The Next Trend: Automatic Gearbox

[Releesh]

Though I prefer manual gear box, I would like to have an auto for only one reason: my wife can drive the car occasionally and I don't have to worry about my gear box any more Jokes apart, its really convenient to have an auto gear box for your family ride!

is there any vehicles comes with both automatic and manual gearbox? then it will be very comfortable. i heard some luxury vehicles have both options(not sure). IN that case, can some one post the name of the low cost vehicle available in India with both options. Is it land cruiser/ Mondero has this options?

 

[S Class]

is there any vehicles comes with both automatic and manual gearbox? then it will be very comfortable. i heard some luxury vehicles have both options(not sure). IN that case, can some one post the name of the low cost vehicle available in India with both options. Is it land cruiser/ Mondero has this options?

Merc has it in current 7 G Tronic offering, and new ones will come with 9 speed. (S Class also has 2 speed reverse ).

You can get one in Honda Civic auto with paddle shift.

 

[Releesh]

Merc has it in current 7 G Tronic offering, and new ones will come with 9 speed. (S Class also has 2 speed reverse ).

You can get one in Honda Civic auto with paddle shift.

Ha Ha.I am not in a financial position to buy a Honda/Merc. Anyway i was lucky enough to drive the new Merc E class & fiesta titanium plus last week.

 

[dhoom9]

Most of the driving enthusiastic prefers manual gear over the automatic one. however, automatic gear is a blessing for those who normally struggles with gear shifting; especially during city drive.

mainly those who struggles with gear shifting are ladies or aged people with arthritis problem. I had to purchase i10 AT so I had not to accompany my wife as driver every time .

Another big class to go for AT is rich class, who doesn't care for FE. Hence many luxurious SUV & sedan are available in AT version. Also if you classify sales of AT cars, most of them will be from premium luxury class. Might we need to ask 350z in his next monthly sales chart post.

is there any vehicles comes with both automatic and manual gearbox? then it will be very comfortable. i heard some luxury vehicles have both options(not sure). IN that case, can some one post the name of the low cost vehicle available in India with both options.

Are you talking about "E-tronic gearbox" like Rexton RX7 have, where gearbox work like AUTOMATIC only, however with shift buttons on steering wheel, you can also change the gear at will.

 

[vu2gte]

From most of the posts in this thread one may conclude that the automatic gearbox is primarily meant for women and it is beneath the dignity of macho men to want one.

 

[acechip]

I hope the posters in #19 and 20 are joking. An automatic transmission is such a major relief in the urban crawl of India, esp in a city like Pune. What is this "women" and "macho" men talk ?
I own both a manual and automatic. The manual being Fiat Linea TJet- which is about as rugged and "macho" a regular sedan can get, including its stiffish gearbox. But it has its merits on the open highway that my Micra CVT (automatic) simply cannot match. On the other hand, waiting forever to crawl in and out of Hinjewadi during peak hours, I simply cannot fathom using a manual car now..Not to mention that my CVT gives me a very satisfactory mileage of over 14.5. My friends who are Santro, Alto owners are shocked with this. A friend brought an Alto800 for his wife to tackle urban traffic. He now regrets it, after looking at my Micra's performance.

 

[Mathew]

mainly those who struggles with gear shifting are ladies or aged people with arthritis problem. I had to purchase i10 AT so I had not to accompany my wife as driver every time .

Another big class to go for AT is rich class, who doesn't care for FE. Hence many luxurious SUV & sedan are available in AT version. Also if you classify sales of AT cars, most of them will be from premium luxury class.

The following vehicle is having automatic transmission. Fuel Efficiency is almost near to manual transmission. No big difference. Less than .5Litres.

 

[Releesh]

mainly those who struggles with gear shifting are ladies or aged people with arthritis problem. I had to purchase i10 AT so I had not to accompany my wife as driver every time .

Most of the people live in city are fed up with manual gears due to Traffic block. That is why the sales of gearless vehicles increase year by year in India whether it is 2 wheeler or4 wheeler.

Another big class to go for AT is rich class, who doesn't care for FE. Hence many luxurious SUV & sedan are available in AT version. Also if you classify sales of AT cars, most of them will be from premium luxury class. Might we need to ask 350z in his next monthly sales chart post.

This has changed very much now. Low milage was a issues with old AT gear box. Now CVT gearbox and AMT has better milage than MT gear boxes. That is why you can see plenty of Micra & celerio automatic on the road. Celerio started new trend of AMT gearboxes here in india.

Are you talking about "E-tronic gearbox" like Rexton RX7 have, where gearbox work like AUTOMATIC only, however with shift buttons on steering wheel, you can also change the gear at will.

The above post i done 2 years before when i TDed the automatic Cruze with paddle shift. It was very comfortable to drive in traffic. I were dreamed about the auto gear boxes in lower model especially diesel cars which i could able to own at that time. Now the celerio and the Tata zest Diesel made it a reality.

 

[dhoom9]

The following vehicle is having automatic transmission. Fuel Efficiency is almost near to manual transmission. No big difference. Less than .5Litres.

This has changed very much now. Low milage was a issues with old AT gear box. Now CVT gearbox and AMT has better milage than MT gear boxes. That is why you can see plenty of Micra & celerio automatic on the road. Celerio started new trend of AMT gearboxes here in India.

I don't know why but my i10 Sportz AT is giving 10kmpl FE (only city driving, but no bumper to bumper traffic) even after regular services (crossed 17000km in 3 years), while MT is stated at 20kmpl.

 

[Releesh]

^^ the reasons are,

- i10 has a old 4 speed AT gearbox and even i10 with manual gearnbox cant able to give abetter milage.
- What i told in the above post was the new automatic cars which comes with either a CVT or AMT gearboxs gives better milage than the manual variant and it is not the case with other new automatic cars which comes with old technolgy auto gearboxes like i10 or ritz.

 

[jojy_1980]

I think I'm an exception.

My first drives were a Suzuki Alto MT (2006) and an Indica Xeta petrol MT (2006). Both these cars are still in use in my native Kollam, Kerala.

I then went to the USA and bought myself a 2nd-hand Honda Odyssey AT (2000). The pleasure of driving an automatic gearbox was immense.

On returning to India in 2008, I scoured showrooms for a 2nd hand car with an automatic gearbox. Got myself a Hyundai Santro XL AT (2006) in 2008. This car was a pleasure to drive till I fitted a CNG kit. The mileage was incredibly low initially. Around 150-160 km per gas tank . I then used to do tuning every 1.5 month to get around 170 km. Got fed up and started the process of selling the car but realized that nobody wanted an AT fitted with a CNG ! In the meantime, I also used to drive an i10 AT (belonging to a relative in Kerala).

I then exchanged the Santro car for a brand new Wagon R (manual of course). The car's been a pleasure to drive. I now enjoy shifting manual gears and driving the car, even in the bumper to bumper traffic of Mumbai.

I guess I'm probably the 1st ever guy who shifted from driving automatic cars for around 4-5 years to driving a manual car and actually enjoying it.

Apart from my new found love of manual cars, I also agree with the pros given by others regarding auto gears, namely, comfortable driving.

 

[vm2011]

Demand for Maruti’s Celerio AMT rises- manufactures fast track the 'Automatics'

As per the ET report SWIFT Auto launching on September 16th? and gives MS plans for their remaining range!




India witnesses change in buyer preferences as demand for Maruti’s Celerio AMT rises - The Economic Times

 

[Sidd7hartha]

What are the reasons for AT's give lesser mileage than manuals?

 

[ajit4u2k]

Reasons for lower fuel economy-
Torque converter automatics - Instead of the manual clutch there, is a Torque converter which is actually a hydro-dynamic coupling Inside them there is hydraulic oil churning loss until it locks up. Plus gear selection(usually planetary/epicyclic gears) is done by hydraulically actuated clutch packs. This required pumping hydraulic oil into the clutch packs and control valves etc. This hydraulic system also consumes energy. In a manual all these activities are done with drivers energy. The mechanical clutch is almost 100% efficient.

DSG automatics - Here the clutch is replaced by two clutches both actuated by hydraulic oil pressure similar to the way as explained above for gear shifts (pressurized hydraulic oil pumping losses). Gear selection is done by solenoids (electrical system) which also consumes energy.

CVT automatics - CVTs either have a hydraulic clutch pack or a torque converter clutch prior to the belt. There are losses here. As also there are losses in the belt drive and pulleys actuation systems which again is hydraulic.

AMTs - Here the manual transmission clutch is operated by an electric actuator(don't know much here) which consumes energy, gear selection is again done by solenoid actuators.

Summarizing there are two places where energy from the engine is lost/used - one in the clutching system between engine and gearbox two, in the actual gear selection. In a manual these activities are done manually by the driver with a mechanical clutch and a gear shift lever which saves engine energy.

Automatics these days are almost as fuel efficient (AMTs) or more fuel efficient (CVTs) than manuals as they are fast shifting and keep the vehicle in higher gears(5th) for greater time than a manual driver(keeping engine rpms low/optimum). Also reduced parasitic losses from other systems(torque converter, belts etc) with availability of advance materials/lubricants is helping improve efficiencies.

There goes my longest post on the forum.

 

[Sidd7hartha]

@ajit4u2k, nice write up. It is quite evident the manual energy consumed in clutch pressing/releasing -gear shifting,is done by the car engine in AMT and thereby extracting more fuel to compensate that energy. But I can not understand, how the maneuver like half clutch [required in bumper to bumper traffic or on starting on slope] is achieved in this system?
Waiting for friends reply.