[anirudhbb]

So, this is a spin-off from my related post on booking a Sonet DCT Petrol with endless waiting - 5 months as per the last update and from the time of booking.

Thread with loads of perspectives form BHPIans here - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-...ck-search.html (Booked Sonet, no sign of delivery for 5 more months, back to search! :()

In this thread, I wanted to get different views on whether I should consider Manual or IMT from a cost-cutting perspective, getting a bigger car with same features or not.

For instance, I loved the Astor/Creta/Seltos but the automatic version is 5 lacs more than Sonet DCT, the Manual version will come within my budget of 15L with all features intact.

When I started my car hunt in Sep, I was ONLY looking at automatic (different variants) but with the price difference upwards of 1.5 Lac minimum, thinking whether options like Manual or IMT is worth considering.

Currently I am driving a Manual wagon-r. My usage will be around 35-40 kms as and when things go back to Work-from-office on a regular basis. At present my monthly running is 500 kms past 18 months.

Reason for only considering Automatic was to rid myself from the pain of changing gears but more using the clutch repeatedly. It does hurt the leg/knee and has serious long-term implications in long run.

Am I overthinking for or against Manual/Automatic?

Would be great to get views of people who were in a similar boat as mine who considering automatic but moved to manual or were on Manual and have now moved to automatic.

[abhishek46]

I picked Manual over Automatic, when I picked up the Creta few months back.

Here are my reasons:

1. Applicability of the convenience factor.
The AT will be a blessing once office starts.
However, with wave after wave, variant after variant of Covid arriving every 8-9months, we do not expect offices to start in full fledged manner any time soon.
Even if offices open, it may be 2-3 days per week.
In this scenario, an AT is adding lesser value than expected.

End result: Rather than office commute, I am now using the vehicle more on the open highways, where AT does not add much value.

2. Beating the Rush.
Just before Covid, due to change in our office premises, my commute went up to 40Km daily.
Rather than wasting time in traffic, I would start at odd-hours like 7am/12am etc.

3. Efficiency.
MTs are more efficient.
Agreed, the new gen ATs are great etc., however, MT vehicles deliver a bit more fuel efficiency.
In today's age of sky high priced fuel, every little helps.

[cryptarchy]

I don't have a preference of manual over automatic but I picked manual because of two reasons -

1. It was significantly cheaper.
2. I don't have to drive everyday in traffic.

If you have to drive everyday in traffic then automatic will be much more comfortable.

[harry10]

I chose Sonet D-AT because my monthly running is 2200km+ and that too NCR mostly.

However yours is around 1200km per month. Convenience and comfort of an automatic is unmatched but for your usage even a manual or an IMT will be sufficient.

[AjinkyaP]

When i picked my Venue SX Plus DCT last month, i was looking strictly for automatics/iMTs.
For me the premium of ~1.5 lakh over manual was absolutely justified. I wouldn have picked iMT in case of budge constraints.

If you are looking for convenience+fun and stress free driving, stick to AT/iMT. I have immense respect for the brave hearts who live in metros and buy MTs

[Gokuljayaraj]

I used to love the stick so much that I even hated AT with a passion at one point in my life. But with worse weather conditions leading to even worse roads that I thought possible, the DCT on my seltos is an absolute godsend. It’s just so much easier to drive for an hour or two in slow traffic on non existent roads without having to worry about shifting gears. If you have the dough to spare, get some form of AT. It’ll save you a lot of headache down the road as our roads will only get busier as days go by. I still miss the stick on highways due to nostalgia but I’m happy I went with the AT. I don’t think you need to worry about the specific form of AT unless you care about performance too much.

[Hayek]

In my opinion, you are overthinking this. The convenience that comes with an automatic is certainly worth it, especially for someone who lives in a large metro like Bombay, Bangalore or Delhi. The fact is that we very often are stuck in stop and go traffic - and an automatic is a God Send in such circumstances. If you lived in a small town, perhaps this would not be relevant. But paying ₹2 l extra for an automatic when you are ok spending ₹15 l on a car is a no brainier in my view - you are doing to keep this car for several years and will also recover part of the extra cost on resale.

[sunikkat]

Seeing you are from Bangalore, I would say auto is totally worth it.
In 2016 when I bought Octavia, it was my priority to get a Manual and I totally love driving it every time. Having driven DSG diesel Octavia and Jetta extensively I felt my manual is still much more fun to drive. But if I have to buy now, and if it is my only car, I would go for an auto. The traffic in Bangalore has worsened and it’s indeed difficult to live with a manual car in city, even for a die hard manual fan like me. To overcome this I am changing my beater car (again a manual) to an automatic city car.
So if it’s only car and will be driven most of the time in city, please do yourself a favour and get an auto.

IMT though a good compromise, but from my driving experience it’s neither here nor there. I would pick a proper auto over IMT

[anirudhbb]

Thank you all for your perspectives. Was definitely overthinking and got distracted.

Retaining my Sonet DCT booking.

[Small Bot]

I'm currently in Bangalore as well and my left knee keeps reminding me that I need to get an AT every time I get stuck in traffic snarls in the rains. A proper AT is better than an iMT, as it's less work for your left elbow as well.

[mytbhp_turbo]

Originally Posted by anirudhbb

Thank you all for your perspectives. Was definitely overthinking and got distracted.

Retaining my Sonet DCT booking.

Good decision ! AT will always help, two things which mostly people ignore ( and which forces them in few years to go back and buy AT )

1. Number of vehicles per KM data is increasing year by year.

2. Road infra which also contributes to jam is not changing that rapidly ( you add bigger road but hey (1) is moving too )

We will never hear someone said " Traffic in 2018 is lot less than traffic in 2015", while covid did impact this but even with covid i noticed things are quickly going back to normal on traffic jam.
After you use auto in bumper to bumper traffic, you are never going back to manual and your knee will be grateful to you :-)