Automatic gearboxes are taking the joy out of old-school driving

Telegraph

22-03-2025

If you buy a new car, chances are you'll have the option of getting an automatic gearbox – and more people than ever are plumping for self-shifters. Automatics now make up nearly a third of cars on UK roads, with the number of auto transmissions more than doubling in the last decade.
While 400,000 new cars were automatic in 2014, 10 years later the number had tripled to more than 1.3 million. So does the rapid adoption of automatics mean we've fallen out of love with driving? Or are we just shifting with the times and taking what the car-makers give us?
Above all, does it mean we're abandoning one of the fundamental aspects of driving?
What's behind the boom in sales of automatics?
Some makers now only sell automatics. Mercedes-Benz, Genesis, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lexus, Maserati, Rolls-Royce, Subaru and Volvo no longer produce cars with manual gearboxes. You'll notice these are predominantly makers of large, premium and, in some cases, luxury models.
Skoda believes the shift to auto is customer-driven. The firm's Pietro Panarisi said: 'The UK is a market where customers enjoy a higher specification car and the automatic is part of that. Even on the [sporty] vRS models, most buyers take the automatic to the point where we no longer offer the Octavia vRS manual.'
A Volvo spokesperson added: 'It's partly down to customer demand, partly down to technology. We sell generally larger premium models, and drivers of those don't want manuals. But also the majority of our cars use (petrol-electric) hybrid technology, and that doesn't suit a manual gearbox.'
With ever-more electric vehicles that don't have a gearbox on our roads, the number of cars that take care of gear-changing themselves will only grow.
The power of the manual gear-change
There is a certain joy about changing down a gear in advance of a bend and then holding that ratio as you sweep round the corner; only when the revs exceed the point that you know is the car's sweet spot for torque do you change up. In the right car it sounds great and maximises the engine's available power. The joy is total control over the vehicle: it's a visceral thrill that delivers emotional pleasure.
The manual gear-change also benefits fuel economy compared with the old-school 'slush-box' automatics. You can short shift, which is changing gear when the revs are only just high enough to cope with the next ratio. Again, it's a control thing: you're using your judgement, skill, experience and knowledge of the car to save fuel.
Porsche still offers a manual gearbox in its 911 Carrera GT3. The head of the company's GT division, Andreas Preuninger, said: 'For me personally, it has always been super-important to have a manual gearbox.
'A manual gearbox is lighter, which helps with fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. It also allows for more horsepower because the internal resistance is significantly lower than in a PDK [semi-automatic] transmission.'
Driver trainer Rod Williams from P555 agrees, adding: 'On a pure, focused driver's car, I like manuals because you can do what you want with them.' Meanwhile, Toyota's David Crouch says of its rally-based hatchback: 'We would sell every manual GR Yaris we could get our hands on.'
Where the automatic hits back
Formula 1 Grand Prix cars are semi-automatics. Rather than stirring a stick as the late Sir Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart and James Hunt used to, drivers now pull steering wheel-mounted paddles to change gear. The clutch is a hand-operated lever used only to get the car moving.
The reason this system was introduced in 1989 by Ferrari was two-fold: it enabled drivers to keep both hands on the wheel at all times (vital when you're cornering under extreme G-forces) and it prevents them from missing gear changes and over-revving the engine. The latter isn't a problem for the average road driver, but the former point is relevant, particularly with the advent of – and increasing reliance on – in-car screens.
Modern automatics also use less fuel than manual cars. In many models, the automatic gearbox has seven or eight gears, so there's more likely to be an appropriate ratio for the speed you're doing. Computer control also enables the modern auto to swap cogs at the perfect point to reduce emissions and fuel consumption.
Automatics are more relaxing and safer, too. Williams says: 'With an auto, you keep your foot on the brake pedal when you're stopped so the brake lights are on. With a manual, you're supposed to put it in neutral and apply the parking brake when you're at a standstill so your signal to the rest of the world disappears.
'Also, automatics are so good now you're always in the right gear. With busier roads, that helps you to concentrate on what's going on around you.'
Have we forgotten how to drive?
This really depends on how you define driving. If it's simply getting from A to B without crashing, then the automatic gear-change is a bonus. Equally, if you assume Formula 1 drivers are the pinnacle of motoring (as is often argued), the absence of a gear lever has merely given them more bandwidth to perform other tasks vital for driving cars scarily fast.
Former Williams F1 team technical director Patrick Head once said: 'Some people tell me F1 would be better if the drivers still used stick shifts. But that's a bit like saying: 'Isn't it a pity we don't still walk around in clogs?'.'
Meanwhile, Williams agrees that you can't reverse the march of technology. 'I don't believe it's about forgetting how to drive. I don't think the younger generation will have the same driving involvement that we had because cars have advanced so much in so many different areas,' he says.
'And many younger drivers coming along question things on cars. Just because something like a manual gearbox is what the older generation had doesn't necessarily mean younger drivers want it. They just want to go from A to B as easily as possible.'
So, are you a (clog-wearing) manual gearbox lover? Or raring to embrace automatics and the march of technology? Have your say in the comments section below.