[ananth_iy]

I now have 2 ATs in my garage - a Santro AT and the latest acquisition the Scorpio AT.

The Santro gives me 11kmpl in the city and 15kmpl on the highways - gives me a good start from the signal so that I can jump ahead of all the nuisance 2 wheelers that insist on creeping in front of you at every signal. On the highways it is well mannered and does a fair job.

The Scorpio gives me 10kmpl in the city - not yet done the highways on it. Bit sluggish in the 1st and 2nd gear but then I have 4 more gears - yes it has 6 forward gears so it can really get to great speeds. Anything over 25kmph and it starts to really get into the race.

Both lovely vehicles keep me from tiring out in any traffic. After all, I tell people, I do not drive for a living. I drive out of necessity most of the time.

[Abes]

My affair with automatics started in 2002 when I was a student in Australia. I bought a 1982 Toyota Corona for A$500.Of course, it was an old car with a 3 speed automatic which had trouble engaging D at times. But never the less, I got hooked to the AT. Before that I had driven only maruti 800, fiats and ambassadors,

Further down the lane, I have had a 2000 Seat Cordoba (1.8L i think) AT and a 2004 Nissan Sunny 1.3L AT, both were company cars in Dubai. The Cordoba was fun to drive; while the Sunny was lethargic, especially with the AC at full blast. I have also tried my hands on Toyota Corola, Nissan X-trail, Nissan Pathfinder and Honda Accord, all with auto transmissions.

Bought a Nissan Tiida 1.6L AT hatchback in 2007. Its an average city car, not very exciting nor pathetic. In Dubai, I used to get around 600kms per tank-full, for the cost of around Dhs.60. It was driven mainly on the highway, average 80kms daily. Never bothered to check the FE, but must be roughly 18kmpl.

Now in Oman, office is just 5kms away (no highway), the Tiida gives me around 500 to 550 kms to a tank-full costing 5-6 Riyals. It has covered 63K kms, haven't had any issues with the car or the AT.

Out here, no one is bothered about FE; people (indians) are worried only about the maintenance costs. Never heard anyone mentioning any maintenance issues with AT's of japanese or korean origin. And I guess the AT's FE is also not very bad compare to MT's.

In India, FE centric mentality of average person, common perception that AT's are problematic, and the higher initial costs are hurting the popularity of the AT's. Manufacturers are in no way trying to popularise the automatics, either. But, I guess times and mentality will change.

My next car in India would most likely be a Scorpio AT.

[RajaTaurus]

[quote=manim;1771862]On the contrary with a Civic AT I can get 16 kmpl (highway), I feel that Honda's AT has to be mastered...quote]
I think all AT's will behave somthing similar to this.
Mileage with AT is much lower compared to Manual when you do mostly city B-to-B driving. This is because, the AT goes with 1st gear and high Rev on the engine until you reach the next speed. Whereas with MT, you can manage with half-clutch and 2nd gear easily keeping the Enginer Rev lower, resulting in using less fuel.

AT's city to highway mileage difference is much higher than in MTs.

In middle east, I had MT Camrys 1999-2004, gave me clear 12 kmph with moderate driving (30% City, 70% highway). And an AT Camry since 2004-2007,which gave around 8 kmph only, for the same traffic mix.

[manim]

Yes, for city driving MT will give better FE if driven properly, it is a small price we pay for comfort.

For long highway drives (8 hours and more), particularly in Indian conditions, AT is a boon and will give same FE.

Also for hill driving AT is very stress-free, but at the expense of lesser FE.

[ahuja365]

I have a i10 at and its giving me good mileage.The sore point is no display for gear on the dashboard and no handrest.

[TheSandman]

Any idea how the AT in the OHC 1.5 EXi is?

[idofsuresh]

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

From experience, my Civic shifts according to the following factors:

1) How far the A pedal is pressed. Farther it is pressed, more the car revs before an upshift. Press to the floor, instant downshift to the lowest possible gear without redlining the engine and shifts at redline as the car accelerates. AKA Kickdown.

2) How fast you change the pedal position. Press quickly and you get tremendous acceleration to a point after which it goes to cruise. Release quickly and brake assist kicks in. I haven't mastered this.

3) Grade Logic Control - Holds gears if you are in an incline or decline. No hunting for gears or loss of engine braking. After a certain RPM in every gear, the torque converter locks (i.e, no slippage - like a fully released clutch pedal of a manual). This is the point of maximum mileage. Contrary to manuals, driving in the lowest RPM in a particular gear does not give you maximum mileage - you have to be driving in the lowest RPM AFTER gear lock. Still not mastered this.

4) S Mode - Amps up everything a couple of notches. Extreme fun to drive in this mode, both in paddle shift and fully auto modes.

Combination of #1 and #2 controls speed and acceleration together. Getting it down is not a huge task though - after a while it becomes instinctual, just like steering.

Wow! That is a very useful stuff. I have bought a Civic AT last week, still learning the auto gear box. How did you arrive at the pattern of shift ? Is it documented in the user manual or is it based on your experience ?

Another thing, how do you find out whether the gear has locked ? Is the RPM documented ? If it's by feel, what's the indication ?

I'd love a separate thread "How to get the maximum out of Civic Auto gearbox ?" Maximum meaning, fun, fuel efficiency etc.

[troublemaker]

I had a 01 Civic AT. I really liked that tranny but it had technical weaknesses. Just google civic tranny issues and you will know what I'm talking about.

These days, I'm loving the 7 speed AT in my C300.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by idofsuresh

c
Another thing, how do you find out whether the gear has locked ? Is the RPM documented ? If it's by feel, what's the indication ?

When it gets locked, the rubbery feeling of the AT is gone and the response of the car speed to the accelerator input is more liner/direct.

Another thing I have found out is, if you want to hold to a gear (and not up-shift) keep pressing the accelerator progressively (as against flooring it and staying there) as the revs go up.

[jinojohnt]

One major difference that I have noticed between automatic cars and automatic scooters is given below.

1. In automatic cars in 'Drive' mode, the car starts moving at a slow speed even if you don't press the accelerator.
2. In automatic scooters (e.g kinetic honda), the vehicle would not move forward unless you use the accelerator.

Any idea why this difference?
Which is better? If one of the above method is better, why don't all manufacturers stick to that method?

[rohanjf]

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

One major difference that I have noticed between automatic cars and automatic scooters is given below.

1. In automatic cars in 'Drive' mode, the car starts moving at a slow speed even if you don't press the accelerator.
2. In automatic scooters (e.g kinetic honda), the vehicle would not move forward unless you use the accelerator.

Any idea why this difference?
Which is better? If one of the above method is better, why don't all manufacturers stick to that method?

Probably because scooters have CVT. If this is the reason, then I have a question. Will cars with CVTs not move unless accelarated?

[Guna]

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

One major difference that I have noticed between automatic cars and automatic scooters is given below.

1. In automatic cars in 'Drive' mode, the car starts moving at a slow speed even if you don't press the accelerator.
2. In automatic scooters (e.g kinetic honda), the vehicle would not move forward unless you use the accelerator.

Any idea why this difference?
Which is better? If one of the above method is better, why don't all manufacturers stick to that method?

Most automatic cars have a torque converter, a hydraulic coupling where the driving shaft (which comes from engine/transmission) and driven shaft (which goes to the wheels) are always engaged, and hence some power always goes to the wheels to make them crawl.

[ananth_iy]

Originally Posted by jinojohnt

One major difference that I have noticed between automatic cars and automatic scooters is given below.

1. In automatic cars in 'Drive' mode, the car starts moving at a slow speed even if you don't press the accelerator.
2. In automatic scooters (e.g kinetic honda), the vehicle would not move forward unless you use the accelerator.

Any idea why this difference?
Which is better? If one of the above method is better, why don't all manufacturers stick to that method?

I have a slightly different answer.

There is a thing that my US mechanic used to call "idling" - that is the amount of fuel taken in when you are in D and haven't hit the accelerator. You can reduce this to a bare minimum and the car will not move. This also reduces fuel consumption and brake wear when you are at a signal. The downside of doing this is that if your car does not have an anti-roll-back, an automatic will roll-back just like a manual on an incline.

Alternately one may have to slip the car into "N" at a signal. I am still not sure of the pros and cons of doing that at every signal.

[Abes]

Originally Posted by ananth_iy

Alternately one may have to slip the car into "N" at a signal. I am still not sure of the pros and cons of doing that at every signal.

I do slip the AT into N at signals, every time.

The only flip side I can think of is, if you are not paying attention when the signal turns green, the car behind you honks & you slip the AT into D and release the brake instantly & step on the gas, there is a 'slight' delay in the gear engaging, and the car moves forward with a jerk. I don't know how this will affect the AT.

[gshanky]

I have always driven ATs since I started driving cars in USA. I have mostly driven my Lexus and 330xi. But this last month was spent in India getting to know my Scorpio SLE and I'll have to say that I started having fun the last couple of weeks when I involuntarily came to the understanding of Shifting up and Down. For some reason I felt the Scorpio gear shift is long and slow and am now wondering how a BMW manual shift will feel like? Though I have the paddle shift, have not used it much.

IMO, manual seems more fun and I would not be averse to going manual full-time here in USA.