[SedateGuy]

Have test driven different Baleno AGS a few times never felt any jerkiness when driving with a light foot. Not even when I was looking for it.

[puntra800]

I have been driving an AMT for over a year now. I was one of the guys who cried before buying an AMT, I was literally like I want a manual. Since the decision making involved 90% family input and 10% my input (read my wife's input), I eventually caved in and went for a Punch AMT. I was vary especially after reading the reviews on the forum but took a test drive on the usual route I use and I was initially like ok not bad and then went ahead with the booking after getting an assurance from my dad that he did not face any head bang effect (both in the front and rear seats). So far in city driving conditions I have not faced any issue, it is actually smooth and saves me the pain of clutch and break situation in the notorious Bangalore traffic where not only bumper to bumper traffic exists but also inclines are present. On the highways yes I will have to plan my overtakes but that's not so much of an issue if you switch to manual and downshift.

[Sumedik]

Originally Posted by SedateGuy

Have test driven different Baleno AGS a few times never felt any jerkiness when driving with a light foot.

Do test with a heavy foot and let us know. Especially try accelerating hard from a complete stop and observe how the gear changes feel.

[DCEite]

Originally Posted by Sumedik

Do test with a heavy foot and let us know. Especially try accelerating hard from a complete stop and observe how the gear changes feel.

Well, one driven hard and on Sport mode (Tigor 2017), the head nods are perceptable for sure. But that doesn't mean that its a deal breaker. How many times one drives with pedal to metal in the ever increasing city traffic anyway ?

The whole negativity around AMT has been blown out of proportion, somewhat. True, the experience is nowhere near a conventional AT let alone a CVT, but its a matter of convenience. As long as an AMT provide the same level of convenience as a conventional AT (read, complete rest to left foot), I am ok with some head nods when driven hard. Infact, you woulnd't even notice (let alone be bothered) by head nods as you pile up a few kms and get used to the driving characterstics of the car.

[RavSam]

Originally Posted by Sumedik

Do test with a heavy foot and let us know. Especially try accelerating hard from a complete stop and observe how the gear changes feel.

Owning an Ignis AMT since last 2 years and such hard acceleration/head nod situation due to gear change must have occurred less than 10 times.

Rest of the times, it's fantastic.

I get more head-nods from our poor roads than the actual gear change occurrence, so that is that.

The current AMT+Hill hold is a fantastic addition.

[Sumedik]

Originally Posted by DCEite

True, the experience is nowhere near a conventional AT let alone a CVT, but its a matter of convenience. As long as an AMT provide the same level of convenience as a conventional AT (read, complete rest to left foot), I am ok with some head nods when driven hard.

I agree with that. I can be agnostic of the underlying technology in favor of reliability, performance & price in that order. However to me the gear shift experience should match the smoothness of a TC, or the smoothness of gradual clutch release in MT.

[civic-dk]

My experience with AMT hasn't been that great. I had a 2019 Tiago AMT. It suffered with poor low end grunt (found it difficult to move across the rubber speed bumps after stopping for collecting parking ticket in Malls), frequent head nods and jerky behaviour in a slow moving traffic on an upslope.

Finally sold off the Tiago AMT and bought a used i20 elite ivt. Extremely happy with my decision.

[varun560061]

After driving two slow AMT's (Tata Zest & Nano) I can say its an art to drive an AMT, needs special skills .
Now that I have been driving these I know its behavior (accelerator inputs etc) when the gear changes happen abruptly and you feel big jerks frequently especially when it shifts from 2nd to 1st in middle of an incline.

Zest fairs better in normal speeds mostly due to the diesel engine, but Nano keeps haunting between the gears thanks to the tiny power plant.

Biggest issue with the zest is no crawl mode, so you need to be very gentle on the accelerator pedal if starting from standstill or else it would feel like you're starting for a drag race

End of the day, what ever jerks felt it does its work and you get to rest your left feet and hand. In peak hour traffic I'm sure one would've changed gears at-least 100 times for 30-40kms of travel.

[Pequod]

Have been using the Hyundai Nios AMT for last 6 months as daily driver. Other car being used currently is the VW Virtus 1.0 AT, and all prior driving was on manual transmissions till last year.

In case of the Nios, the AMT jerks during initial days of usage may seem very pronounced, especially to seasoned drivers. But as time passes I think the transmission adapts itself quite a bit, and it becomes not much of an issue.

To be honest however, during the last couple of months I have driven it only in M mode - you just need to learn the right rpm to up shift and it’s as good as driving a manual transmission minus the ‘hassle’ (?) of a clutch.

[TSEA]

I currently have a 2022 swift (AMT) and have in past owned another swift AMT (for 3 years). While searching for a new vehicle, I test drove most of the automatics that were around the 10 lakh (on road) price segment. Here are some observations:

1. AMT paired with Maruti's 1.2 L engine, is a fantastic combination. Maruti has tuned it further to provide a good low end grunt, which makes it best for initial pickups
2. AMT with the 1 litre Maruti engines, gave us a less desirable experience
3. There is no thud sound (maruti AMT owners will resonate), when reverse gear is engaged, during cold start
4. The vehicle no longer shudders (maruti AMT owners will resonate), during initial 5 minutes of driving at low speeds, after a cold start
5. I still don't like the way AMT holds the gear and does not up shift. This needs to be moderated by letting go of the accelerator at specific intervals (allowing the car to upshift for a much smoother experience). Most folks who will be driving AMTs (specially as part of test drives), will formulate a negative opinion about AMTs, due to this factor (its like driving at 40 kmph on 3rd gear vs 4th gear)
6. Down shifts for urgent overtaking, does take getting used to. There is a time gap in which the accelerator is pressed hard, the engine is revving, but the gears have not shifted down
7. For those who want to really enjoy AMTs, check out the implementation of it on the 1.2 L Wagon R (and not the 1 litre). You will be surprised!

[teknophobia]

Originally Posted by TSEA

I currently have a 2022 swift (AMT) and have in past owned another swift AMT (for 3 years). While searching for a new vehicle, I test drove most of the automatics that were around the 10 lakh (on road) price segment
...
For those who want to really enjoy AMTs, check out the implementation of it on the 1.2 L Wagon R (and not the 1 litre). You will be surprised!

The 1.2 litre WagonR has the same issues you've pointed out with the Swift, but you get used to it.

[Sumedik]

Does anybody have feedback of the performace of AMT in BS6 Baleno/Fronx which has been driven for more than 30K kilometers?

It would be good to hear similar feedback for other brand AMTs as well, since AMTs behave quite differently with regards to smooth shifts, delays and juddering as the kilometers pile up as compared to brand new state.

[Ananthang]

Originally Posted by Sumedik

Does anybody have feedback of the performace of AMT in BS6 Baleno/Fronx which has been driven for more than 30K kilometers?

It would be good to hear similar feedback for other brand AMTs as well, since AMTs behave quite differently with regards to smooth shifts, delays and juddering as the kilometers pile up as compared to brand new state.

I can’t comment about Fronx/Baleno, but I have been using Dzire Amt - 5 Yrs 40000 Kms and Tata Tiago Amt - 4 Yrs 35000 Kms no issues in Transmission and only regular maintenance/wear and tear replacements for 10K max per year.

[raju2512]

I am using Punch AMT for more than 2 years (35k km). I have never felt any head nod in normal driving conditions. You need to slightly modify your driving pattern if you are an aggressive driver.

AMT is definitely a good choice if want an automatic at a lower price point

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by Sumedik

Does anybody have feedback of the performace of AMT in BS6 Baleno/Fronx which has been driven for more than 30K kilometers?

It would be good to hear similar feedback for other brand AMTs as well, since AMTs behave quite differently with regards to smooth shifts, delays and juddering as the kilometers pile up as compared to brand new state.

I own AltoK10 AMT(almost 7 years and 35k+ kms) and it is niggle free.

My long term feedback is positive and I won't mind going for another AMT car

As few have already mentioned, AMT needs some getting used to, but as long as you choose is for "convenience" It will never disappoint you. I have seen people complain about CVT rubber band effect, DCT reliability issues and low FE from Torque converters so it is all about the choice.

Having said that, most of the AMT equipped cars are on the budget spectrum and also come with compromises such as 3 cylinder engine and lack of low end grunt. According to me, lack of low end torque is the biggest reason why we experience the lag/head nod.

While Hyundai i10/Exter or Maruti K12 offer smoother AMT integrations, Punch, Tiago, Celerio suffer from 3 cylinder vibrations and shift lag.

I have been driving manuals for many years now and AMT felt very natural to me(pause the acceleration for a second based on the RPM and shift is super smooth).

My Alto K10 has its share of vibrations due to 3 cylinder engine and the lack of low end torque results in the shift lag during sudden flooring of the accelerator(hardly 1% of my use case in last 7 years).

So when I swap my Alto, it will be because of these factors and not because of AMT.