Motoring
FAREWELL, MANUAL WORK
As the saying goes, change in human affairs is usually slower and greater than we think. I’m not sure whether the dictum would include automotive affairs. But a recent example has been creeping up on us almost unnoticed for some time.
Mercedes are to stop making manual gearboxes by 2030. Granted, most Mercedes have for many years been automatics, and it’s almost 70 since you could buy a manual Bentley. But when I started driving, nearly all cars were manual except for large luxury products and almost anything American.
My first auto was a 1960 Daimler Majestic, a big, bulbous beast with a 3.8-litre engine mated to a three-speed Borgwarner box. That was followed by a squadron of P5 Rovers – all, bar one, automatics – and then a flight of Jaguars (ditto).
That seemed the natural order of things – autos were more expensive, used more fuel and, being usually a bit slower, suited the way big luxury barges were driven. Manuals were cheaper to make, faster, used less fuel and gave the enthusiast driver greater involvement.
Yet in the first nine months of this year, 54 per cent of new cars sold were autos. A decade ago the figure was about 20 per cent; a decade before that, 15 per cent. Only 10 per cent of new Volvos sold this year were manual.
What has changed? It’s not that we’ve all suddenly got lazy left feet. It’s the technology. The workings of modern cars are computer-controlled, and computerised automatic gearboxes – often nowadays operating via dual clutches rather than a torque-converter – can effect shifts in gear more quickly and economically than we can with our left feet and hands.
They can also manage more gears – who ever heard of eight-speed boxes in the old days? – resulting in quieter, more frugal cruising, as well as being more economical in creeping traffic. And, of course, they make for easier, less stressful driving, especially in towns. I once counted my manual gear-changes between London’s Elephant and Castle and King’s Cross station: 86 – all movements that in an auto I need not have made.
Another recent factor is electrification. Electric cars don’t have gearboxes or clutches; you simply switch them on, extend your right foot against the throttle pedal and – whoosh – off you go.
But it’s not all up with manuals. Until everything’s electric, they’ll survive in budget cars because they’re cheaper to produce. In 2018, 97 per cent of Dacia sales throughout Europe were manual, as were 94 per cent of Fiats and 86 per cent of Opels and Vauxhalls.
More surprisingly, 75 per cent of Audi UK sales this year were manual, despite Audi’s push for electrification. Maybe it’s because they’re cheaper to buy. Or do Audi buyers see themselves as sportier drivers?
I’m a gearbox agnostic. I enjoy manual changes, perhaps because it enhances the illusion of control so difficult to sustain elsewhere in life. I like deciding which change to make and when. But I also appreciate the ease and smoothness of a cosseting automatic that does it all for me. Anyway, many autos – my Volvo, for instance – permit clutchless manual changes if you want.
Although it’s easy to find small automatic cars, I still feel that automatics suit larger cars better. It’s partly the way they drive – or the way we drive them – and partly because large, unstressed engines manage it all at lower revs with less fuss and effort. But there are plenty of good, small autos out there, and more to come.
One word of warning, though. If you drive an auto and need a tow home, check your handbook first. Doing it wrongly can mess up your gearbox big time.