Towing with an Automatic?
Having seriously started looking for a new car (probably a Mondeo diesel) I wonder how automatics fare in towing?
I have driven automatics but never towed with one. The Mondeo, in my experience tows well and is very comfortable etc. It also has a sound noseweight limit!
Comments
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Automatics are fine - until you want the precise control at low speed that one gets with a clutch.
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I'm still a beginner at this but in my (limited) experience towing is fine with a manual until I have to perform the dreaded reversing manoeuvre.
I'm still not too good at this so the clutch on my manual car comes in for a fair bit of abuse because I take that much longer to reverse.
I would definite consider an automatic for our next car, either that or invest in a motor mover!
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I had been using an automatic till driving back from Abbey Wood this year and got a "Transmission Service Warning" message. Phoned garage while on A303 and they said ok to drive back. Did and just got back. Got transmission oil replaced and then got 3rd gear problems so had to change cars.
Could be that my car was 2002 and never had a transmission oil change (nor a filter), but from what I read is something that needs to be checked.
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Having driven and towed with autos for around 20 years it’s hard to imagine anybody having a manual shift (as the Americans say). My X5 had auto box, auto wipers, auto headlights; pity it wasn’t self-Drive. Go for it.
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And before the Citroens, were horses involved?
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They keep making them for us younger drivers that like to be in control. When you get older driving is about getting from a to b with the least effort
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Somewhat an ageist remark and one where as you claim to be young, I wonder how you can possibly know what driving is all about as you get older???
Then 20 years ago when I started using automatics, I was, well, 20 years younger, though it seems even then I was better informed about them.
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Not just ageist but also rather rude.
Or did you forget to include a load of 😂😂😂😁😉😛?
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I too am a bit miffed at the ageism!!!
I also drive a 1972 Triumph GT6 and have driven many miles in vehicles where double de-clutching was essential - try that, you young pup!!!!!
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I want to be in control ..... I've lost count of the number of times I've heard that, often by people who have never even driven an auto. If manuals were that great, why do some cars only have the option of an auto?
I must've been old at around 30 as that was when I first got an auto.
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Daily fluid and air checks, knock off hub caps, hand crank starting, crash gear box, fluid flywheel, pneumatic wipers, mechanical trafficators, gauntlets, goggles and flying helmet. Life is so boring now-a-days.
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"When you get older driving is about getting from a to b with the least effort"
How old does one have to be before that frame of mind kicks in? I've never driven an automatic, never even thought about it as an option. But if it ever got to the stage where the journey was an effort to be endured I think I'd be better off staying at home with a good book and an obsession with reality TV!
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CQ, can you explain a bit more about being in control ?
I'm just curious ?
Personally I have 2 autos, a Freelander 2 and 46 year old Triumph. I have driven many HGV's and PSV's thoughout my working life with Eaton 2 speed axles, Splitter gearboxes, range changers etc. A modern auto will do a far better job than the average driver nowadays. So much so that HGV's are now mostly automated manuals and PSV's fully auto using Voth, ZF or Allison auto transmissions.
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