If you are a first time owner of a car you may find the automatic transmission easy to drive – especially in

traffic congested roads.

For your car to be able to get from point A to point B without having to stay trudging along in first gear, it
needs a working transmission. The transmission allows the vehicle to change gears, thereby transferring power
from the engine to the drive axle in the most efficient way possible.

It does this by varying the gear ratio. In lower gears, this increases available power while reducing speed.
Higher gears, on the other hand, reduce power and increase speed. This enables cars to distribute power and
speed in the most efficient way for any given situation.

But whilst everyone agrees that a transmission is absolutely vital to the inner workings of any car, there is no
general consensus regarding what kind of transmission is better—automatic or manual.

It’s not an easy question to answer. After all, both transmissions have their own unique advantages and
disadvantages, and where one may be perfect in one situation, it may end up being absolute rubbish in another
situation.

Automatic transmissions has following advantages

1. Easier to use especially in congested roads as it requires only single paddle push ins.
2. Less manually restrictive as both hands are free.
3. Better for hilly areas as easier to navigate even from dead stop.
4. Greatly reduced risk of stalling as it will happen only with technical fault instead of drivers
fault.

Manual transmissions has following advantages

1. Less expensive to purchase so decreases initial investment.

2. Cheaper to maintain due to absence of added spare parts required for automation.
3. Better fuel efficiency as manual transmission engines are less complex, weigh less which results in
better mileage as compared to automatic transmission, on average 5% to 15% saving on fuel costs.
4. Better control – Automatic transmissions are designed to choose the best gear for any situation, but
they tend to err on the side of caution, shifting to too high of a gear and wasting engine power
resulting in . At the same time, they are built to respond to conditions as they are encountered, which
doesn’t allow for drivers to either anticipate an oncoming condition, or to purposely select a lower
gear for an added boost of power. Manual transmissions give drivers greater control over the vehicle.
Fuel efficiency of manual transmission vehicles is better as engines with transmission are simpler and
weigh less than automatic transmission vehicles of same category.

Manual transmissions save 5 % -15 % on fuel cost as compared to automatic transmission which are
designed to choose the best gear for any situation, but they tend to err on the side of caution, shifting to too
high of a gear and wasting engine power resulting in reduced fuel efficiency. Manual transsmissions give
driver control to shift to appropriate lower gear as per conditions for an added boost of power.
Basically, automatic transmission diminishes chances of stalling and is easier to use as well as more
comfortable for the driver in congested traffic and hilly areas, while manual transmission vehicle is less
expensive to purchase and maintain considering both Fuel and spare parts cost but manually restrictive as
more engagement of driver is required.