OT : cars...

Which would you consider is the better choice of options... an automatic car
vs a slightly lesser powered manual, but with leather seats and climate
control...


Not really interested in resale as we intend to keep until the wheels fall
off.

(These are new BTW).

 

depends if you do much driving in heavy traffic - an auto is handy in
that situation.

Climate control does rock on the 2-3 weeks per year it gets hot enough
in the UK to really need it.

I personally hate full leather seats - sticky if you're wearing shorts.

 

Of the Automatics I've driven (mainly hire cars) they all appear to be
useless, sluggish, pieces of shit, with the exception of my Sister's
Volvo c70. I test drove some Hondas (2.0i petrol engine) with the
tiptronicy auto box and they were fun in a semi-auto/semi-manual kind
of way, but I still opted for the manual box on purchase though - as
the auto was £900.

And why is that? In the States, Autos are standard and Manuals are
c900 extra. Over here, Manuals standard, Autos c900 extra. And in the
case of Hondas, both markets' cars are made in the same bleedin'
factory in Swindon.

 

There was a period of my life where I had to have an automatic, it also had
leather seats, aircon, power steering etc.

Nowadays I can live without the auto box, but not the comforts & certainly
not the gadgets . . . I stepped down from a fully loaded 3.0 Senator to a
Mondeo with cloth seats and windows you had to open manually, it lasted
about 2 weeks.

 

Personally I'd go for the manual, but I'd ditch full climate control
(maybe keep basic aircon)... I'd then throw in electric heated
windscreen (if it's an option), heated mirrors, and a 6(or more) disc cd
changer instead. Speaking from experience those things make it less
hassle over the worst 7 months of the year..

HTH

 

Automatics are for old men, crips and gheylords.

Leather looks the bomb (unless it's beige), but can get a bit sticky if
you're in shorts.

I've never had a car with climate control, but I can't really see the
advantage of that versus manual air conditioning - just press the button
with the snowflake on it when it gets a bit hot. If it's a choice between
climate control and "a fucking fan", though ...

 

simonk wrote:


<snip>

Climate control or air-con is a must these days, IMHO. CC is definitely
easier - just dial it in. As for the rest, my guess is that a slightly
less powerful manual will be just as quick as the auto. I don't like
auto cars myself, but that's just preference, and I'd change my mind
were I buying a big Merc or similar, I'm sure.

Like darsy says - an auto is nice if you do a lot of miles in town. If
you do a lot of motorway miles, then cruise control is brilliant. It
was a must-have when I went out shopping recently.

Leather - nice to have.
You might want to consider parking sensors.....

 

dwb emerged from their own little world to say

Leather looks nice but is not always comfortable, as Darsy says.

I had a 2.5V6 auto Mazda. I loved it. Great on a long motorway journey with
cruise control. Great around town.

My current car is a manual. It has climate control. I like this too, even
in winter. Just set the temp. and let it decide if cooling/heating is
required. No fiddling with knobs every few mins.

On balance, I would find the climate control, well at least air con., the
creature comfort I'd miss the most. I make regular 320 mile round trips to
Portsmouth. The trips are less stressful when you stay at 37C.

 

Depends on the car as auto boxes vary hugely from one manufacturer to
the other. If most of your driving is in town, then I'd definitely go
for an auto. The only time it can be slightly annoying is when you want
to do a say, 30-70 overtake, and it takes a second to kick down - of
course, get one with a tiptronic and that's no problem either. And, I
don't think I could do a 0-60 sprint quicker in the manual version of
my car.

That said, autos aren't as fuel economical as a manual counterpart.

Leather rocks, as does climate control. Again, with the latter you lose
a bit of fuel economy but needn't be plagued by steamed up windows
again if you leave it on all the time.

 

Manual unless you end up queuing a lot either in town or on motorways.

Climate Control is the dogs. I didn't appreciate just how good it is in
the Saab until I started borrowing other cars and seemed to spend forever
fiddling with the heater/blower to get a comfortable temperature. Heated
seats are also a must for me now I have a dodgy back. They really make a
difference on the cold damp mornings. Leather is nice particularly a good
quality one with that smell that they have.

Why new though? If you are thinking of keeping it till it dies then get
one 6-12 months old and let someone else take the first big depreciation
hit. Manufacturers warranties should be transferable for the balance.

 

I had the misfortune to drive my SO's shitmobile, a Daihatsu Charade
1.3 auto, down from London to Wiltshire a couple of months ago. The
fucker only has 3 gears and although it tops out at about 85, no-one
with any mechanical sympathy would be able to cruise at more than 60.
Rubbish. Slowest. Car. etc

Also, driving such a shit car means you receive loads of abuse from
other road users.

 

I'm sorry but CC has serious advantages over manual AC. With manual
AC all you basically get is the choice between ice cold or not, and
the fan constantly going when the AC is switched on. In the winter
it's the reverse, with the heater either baking the car occupants or
it being cold. With CC you just tell it want temperature you want and
the system maintains that temp regardless of the weather conditions
outside. Having gone from AC to CC, I'll never go back to AC.

Leather's nice too and generally easier to keep clean than cloth. But
here in Sweden it's not very nice climbing into a car with leather
seats when it's -30 degrees C outside.

HTH
--
Andy Cunningham
Stockholm, Sweden
STX1300A
UKRMMA#17
The UKRM FAQ: http://www.ukrm.net/faq/ukrmfaq1.html

 

dwb wrote

Auto any day. It is a cage, you will be spending most of your time
stuck in traffic.

no real benefit either way. personally I like it.

open a fucking window.

 

Chris Cowley emerged from their own little world to say

My BiL had the 3 litre version. That was rubbish to. It accelerated fairly
rapidly but then lurched and spluttered whilst the 3 speed auto box tried
to select the next ratio.

Ford auto boxes should be good now, as they bought Mazda. The 4 speed in my
2.5V6 Mazda was superb.

 

For this reason I'd add heated seats to the must have list.

 

steve auvache emerged from their own little world to say

You need to read Champ's, AC's and my earlier posts. Climate control is not
just about hot summers. It rocks in winter too.

 

wessie wrote

Close the fucking window then.

What is the point of anything other than a heater for the winter and a
window for summer in this temperate climate of ours?

A bunch of fucking soft pawed, flat arsed wusses the lot of you.

 

steve auvache emerged from their own little world to say

<proud>

 

If ever I move to Sweden, I'll remember this little nugget. As for
this country, it rarely gets cold enough for long enough to warrant
the cost (IMO).

I've got (non-heated) leather seats in my car and it's really only a
tad chilly on a couple of mornings and even then, it warms up much
quicker than you realise by just sitting on them. Considering the
alternative is riding and hence wearing a billion layers of thermals,
it's not really a hardship. ...

 

Nearly new with leather, climate and auto.

Mind you, it would help if you told us what the car was - you'd be mad
to buy a Merc or Jag without auto or leather, whereas a BMW would need
to be manual with leather and climate.

If it's a Mondeo, then definitely don't buy new.

HTH.