Stop This Childish Manual vs Automatic Transmission Debate

As someone who has driven both transmissions, both exist for a reason and are perfect the way they are. Creating a heated debate regarding which one is better is frankly unnecessary.

Sure, physically rowing through the gears gives a sense of complete involvement, perhaps along with an adrenaline rush.

However, such a sense of involvement only applies when we are driving cars with serious performance figures, right? I don’t think that you will feel any adrenaline rush if what we are driving is a city car with less than 120 hp. Apart from that, yes, there will still be that sense of ‘I know what I’m doing’. But that’s about it.

What I’m saying is that, if what we’re driving is the likes of the E39 BMW M5 or even perhaps the gorgeous and modern yet beautifully analog Gordon Murray Automotive’s T.50, a manual transmission gives the ultimate aural thrill of the high-revving naturally aspirated engines (like in the case of the T.50’s Cosworth V12 that revs all the way to 12,000 rpm).

But hey, the 992 Porsche 911 GT3 RS with its 9,000 rpm flat-six and its 7-speed dual-clutch PDK has garnered much praise from established reviewers. The point of driving involvement of a manual still stands, yes, but the PDK is said to give much easier access to the overall performance.

So, does this mean that the ones who prefer an automatic over a manual transmission are categorically lazy drivers?

Perhaps, but that shouldn’t make the ones in favor of the automatic transmissions less of a driving ‘enthusiast’.

Coming from the perspective of someone who likes to drive himself, I would like to give praise for the existence of the automatic transmission for making the task of being in the driver’s seat less of a handful, and I can avoid the fearful scenario of being stuck in traffic while going uphill.

Because, you know, there’s that trick with the manual transmission to stop the car from rolling backward, which is something that I admittedly still not very good at doing.

Meanwhile, cars with the automatic transmission will most likely have the Hill Hold function fitted.

Besides that, I will only truly enjoy a manual car when the clutch pedal is light to deal with and when the shifts are effortless. With the automatic transmission, I don’t need to be minded with all that. All I have to do is pull the gear lever towards ‘D’, and off I go to my daily commute and even my favorite stretch of roads.

All in all, I stand firm with my stance that both manual and automatic transmission have their respective plus and minus points. Moreover, I don’t need to pretend to be one of those who make loud claims about ‘I care about driving’, because, on my own accord, I know I care, and I very much enjoy driving nonetheless.

So bottom line, and quoting Rihanna, why don’t we just shut up and drive (drive, drive, drive)?