[iliketurtles]

That price tag must be for the Asta, the i10 Sportz AT is about 6 lakhs here in Mumbai, so 6.25 OTR in Bangalore as stated by Oxy sounds about right.

[W.A.G.7]

I would prefer to drive a manual transmission car any day. For some reason I feel it better to be in control, rather than handing over the controls to the car! After all, if everything is done by the car, then what's the fun left in driving a car?!!

I still think with a manual transmission vehicle you can connect with the car more, and these are more fun to drive than AT vehicles, but that's my opinion for the time being because I have never driven an AT vehicle. It might change in future, if I go the AT way. I never felt the need to switch over to an AT even though the traffic situation is going from bad to worse. Maybe in future this opinion might change, but right now, for me MT is the way to go.

[bama]

Its a matter of demand and supply - if there is enough demand for AT, manufacturers would setup production lines for the same and overall cost will reduce
In India we have been using manual since eternity and hence most / all manufacturers have production lines that cater to manual transmissions. The overall cost of manufacturing reduces as numbers increase ( economies of scale)
In India a manufacturer has to alter his production schedule to accommodate the few AT models he /she has to make and hence the higher costs.

Compare this to the US almost all cars are AT - since the demand for AT is high . Manual option is available but at a price - owing to required changes to production schedule.


Hey even F1 cars are automatic - paddle shifters are kind of AT right ?

[flyingkolors]

Very insightful thread. And surprised by the poll results as well. I thought that the fuel would be the easy winner!

My vote was for AT option is unavailable on my choice of car (including diesels).

How sad that we just have A-star and i10 ONLY in the <10lakh category and I dont like them as much. Though i do not feel much fatigue driving manual in this horrible Bangalore traffic, but, I wanted an AT for wife and dad.

I think Punto or Swift diesel AT, if ever introduced, would be killer!

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

Us BHPians are in this forum because we love to drive! A normal office commuter who complains of the clutch wouldn't even be on TBHP!
So even though the thread is interesting, I feel it is a little bit out of place on TeamBHP.
"I love manuals" has to be the undisputed winner.

I think that's an extremely narrow view to take. I absolutely love driving, love both manual and AT trannies in their own right and I can't think I'm more passionate about anything but automobiles. My love of ATs doesn't make me any less a member of tbhp than the scores of ppl who are MT lovers. These are individual choices. Having driven the last 16 years, I've driven stick shift FIATs, 800s and a range of manual vehicles through these years and they're as ingrained in my system as automatics. I prefer driving automatics for most part because of the unbeatable convenience they offer in bumper to bumper traffic.

Besides, your observations seem to equate driving ATs with kinetic Hondas and Activas. Thats just unbelievable. One question: have you even driven an automatic 4 wheeler at all? Drive a real automatic automobile to get some real perspective on what these are like - you may have a more informed view then.

[MaserQ]

There is a need for more diesel automatics, even the small cars could use them. An auto tranny should ideally be fun to drive, practical on highways and be reasonably fuel efficient as well. How about a few more DSG/DCT hatchbacks/entry level sedans?

Also, manufacturers should not treat an AT version as a token product. Four speed automatics are a classic case of that.

[arishi1]

my vote goes to AT option is unavailable on my choice of car (including diesels). Clearly if I need to opt for a good AT the only options I have are City onwards. There is not much to choose in the sub 10 lakh options. Hyundai have come with Auto but then they are more for the name sake. I don't understand why these global brands don't bring in the Auto for sub 10 Lakh category. Most of these cars are sold as Auto in other nations.

[anky]

My vote to the drop in fuel effiency as I do not care how the auto box works or how advanced the engine is but if a car with a manual transmission gives a certain say 10 kmpl and the auto is 8 kmpl then it is just not practical in the long run for a car that is priced under 7 lakhs. We are extremely fuel conscious in that segment. Even if the initial cost would be more (upto 20 % cost of MT car)peope will buy it if the fuel average is the same as a MT car. But when the average falls then all equations change . I have driven the civic AT and the City AT extensively but when someone else pays for the fuel all is ok but if out of my pocket then not ok . We too would have liked to drive auto boxes in the traffic of mumbai but our wallets do not permit it.

[ashwin489]

The reason why ATs have not picked up in India is because no one cares! I am sorry, but this is something that really drove me nuts when I was looking for a car.

1) Car salesmen do not care about what they sell, as long as they make their cut; they reinforce the negative attitude towards ATs on potential customers

2) Car manufacturers do not care, as the population of India is huge enough to keep selling just mass market manuals; they do not have to invest money into modifying their assembly line/ training their technicians to service automatics

3) Driving a car by itself is still considered a luxury by many; I believe a majority of the people still have this "why do I have to invest more money on an additional luxury" attitude, which is intensified by our obsession for better mileage and reckless government policies

4) Conservatism/ aversion to change; why try something new when this one works perfectly fine? I mean, who is going to service this alien machine that changes gears by itself.

Given the fact that even the most ordinary car today functions based on a multitude of electrical/mechanical mechanisms, I fail to understand why it would be difficult for a service technician to learn (manufacturer to train) how to service one solitary mechanism, the magical automatic transmission.

I know eventually ATs would penetrate the market as the Indian automobile industry grows, but just frustrated by the lack of choices available right now. A diesel Punto/Swift/i20/Polo/Fabia/Jazz AT (at a sane price) is just what the doctor ordered!

/rant

[Tommie]

Originally Posted by Axe77

Besides, your observations seem to equate driving ATs with kinetic Hondas and Activas. Thats just unbelievable. One question: have you even driven an automatic 4 wheeler at all? Drive a real automatic automobile to get some real perspective on what these are like - you may have a more informed view then.

I am also equating automatic cars with the Honda Activa/ Suzuki Access for the 2 wheelers. If you saying that only large cars should have automatic and not be introduced in small cars in the commute category, then probably you are the only person who would ask for Harley Davidson and other superbikes to have automatic shift. If all the high-end SUV's are bought as automatic, why are the trucks and Volvo' buses not made in automatic. I do not know of any, may be my ignorance.

The automatic is not for fun-driving but more for commute purpose. If you want to know more about it, you should talk to an i10 auto owner.


Read more about it at my blog

[Tommie]

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

And another note to GTO:

Us BHPians are in this forum because we love to drive! A normal office commuter who complains of the clutch wouldn't even be on TBHP!
So even though the thread is interesting, I feel it is a little bit out of place on TeamBHP.
"I love manuals" has to be the undisputed winner.

Invalid assumption, there are many office commuters and people with multiple cars are on this forum. I need a diesel automatic as my third car for my office commute. Hope you understand the demographics of the forum.

Read more about it my blog

[jacksons]

Though I wanted to buy SX4 as automatic for myself but later I decided A* automatic because I wanted to have good city driving car with good all around city car to drive me around in the narrow city streets of Delhi.
I am happy as GTO says that he also wants to do that.

[veyron_head]

Originally Posted by Oxy

^^ 7.5 lakhs? Not really. I enquired today from Trident Hyundai, according to them it's 6.25 lakhs OTR for the Sportz AT variant. Still very expensive, almost a lakh more than the A-Star AT.

I guess mixed it up with i10 Asta AT (or whatever the topend is named as). I saw a ownership thread right here on T-BHP which mentions the price of the i10 top end as 7.5 lacs. Can't seem to find the thread now.

[rosh_aveo1.4]

I would agree to that. The current gen automatics are amazing to drive. I mean I love manual but the DSG from Skoda is crazy and even something as basic as the 4 speed auto in the Type 2 City is even fun till today! The old idea and concept of automatic = kinetic Honda is so 80's!

Originally Posted by Axe77

I think that's an extremely narrow view to take. I absolutely love driving, love both manual and AT trannies in their own right and I can't think I'm more passionate about anything but automobiles. My love of ATs doesn't make me any less a member of tbhp than the scores of ppl who are MT lovers. These are individual choices. Having driven the last 16 years, I've driven stick shift FIATs, 800s and a range of manual vehicles through these years and they're as ingrained in my system as automatics. I prefer driving automatics for most part because of the unbeatable convenience they offer in bumper to bumper traffic.

Besides, your observations seem to equate driving ATs with kinetic Hondas and Activas. Thats just unbelievable. One question: have you even driven an automatic 4 wheeler at all? Drive a real automatic automobile to get some real perspective on what these are like - you may have a more informed view then.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by Tommie

I am also equating automatic cars with the Honda Activa/ Suzuki Access for the 2 wheelers. If you saying that only large cars should have automatic and not be introduced in small cars in the commute category, then probably you are the only person who would ask for Harley Davidson and other superbikes to have automatic shift. If all the high-end SUV's are bought as automatic, why are the trucks and Volvo' buses not made in automatic. I do not know of any, may be my ignorance.

The automatic is not for fun-driving but more for commute purpose. If you want to know more about it, you should talk to an i10 auto owner.


Read more about it at my blog

Your second sentence makes very little sense to me at all except you appear to assume that I have some belief about Harleys and automatics that is completely baseless to be attributed to my post. If you want to disagree with something I've actually written, go ahead - opinions are personal. But please don't extrapolate to what "YOU THINK" "I WOULD" say.

I've driven an i20 manual and have also driven (though not extensively) an i10 automatic as well. Given a choice of ownership limited only to these 2 cars, I'd pick the latter.

You're right that the i10 auto is not great for an enthusiast but i think perhaps it's also partly due to Hyundai's AT being not as technologically advanced as some other brands. I dont claim to understand this tech difference too well but that's what I've read on some threads on this forum.

If you think about the 10 Lakh price point (approx), I think the city gives a fair bit of driving pleasure. Given the tech involved, I'm also confident this will be true for the fiesta AT.