Manual vs. Automatic

I'm wondering what everyone's opinions are on learning manual or just sticking with automatic? I'm currently feeling like there's enough life changes coming my way in the next year that'd I'd rather just stick with automatic. But we're also going to have to buy me a car in the not to distant future and it looks like we'll have much more choice and cheaper options if I suck it up and learn manual. What have your experiences been?

You will have more options open to you if you learn manual.. With the UK driving license if you learn and pass your test on a automatic you can only legally drive an automatic.. Where as if you learn and pass on a manual you can drive both automatic and manual..
Weird maybe but that's the way it is..


Therefore if you can and have the option I'd go for manual.

Just my opinion... others may vary

Do whatever works for you.   

Driving a manual is not difficult, (almost) everyone here does it!   

Either way, you're going to need to take lessons to learn how to pass the test so why don't you just try at first with a manual and then if it's not working out for you after a few weeks,  you can always fall back to the automatic but at least then you know you've made the right choice for you. 

Don't be scared to go for it! 

Driving a manual is not difficult, (almost) everyone here does it!   

Either way, you're going to need to take lessons to learn how to pass the test so why don't you just try at first with a manual and then if it's not working out for you after a few weeks,  you can always fall back to the automatic but at least then you know you've made the right choice for you. 

Don't be scared to go for it! 

Good advice. After a few lessons in a manual you will have a much better idea of the challenge.

Plenty of automatic cars of all sizes about these days but definitely more choice if you are looking to buy and don’t mind manuals.

My wife didn’t want to go back to a manual so we drive an automatic and it was actually quite easy to buy a 2nd hand automatic when we returned but it is in a higher road tax band than it’s manual equivalent because fuel economy is not as good. (Hyundai i20)

I'm wondering what everyone's opinions are on learning manual or just sticking with automatic? I'm currently feeling like there's enough life changes coming my way in the next year that'd I'd rather just stick with automatic. But we're also going to have to buy me a car in the not to distant future and it looks like we'll have much more choice and cheaper options if I suck it up and learn manual. What have your experiences been?

I passed the manual test just to have the option and then promptly bought myself an auto

I would suggest at least giving manual a go with a good instructor. If after a lesson or two, you're dreading it, then switch to auto. I don;t think you'll be too limited going auto only, but it's less room to change your mind as it means needing to go through the process again to give yourself the option. It's easier to just get it done and out of the way at the start (just my 2p). But, at the same time, if it's causing you loads of unnecessary stress and you're hatinggggg it even with a good instructor, make life easier for yourself and go with auto.

Good advice. After a few lessons in a manual you will have a much better idea of the challenge.

Plenty of automatic cars of all sizes about these days but definitely more choice if you are looking to buy and don’t mind manuals.

My wife didn’t want to go back to a manual so we drive an automatic and it was actually quite easy to buy a 2nd hand automatic when we returned but it is in a higher road tax band than it’s manual equivalent because fuel economy is not as good. (Hyundai i20)

Definitely a lot more options now in auto than there used to be even just a few years ago...the problem, mainly, is that it just typically costs so much more for auto vs manual. Even when it comes to repairs, autos can cost a pretty penny more than a manual. I don't think you're limiting yourself in terms of ability to find a car that meets your needs or the ability to rent a car/moving truck/etc. that other people claim, it's more that the difference in money and the ability to change your mind as the other stresses fade out that is the bigger issue to consider. It's worth giving the manual a go and - worst case scenario - changing your mind and switching to auto. Then at least you know for sure what works best for you.

Think most of the reluctance (at least from my experiences) are more about fear of the unknown and having to learn something totally new to me while also balancing a bunch of other responsibilities. It just feels like too much and might be how OP is feeling...but once you're actually there and doing it, it's not so bad

My hubby had an automatic and said no reason for me to get a manual license so I didn’t and haven’t regretted it at all! I drove manual for years in USA so I know I can drive a manual but don’t plan on buying one again.


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I had no real reason to learn to drive while living in Texas because everything I needed was within a mile radius or accessible by public transportation. England was a different thing entirely for me. I was 28-years-old when I took my first driving lesson in Reading in an manual car. It was important for me to learn on a manual because I wanted to be like everyone else. I took ten lessons (remember, I had never been behind the wheel before) and passed on the first try.

I have lived in the US for 14 years now and I still drive a manual car (Mini Cooper) because I know that I will move back to England again and I don’t want to lose my skills. Additionally, I find automatic cars a bit dull.

On my last trip to England, I decided to rent an automatic car. I was shocked that the rental cost was nearly DOUBLE the cost of a manual transmission! Screw that! Because of that, I’m teaching my kids to drive my Mini Cooper. It will be a bit of a cost-saver when they visit my husband and I in the future.


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I believe in acquiring as many skills as you can throughout life. You just never know when and how necessity might show up. I think it might be handy to learn it in a place where the majority of people drive manual. And like someone else said, you can get licensed for manual and still choose to drive an automatic.

In the US, I learned on manual and my very first car was manual. However, I prefer automatic myself. After living in LA where there's tons of traffic, I quickly changed from manual to automatic to make driving much easier. But I will drive manual in the UK if I must. It's honestly not too difficult to learn and I think you'll thank yourself in the long run. 

Additionally, I find automatic cars a bit dull.

Funnily enough, even though I prefer an automatic and would probably struggle to drive a manual now, I find myself sometimes wishing my car was a manual because you do just have so much more control. I can feel my car struggling to change gears sometimes and I just wish I had the ability to do it myself!

I drove a manual for years - learned how to drive as a kid on one.
Have had an automatic for the last decade or so, before leaving the States. Was easier to deal with stop-and-go traffic.

I'm studying up and plan to go for an "automatic" license here, as I don't actually intend to buy a car here. I need a valid license so I can rent a car when I go back to the States, and it's less hassle to me to take a driving test in a car where I'm sitting on the wrong side of the car if I'm not also having to shift with the wrong hand, but in the same pattern as if it was a USA manual. Besides, with my luck the drive test would end up on one of the hills here where there's a freaking red light half the way up it.

I drove a manual for years - learned how to drive as a kid on one.
Have had an automatic for the last decade or so, before leaving the States. Was easier to deal with stop-and-go traffic.

I'm studying up and plan to go for an "automatic" license here, as I don't actually intend to buy a car here. I need a valid license so I can rent a car when I go back to the States, and it's less hassle to me to take a driving test in a car where I'm sitting on the wrong side of the car if I'm not also having to shift with the wrong hand, but in the same pattern as if it was a USA manual. Besides, with my luck the drive test would end up on one of the hills here where there's a freaking red light half the way up it.

You have to do what's right for you Only think I would say, just in case anybody that hasn't taken the test yet isn't aware, you will do the lessons over the test route to practise so you perfect. They take you around the area you'll be driving for your test so there won't be too many surprises on the day (which is really helpful)

I drove a manual for years - learned how to drive as a kid on one.
Have had an automatic for the last decade or so, before leaving the States. Was easier to deal with stop-and-go traffic.

I'm studying up and plan to go for an "automatic" license here, as I don't actually intend to buy a car here. I need a valid license so I can rent a car when I go back to the States, and it's less hassle to me to take a driving test in a car where I'm sitting on the wrong side of the car if I'm not also having to shift with the wrong hand, but in the same pattern as if it was a USA manual. Besides, with my luck the drive test would end up on one of the hills here where there's a freaking red light half the way up it.

That is exactly the view my wife took.  Although we always drove automatics in the USA I travelled to the UK and Europe a lot on business and always had a manual so it was no problem for me, but these days I definitely prefer an automatic which is what we have now in England.

You have to do what's right for you Only think I would say, just in case anybody that hasn't taken the test yet isn't aware, you will do the lessons over the test route to practise so you perfect. They take you around the area you'll be driving for your test so there won't be too many surprises on the day (which is really helpful)

That was exactly our son's plan and he had quite a few lessons in the area of the test routes in and around the centre of Middlesbrough. However, when he took his test a few weeks back the examiner immediately had him drive several miles away from the normal routes to a different town altogether, Thornaby. To my son's relief that is the town where he works and so he was somewhat familiar with the roads even though his instructor had never taken him to that area before. He passed first time, but he did fail his theory test the first attempt because there were questions in it that required knowledge of how to drive a manual, which he has never done in his life. He said that all the online practice tests he had done had never asked about changing gears or hill starts in a manual etc.