We often get calls from customers asking for the price for manual or automatic lessons followed by the question,

“Why is automatic more expensive?”

automatic-car-driving

The simple reason is that automatic cars use up more fuel than manual cars, and the insurance on an automatic car is usually more expensive.

Manual lessons have many benefits, such as more control over the car. In most cases, they also offer greater fuel efficiency, and insurance on manual cars is considerably cheaper.

Learning and passing the driving test in an automatic car

Driving an automatic car is much easier than a manual one because automatic cars free you from changing gears and speed up the learning process for new drivers. The majority of time in lessons is spent on learning to cope with various traffic situations, and on average, the number of lessons required to reach test standards for an automatic car is usually a lot less – but they are more expensive.

For some people, the advantage of driving an automatic car in London is priceless. It’s just one pedal to go and one to stop – using one foot. However, a major disadvantage of passing a driving test in an automatic is that you are restricted to automatic vehicles only. You’d be breaking the law if you drive a manual car when you possess a driving license for just an automatic car. This can be frustrating if you need to hire or borrow a friend’s manual car. You also benefit from a more efficient range of vehicles – getting your manual license means your car tends to be cheaper than the automatic version of the same make because the mechanisms are less complicated and consequently more reliable. Moreover, if you’re planning to drive in icy conditions, a manual car can offer greater control and perform better on slippery or dangerous roads!

Furthermore, if you work for a company that offers a company car, most of these cars will likely be manual—but if you hold a license to drive only automatically, this could limit your prospects considerably.

Learning and passing the driving test in a manual car

manual-gear-shiftWe encourage young drivers not to apply for automatic lessons as a quick and easy way of getting a driving license. In the long run, it doesn’t do you justice! We believe you should only consider automatic lessons if you have a certified disability or are starting to learn at a mature age. Learning how to change gears is a lot easier than you’d presume! From over 35 years of experience, we see that students from other driving schools would approach us wishing to change from manual to automatic, almost always because of a lack of understanding of the gearbox – a result of their instructor not teaching them sufficiently. At Streetwise, we proudly have converted many students from automatic to full manual license holders because we help the students feel comfortable with the gears through clear, methodical training. Why not have a look at our testimonials and see for yourself?

It’s worth taking the time to consider which is best for your needs, but whether you choose manual or automatic driving lessons, you can be sure that you will receive consistently high standards of tuition from any Streetwise instructor.