Automatic V Manual on Motorhome

  • Thread starter Thread starter Robert Clark
  • Start date Start date

Auyomatic or Manual

  • Automatic

    Votes: 133 81.6%

  • Manual

    Votes: 30 18.4%
  • Total voters
    163
I've just voted for Automatic.
It was one of the features we looked for when searching mobile.de. The convenience of not having to bother about changing gear was attractive. Also, Mr has been driving an automatic car for the past 10 years, and says he wouldn't go back to a manual.
Ours is a 3 litre, 177bhp, 4.25t. with cruise control. It also has a hill assist facility. Mpg? No idea.
 
We have a 130hp Fiat auto which, on balance, I like. Two negatives though:

The van almost stops when changing up from 1st to 2nd. I'm used to it now, but disconcerting for folk behind on roundabouts etc.

Reversing with finesse is difficult. I need a double height ramp (the higher one is on bricks) on one rear wheel when parking at my house to keep the van almost level. It's hard to control speed, you are either accelerating or braking. No opportunity to "slip the clutch". As a consequence, I went off the back once. Trashed the ramps, and knocked down a fence. I was lucky not to reverse down a 30 degree garden slope into the house!
 
G-RMPS said:
Reversing with finesse is difficult.
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One of the occasions when it's best to slip the Fiat Comfortmatic into manual I guess.
 
CWH said:
One of the occasions when it's best to slip the Fiat Comfortmatic into manual I guess.
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That won't make any difference.
With both Fiats & Fords, reverse gear is higher than first regardless of being comformatic or manual never wise to reverse onto ramps if you value your clutch

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CWH said:
One of the occasions when it's best to slip the Fiat Comfortmatic into manual I guess.
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Use the brake to control it. Hold the van on the hand or foot brake, increase revs until it is trying hard to move, keep throttle steady, use brake to control movement. Don't spend too long doing it because, just as in a manual manual (as opposed to the Comfortmatic robotic manual) you are slipping the clutch.
 
I dont know why they call them automatic instead of self changing , as the lack of torque converter makes them behave totally different to a true auto .
 
You are lucky
Alistair33 said:
We had no choice, my wife couldn't push the clutch in all the way so we have to accomodate the extra expense and weight of the auto !
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, I bought the merc auto so that my wife would drive it.BUT she absolutely refuses to even have it explained how the van function, luightd starter, etc,
God know what happens if I am incapacitated . We stay there forever????????
 
We've had BMW automatic cars for the last 20years and they are fantastic. We now have a Nissan Navara automatic, which is also great to drive. Three years ago we bought a Toyota Yaris as a 2nd vehicle which had a semi automatic gear box, similar to the comfortmatic. It was ok but it was lumpy and would roll back on hills. So when it came to choosing our latest motorhome and getting the wife to drive it, it had to be on a Mercedes with a proper Automatic box. Verdict? Outstanding and oh so smooth.

Pete
 
I always thought automatics were for old folks! But seemingly drifting rapidly into that category and after 18 months of owning one I think it is the speediest thing since muesli and weetabix. The Merc. 3 litre V6 coupled with 7 Gtronic and cruise is as smooth as silk and when requested will leave tailgaters standing. It is especially good on continental motorways where you can maintain a constant speed and relax.
 
Robert Clark said:
Free if you use the money you save by buying your van from Europe
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Sorry if this is a bit late after the original post, but am I missing something here? Is there any way of buying a new van in Europe (direct from factory?) at a reduced cost?
 
ian4apenny said:
Sorry if this is a bit late after the original post, but am I missing something here? Is there any way of buying a new van in Europe (direct from factory?) at a reduced cost?
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You can potentially save lots of money if you buy from a European dealer.
 
ian4apenny said:
Sorry if this is a bit late after the original post, but am I missing something here? Is there any way of buying a new van in Europe (direct from factory?) at a reduced cost?
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You would usually buy from a dealer in Europe BUT yes I believe it is possible to save some cash, dont take our word for it though and get a price of both.

Martin
 
So @Robert Clark you started this a year ago SO automatic or manual?

Martin

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I actually don’t know why anybody prefers a manual! Boy racers excepted:)
 
Yes, you can buy one from any dealer in Europe, we dealt with Campirama in Belgium. Problem is, Brexit has so drastically reduced the value of the pound so savings are not so great. Just search their websites for prices, also look at Palmowski.de and Durrawang, which are also good, but there are many many more obviously.
 
dabhand said:
I actually don’t know why anybody prefers a manual! Boy racers excepted:)
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Surely that depends how good the automatic is, in years gone by some were pretty dire and even now the Agile on the IVECO daily does not enjoy the best reputation and on that basis I would have a manual over it, or am I a "boy racer" can live in hope(y)

Martin
 
Following on from above, we worked out an exact spec for what we wanted and simply emailed UK and continental dealers. We had a couple of good quotes back from the continentals within days, but NOT from the so called leading UK dealer !!!!
 
Norman Jones said:
Yes, you can buy one from any dealer in Europe, we dealt with Campirama in Belgium. Problem is, Brexit has so drastically reduced the value of the pound so savings are not so great. Just search their websites for prices, also look at Palmowski.de and Durrawang, which are also good, but there are many many more obviously.
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Indeed used Flairs and Concordes for example are fetching a lot of money (or asking anyway) on mobile.de

Martin

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Norman Jones said:
Following on from above, we worked out an exact spec for what we wanted and simply emailed UK and continental dealers. We had a couple of good quotes back from the continentals within days, but NOT from the so called leading UK dealer !!!!
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Never heard that before




NOT:LOL:

My e-mails to a UK dealer were going into their "junk" folder for a year while the dealers in Germany were answering overnight, don't know where my money will be going(y)

Martin
 
dabhand said:
I actually don’t know why anybody prefers a manual! Boy racers excepted:)
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Is that just motorhome or everything. At work if it’s a job with a lot of reversing I much prefer a manual, I guess it depends on the solar of driving you do.
 
Norman Jones said:
Yes, you can buy one from any dealer in Europe, we dealt with Campirama in Belgium. Problem is, Brexit has so drastically reduced the value of the pound so savings are not so great. Just search their websites for prices, also look at Palmowski.de and Durrawang, which are also good, but there are many many more obviously.
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But Brexit has not devalued the pound to a level it was back in late 2000's

Why do people always blame Brexit?

Just negotiate a better deal.

Apple, like many manufacturers blamed Brexit for Price increases. But I dont recall them doing the same back in the day, 30th December 2008 when £1 just about got you a Euro?, when we were almost at parity, long before "Brexit".

One of our Suppliers (liebherr) last year, hiked their prices to us by 20%. We just dont use them anymore, simple.
 
I prefer an Automatic, but a true Automatic.

Our Fiat is a Manual. But we have had Robotised Manuals (think Sprintshift, Agile, Comfortmatic etc). We have also had Automatic Torque converter motorhomes. I also own two Sprinter Traveliners. One is 5G-Tronic, the other 7G-Tronic. The Seven speed is brilliant.
 
TeeMyob said:
But Brexit has not devalued the pound to a level it was back in late 2000's

Why do people always blame Brexit?

Just negotiate a better deal.

Apple, like many manufacturers blamed Brexit for Price increases. But I dont recall them doing the same back in the day, 30th December 2008 when £1 just about got you a Euro?, when we were almost at parity, long before "Brexit".

One of our Suppliers (liebherr) last year, hiked their prices to us by 20%. We just dont use them anymore, simple.
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Brexit or not the £ is currently not worth what it was compared to the €, in 2006 for example when we bought our van the rate was about 1.45 so our £52K would have been €75k in Germany, now the same van is about €66k (OK gone down over 6 years) but that would now need around £58k to buy in Germany in €'s so do we sell for more than we paid for it(y):LOL: this currency thing works two ways.

Martin

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I have had auto cars for donkeys years 1st a Ford Granada in 1985 and since then and currently Mercs of various marks

All three of my MoHos have been auto 1st a Rapido Merc with a robotised box and then a Fiat Knaus also with a robotised box, had no issues with either of them, however my current MoHo is a Hymer on a Merc with a "true" auto box which seems a bit smoother that the robotised ones and with 7 gears is a bit more flexible :)

Autos rule OK!! :cautious:
 
funflair said:
Surely that depends how good the automatic is, in years gone by some were pretty dire and even now the Agile on the IVECO daily does not enjoy the best reputation and on that basis I would have a manual over it, or am I a "boy racer" can live in hope(y)

Martin
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Were talking proper autos Martin, none of your iffy Agile stuff mate
 
I have a 6 speed torque converter auto box on my car and a 6 speed manual on the motorhome.
I cant say I really find much difference when I swap from one to the other.
I like the fact that there is much less to go wrong with the manual.
I gather the comfortmatic, potentially the worst of both worlds, may be a problem on roundabouts. The French love their roundabouts. I would not refuse to buy a motorhome just because it had comfortmatic, in my experience it doesnt take many miles to become familiar with the characteristics of any vehicle.
 
Ivory55 said:
Is that just motorhome or everything. At work if it’s a job with a lot of reversing I much prefer a manual, I guess it depends on the solar of driving you do.
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Everything, why do you prefer reversing with a manual? Auto for everything with me apart from motorbikes!:rolleyes:

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