Driving an automatic

[bridgedino]

All going well we will be collecting our new MH in late June. Its on the fiat chassis with the new 9 speed Fiat automatic gearbox. Ive only ever driven an automatic twice, and that was a few years ago. Bit nervous to be honest. Apart from keeping my left foot well out of the way is there anything extra i should be thinking about?

 

[pappajohn]

Just remember, you WILL hit the brake with your left foot but you soon get a customised to not needing a foot except for walking.
When you go back to manual you forget you have need of your foot and stall quite a lot.
After a while both auto and manual become second nature.

 

[Steve101uk]

My new to me van has a comfotmatic gear box, its 6 speed auto and i can switch it to manual mode. I use it in auto mode 99% of the time. I love it, its much easier to drive. I love it so much I am never going back to manual. Hope you love yours to. good luck

 

[Bluemanc100]

All going well we will be collecting our new MH in late June. Its on the fiat chassis with the new 9 speed Fiat automatic gearbox. Ive only ever driven an automatic twice, and that was a few years ago. Bit nervous to be honest. Apart from keeping my left foot well out of the way is there anything extra i should be thinking about?

Use the gears like a manual on downhill stretches if you have the ability to do so... don’t rely on brakes alone to keep your speed / momentum in check

 

[pappajohn]

Use the gears like a manual on downhill stretches if you have the ability to do so... don’t rely on brakes alone to keep your speed / momentum in check

Agreed, it should only change down when It's ready at a given rpm so you can't break it by over-revving.

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[Phill D]

Have driven automatics since the 1970s as my wife only has an auto license.
From torque converters through DSGs and pre select... And even the variomatic volvo / Daff.

Our van is manual sadly.

For the first few trips stick the left foot out of the way and drive as if you are on cruise control you will love it after a very short time.
The new 9 speed is supposed to be very good.
You are likely to have a hill decent mode for very steep down hills.
Other than that let it do its job.

 

[pandas]

You should have 2 magic switches which means you should never have to worry about changing gear - except for reverse that is. 1. Hill climb - will get you up almost anything without having to worry. 2. Decent button - again brilliant takes you down the steepest of gradients at 5- 15mph. Some use the uphill button for extra power all the time - I don’t personally. Very happy with my box as it were!

 

[bridgedino]

Thanks for the replies

 

[Guigsy]

After never driving a proper auto before, I had a car with an 8 speed box a couple of years ago. Any idea of doing all the shifting myself with the paddles went out the window in the first 20 minutes. Once you get more than 6 speeds, it's just too much work.

Driving an auto is easy. Stop and go. Even manoeuvring isn't hard, just take it slow to begin with. Only thing to remember is if you suddenly floor it, it'll take a second to downshift. While it's shifting (which is pretty quick to be fair) do not keep adding more and more throttle in an panic to get away because it'll just keep switching further and further down the box and in the meantime, you'll not be going anywhere.

Oh, and it takes forever to lose the muscle memory of stamping the carpet with your left foot when you stop.

 

[Solwaybuggier]

We have recently changed to an automatic car (MH is manual) and I had some initial anxiety after once having problems with a hire car. But it has been very straightforward once you remember to forget your left foot!

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[mikebeaches]

Grew up and travelled through life never wanting an automatic gearbox.

Now reached a certain age where Mrs mikebeaches and I wouldn't consider anything other than an auto - cars and van.

By the way, I use my left foot all the time - for braking! Took a while to get into it, but now completely second nature. The fact I have a dodgy right knee that doesn't care for constant braking on Alpine roads etc perhaps influenced the change in behaviour. From a driving perspective, it has its advantages. Absolutely no need for hill-holder, and enables very fast braking reaction time.

Enjoy your new auto van - the 9-speed torque converter sounds great, although not complaining about our comfortmatic semi-auto.

 

[royandsharont]

Our next van will have the same 9 speed auto gearbox. I too have driven one before but only a car & a long time ago.
My only concern at the moment is will I be able to control the climbing to the top of the levelling blocks no longer being able to control the clutch and brake at the same time. I’ve seen people shoot over the top on occasions & did wonder if it was due to an auto box. Any experienced auto box drivers out there care to give some guidance

 

[bigwood]

I used to drive a mix of manual and automatics several times in a working day. It was always obvious who got legged up swapping vehicles.
Once you get used to an automatic it’s surprising how relaxing it is on a long drive especially with cruise control.

 

[Guigsy]

Our next van will have the same 9 speed auto gearbox. I too have driven one before but only a car & a long time ago.
My only concern at the moment is will I be able to control the climbing to the top of the levelling blocks no longer being able to control the clutch and brake at the same time. I’ve seen people shoot over the top on occasions & did wonder if it was due to an auto box. Any experienced auto box drivers out there care to give some guidance

I owned a car with an automated manual that's similar to the Comfortmatic. That was a pain for manoeuvring on steep hills, bumping up kerbs, etc. Even after using it for a couple of years as a daily, I had far more control with a clutch.

But the 8-speed true (torque convertor) automatic I had in the next car, which is similar to the new Fiat 9 speed, was a dream in comparison. Some things were easier than a manual clutch easier because no roll-back.

If I was buying a new van now, I'd definitely pay the £4k premium to get the 9-speed over a manual. I'm not sure I'd pay any premium for a Comfortmatic.

 

[Silver-Fox]

Many years ago I had a proper auto with a torque converter.

Used to drive it two footed

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[Phill D]

Grew up and travelled through life never wanting an automatic gearbox.

Now reached a certain age where Mrs mikebeaches and I wouldn't consider anything other than an auto - cars and van.

By the way, I use my left foot all the time - for braking! Took a while to get into it, but now completely second nature. The fact I have a dodgy right knee that doesn't care for constant braking on Alpine roads etc perhaps influenced the change in behaviour. From a driving perspective, it has its advantages. Absolutely no need for hill-holder, and enables very fast braking reaction time.

Enjoy your new auto van - the 9-speed torque converter sounds great, although not complaining about our comfortmatic semi-auto.

i h
also use my left foot but i did not want to have to get the "Popcorn out"!

 

[tonyidle]

Our next van will have the same 9 speed auto gearbox. I too have driven one before but only a car & a long time ago.
My only concern at the moment is will I be able to control the climbing to the top of the levelling blocks no longer being able to control the clutch and brake at the same time. I’ve seen people shoot over the top on occasions & did wonder if it was due to an auto box. Any experienced auto box drivers out there care to give some guidance

Enough accelerator to achieve climbing power, keep right foot steady then control forward motion with the handbrake.

 

[pandas]

As my youngest son said; dad with auto change of gears, auto windscreen wipers, auto dip headlights, auto temperature, cruise control, lane control, distance control to the car in front, auto braking, voice activated directions what else is there for you to do?

 

[AG 2602]

Van and car are both Autos wife’s car is manual and that will be replaced with an auto when the time comes!
As for climbing the ramps without clutch you soon get used to it just go very gentle on the accelerator!

 

[Phill D]

Van and car are both Autos wife’s car is manual and that will be replaced with an auto when the time comes!
As for climbing the ramps without clutch you soon get used to it just go very gentle on the accelerator!

on the older types of auto you could use both feet to control creep and the like. now they have these damn electronics that cuts off the power the second you breath on the brake pedal......

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[bridgedino]

I guess my clutch claw will be redundant then

 

[Phill D]

I guess my clutch claw will be redundant then

could put it on the brake pedal..

 

[gus-lopez]

s there anything extra i should be thinking about?

Like others I always brake left footed.
With my autos I've never had a problem going up ramps when working on them.

I guess my clutch claw will be redundant then

My self made one goes over the clutch but locks the brake pedal as well so it might be able to be used?

 

[The Coops]

Its easy just bend your. Left foot under your right knee and do not brake trying to change gear ! It does work within 30 mins its easy problem arises when forgetting to change gear/ brake in a manual

 

[Grummyb]

Tucking the left leg under the right 1 is exactly what I tell people when I do a handover over of a new car to someone who hasn't driven an do it before it's makes you think a bit more because your not in a normal driving position but after your first trip you will want to sell your manual car and buy an auto

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[mikebeaches]

My only concern at the moment is will I be able to control the climbing to the top of the levelling blocks no longer being able to control the clutch and brake at the same time. I’ve seen people shoot over the top on occasions & did wonder if it was due to an auto box. Any experienced auto box drivers out there care to give some guidance

No problem at all climbing the ramps with an auto-box, even the comfortmatic.

Find I still have more than enough control.

 

[Lenny HB]

Like others I always brake left footed.
With my autos I've never had a problem going up ramps when working on them.

That's one thing that pees me off with my Comfomatic can't left foot brake as it has the standard manual brake pedal so really awkward with left foot. If you do left foot brake going onto ramps and you still have your foot on the throttle the engine cuts out.

 

[EuroTrotters]

I drive a 7G-Tronic Mercedes Sprinter all day. Auto lights, auto wipers, cruise control Parktronic, the lot.

My car is a Range Rover. That’s got everything you can think of. 8 speed auto, blind spot assist, cameras everywhere.

I drove one of the old girls today. Our 23 year olds Toyota previa. Twin air con, fridge , twin sunroofs. But I have to switch the lights on myself, the wipers on myself. But it is auto with cruise control.

I gave up on fancy motorhomes and now drive an old Fiat Hymer. I just wish it had an automatic gearbox

 

[CoolOne]

We have the 9 speed auto and this is the 1st time in 40 + years driving, that we opted for an autobox, so glad we did, but I wouldn't have chosen the auto option if they still fitted the Comfortmatic robobox.

It makes driving so much more relaxed and once you get past having no clutch pedal and as in our case, the hand brake being on the right hand side, it has been great. The only thing we had a problem with, was not taking the hand brake off fully, which is easily done, it won't pull away properly, just crawls along and the alarms sounds. We originally thought there was a fault before we realised our rookie error, so this is the main thing to watch out for.

Personally, I wouldn't want to get used to driving with left foot for the foot brake, but thats just me.

A great feature of this autobox is the kickdown, which helps when driving uphill at slower speed (I tend to drive with some mechanical sympathy and don't clog it), it can sometimes seem like the MH is struggling, but just a quick stab on the pedal and the gearbox drops a gear or two and the speed soon picks up, this can also be useful when on the motorway.

It also has 3 modes, eco, normal and power, these can be selected with the press of a button....

So for us, any trepidation that we had when we first started driving with the auto was soon gone and feel like never wanting to go back to a manual gearbox, hill starts, holding steady at junctions, smoothness of gear changes (don't notice it changing mostly), really easy to drive up onto levelers, just some of the benefits, and apart from the extra ££ it is well worth getting.

Enjoy, you'll love it...

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[WESTY66]

That's one thing that pees me off with my Comfomatic can't left foot brake as it has the standard manual brake pedal so really awkward with left foot. If you do left foot brake going onto ramps and you still have your foot on the throttle the engine cuts out.

I have to park within an inch of my front window and it’s slightly uphill, what I do (and do same when going on ramps) is ratchet my handbrake half on to stop roll back and not enough so I can power forward.
Other than that, I love my 3.0L/comfortmatic combo, to me it’s just like driving the old caterpillar 771 dump truck at work

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