the real deal! With this sweet combo, the fun factor is quite close to that of a manual gearbox but yes these are pretty expensive and not too fuel efficient either.
So I’ve expressed my love for manual gearbox, tell us about yourself MotorBeamers in the comments section, manual or automatic? And yes, our country and the entire world is having a tough time fighting the COVID-19 situation right now. Stay at home, be safe and keep calm amidst the 21-day lockdown.
