[DCEite]

Many households today prefer to keep atleast two cars in their garage, for the reasons like the need of a secondary "city" only car and the main car for the highway, or a second car for the spouse or home errands/dropping kids to school etc.

Some of the examples that I see in my neighbourhood:

1) Honda City Hybrid as main / highway car and Tata Tiago as the Beater/city car.

2) Mahindra Scorpio N as the main car and Suzuki Swift as the second car.

and so on.


The idea of this thread is to understand buyer preferences when it comes to the transmission (AT/MT) of the main car vis-a-vis the beater car.

Options:

• Main car MT and beater car AT

Advantages: Since beater car is AT, running around congested cities within bumper to bumper traffic is easy. Besides, for the highways, the MT in the main car provides that control and fun to drive factor.

• Main car AT and beater car MT

Advantages: Since the main car is AT, long drives are less tiring on the highways and long city rides. Besides, since the beater car is most probably a small car like a Swift/Tiago/WagonR etc., the driving controls (clutch, gearbox) are light and for short city rides AT is not missed much. Infact, some small cars like Swift/Ignis/Baleno can be fun to drive with MT transmission.

• Both main and beater cars MT

Advantages: For the hardcore enthusiasts, MT is the way to go, whether its the main car or the secondary car.

• Both main and beater cars AT

Advantages: This scenario is not uncommon, but in western world this is the norm. AT all the time, is putting comfort over everything else. Some ATs like DSG/DCTs can be fun to drive as well.


What are your preferences ? Do Vote !

[Sbisht24]

Once you drive a great Automatic, you can’t really go back to manual, for me I prefer my second car to be "sedan" if my primary car is "suv"

[condor]

A beater would be typically used in city, and I would want a Torque Convertor AT for this.

A regular car which I would use for long distance travel can be a MT.

[DicKy]

Conventional wisdom dictates that the highway car be manual and the city car be automatic.

But various variables can be at play. Higher end cars tend to be automatics, while the city car tends to be a beater that has manual transmission. Or the main car would be something like the Innova Crysta diesel or early version of Jeep Compass diesel with only manual and the city/beater car would be an electric. Then there is which car would be chauffered in or self driven, as a good number of temporary drivers are not familiar with automatics.

[vinaygeorgeroy]

I was a 'manual' fanboy, but after living in Bangalore for the last few years and daily driving some good ATs (DSGs and the Mahindra torque converters), I don't think I would go back to a Manual Transmission unless maybe it's a 3rd car for occasional fun.

[Rajeevraj]

Voted both AT. Switched over to AT a long time back and a good AT like the DSG I have can be great fun to drive as well. So primary car would need to be a good performing AT.

I have only one car, but if I get a secondary/beater car, no doubt it will be AT too. Although I will be ok with a TC or CVT or worst case even an AMT for a 2nd beater car.

[GTO]

Am addicted to good ATs & am lucky to own two of the best (ZF-8 and DSG) in my garage. Never going back to MT, unless it's for a very specific purpose (e.g. a Porsche with a 6-speed manual or a vintage car).

ATs only for me and that too, proper ATs (torque converter, dual-clutch, CVT). Strictly no AMTs or halfway-there measures like IMTs.

[raptor_diwan]

Definitely AT, for both.

I began to enjoy the drive and appreciate the engine note more with an automatic than when I was using a manual. I found I could relish the drive, whether in the city or on the highway. One notable observation is that automatic transmission has drascitally reduced my stress and road rage in traffic situation. With no need to press the clutch or handle extra work, I'm all in for AT.

[asit.kulkarni93]

I don't mind a MT daily as my commute is relatively less. But given the typical Highway traffic that we have in Maharashtra, I would stick to an AT for now. With ATs, It has to be a non AMT. I would rather driven a MT than an AMT. Not a big fan of CVTs either but a well tuned TC or DCT is the way to go.

[fhdowntheline]

I have a combination of MT Tiago and DCT Verna. I use the Verna for 80% of my office commutes and all out station driving, while the Tiago is mostly used on weekends where the chances of getting stuck in heavy city traffic are less. The Tiago clutch is light , and the low end torque is quite good, however the gearshift is a not yet smooth from 1-2 or 3-2. After 7000 odd km, I doubt it will ever be.But I am ok with it so far, it is a no-nonsense car, almost a hatch equivalent of the Duster, in my experience. Crude in some ways but does what it is told. The Verna , in comparison is a cornucopia of luxury and performance !

[narayans80]

I don't drive full blown B2B and plan my commutes so I don't have to deal with it. So it has been MT as a daily driver for me. And possibly will continue into retirement unless something dramatically changes in my commute.

A second car is very less likely, if so will get an AT hatch as my spouse is a driving newbie.

Don't have anything against ATs, just prefer to drive the MT as long as the body and traffic allow.

[Geo_Ipe]

Voted for AT for the main car & MT for the beater/2nd car.

My current garage:
Main car - Honda City CVT - 2018. Proper sedan with good highway manners. The CVT is butter smooth!

2nd car - Mahindra Scorpio 4*4 of 2005 vintage. Use it for everything from grocery runs to some hard-core off roading. Never worried about dings/scratches. Pesky auto guys and 2 wheelers don't want to mess with me. Yes, it is bulky for the city, but it is just a minor inconvenience. Just not ready to give up manuals yet!

[sunikkat]

Voted both for AT

There was a time when I couldn’t think anything other than MT and for this reason got Octavia TDI MT in 2016. Currently my main drive (Octavia) is MT and my beater i20 is IVT. I totally love this combo and still believe nothing can beat the fun of driving a MT on open highways.
But voted for AT, simply because if I have to upgrade from Octavia there is just no option of MT. Also as much as fun is MT on highways, I really dread of driving it in Bangalore city.

For beater / city car it’s a no brainer.

[Sandegov]

We should add third option of FT - Fixed Transmission for EVs

Nothing beats this for a beater car

[Maverick1977]

Main car - DSG
Beater car - TC

The only exception I would make is a Fast Car where I want to be in total control. A Mustang with a manual gearbox would be an awesome thing to drive.

BB