Classicamiga Forum Retro Edition
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Thread: Got my new car
Demon Cleaner 22:48 28th September 2011
I have the paddles, if you look closer at the picture, you can see them right behind the wheel. I barely use them, only when driving downhill, to switch 1-2 gears back to use the motor brake.

When you use the paddle, the car switches to manual mode until you don't touch them anymore for 7-8 seconds, then it switches back to automatic.

You can also, when in D, push the gear stick slightly to the right, then it stays on manual, and you can change gears by pushing the stick up/down, or using the paddles.

I also have an S, an then it really goes very high in revs, making it very sporty.

And with the S-Tronic, you don't notice when the car changes gears, as there's always 2 gears in, so when it takes one, the next one is already present. With my older cars automatic, that was a nightmare, because you always have a gap before changing gears.

I also never wanted an automatic, my last car was one, and the first 3 years I didn't like it at all, but getting stuck in traffic a lot and driving through cities, it made me appreciate it more, and now I would always go with automatic. And as I said, you cannot compare S-Tronic to old fashioned automatic gearbox, it's completely different and a joy to drive with.
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Tiago 09:34 29th September 2011
Paddles ? Ok, that way, i like it ! :-)
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Harrison 16:42 29th September 2011
Originally Posted by Demon Cleaner:
..but getting stuck in traffic a lot and driving through cities, it made me appreciate it more, and now I would always go with automatic.
Exactly. I do mostly motorway driving and when I get stuck in traffic jams it is so much nicer. It used to be nightmare stuck in a traffic jam for over an hour crawling along at 5 MPH and keeping stopping and constantly using the clutch. So much nicer just using the brake.
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Tiago 18:02 29th September 2011
With no Clutch, do you still drive with 1 foot for 2 pedals (brake/throtle) ?
Or do you use left foot for brake ? I try that once, and it's scary, very hard to use left foot as we are not use ot it...
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Demon Cleaner 05:37 30th September 2011
You still use 1 foot, like with a normal car. Trust me, braking with left, when you're not used too, is literally killing
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Harrison 17:23 30th September 2011
Some people recommend people with automatics to try and left foot brake as they say it is better, but unless you were rally driving or racing why would you need to be applying the brake and power at the same time? No need and also dangerous as it could cause the car to skid or spin if you do something wrong on a bend. Just use the right foot and let your left leg do nothing.
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Demon Cleaner 11:41 1st October 2011
Originally Posted by Harrison:
Just use the right foot and let your left leg do nothing.
Exactly, that's also very relaxing. And you can also use the tempomat,which is even better.
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Phantom 14:40 1st October 2011
Originally Posted by Tiago:
With no Clutch, do you still drive with 1 foot for 2 pedals (brake/throtle) ?
Or do you use left foot for brake ? I try that once, and it's scary, very hard to use left foot as we are not use ot it...
I had exactly the same query, but now it solved.
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Harrison 16:59 3rd October 2011
Since driving an automatic I can finally see the American's argument against driving manuals. Unless as I said earlier, you are doing some sort of performance driving/racing there really is no need. I do still sort of agree that any sporty car should really be manual as you can really drive the car, as I do admit you feel slightly more distanced from the driving experience in an auto. But for everyday driving an auto makes perfect and much more relaxed sense.

And in an age of technology there really is no need for manual cars, but the Atlantic divide seems to keep the preferred transmissions to manual in Europe and Auto in the US. The argument about greater distances to travel makes no sense to me as an auto actually makes more sense when needing to change gear more and to keep stopping in traffic. In places like the US with long distance driving a manual would be just the same as you still wouldn't need to change gear and just stick it in cruise and leave it.
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Teho 18:42 3rd October 2011
I tend to get frustrated with automatics myself because to me they always seem to shift when they shouldn't. Once when I borrowed my mom's Audi I was going up a hill, caught up to the car ahead and eased off on the throttle. So the automatic shifted to a heavier gear. And now I couldn't keep pace, so stepped on the throttle. Which made it shift to a lower gear again, making me catch up too fast. Couldn't find the sweet spot and it just kept shifting up and down on me like that as I just tried to keep pace with the car ahead. Was nearly screaming with rage at the damn thing before I got to the top.

That's just one example and probably a bad one at that, I know driving an auto isn't normally like that. It is down to personal preference in most cases. I saw one reviewer on TV say once that if you enjoy driving and prefer to have a car that at all times does exactly what you want it to do, choose manual. If you view your car as just a tool that simply gets you from A to B, choose auto. That is over-simplifying it though.

It also comes down to what kind of roads you tend to be driving on and what you use your car for. Depending on where I work I can find myself driving on countryside twisting, hilly roads a lot. I may also be pulling hangers, fairly heavy ones sometimes. I personally feel that an automatic's shifting tend to be the opposite of what I want in conditions like that. It may not be so wrong in reality, but it does frustrate *me*, which is what matters. Also, I don't like not being in complete control of what the wheels are doing in the very slippery conditions we can sometimes have here. Yes, you have all these fancy anti-spins and stability controls now and I'm aware that overall these do a better job at controlling the car than I do. But it can in fact get so bad that even these systems won't work right, and being in control myself I can at least adapt to the changing conditions while the automatic systems are adjusted to work across an average which only covers ninety-some % of the possibilities.

But I don't think people are making the wrong choice when choosing an automatic and would never tell anyone so, it's all up to whatever you feel comfortable with in the end. And I am more comfortable with a manual. Simple as that, really.

And oh, congrats with the new car Demon! Looks really nice.
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