It's a tricky decision for some, and easier for others. Which transmission should you learn to drive in? You have probably had friends and family eagerly giving advice and opinions on the matter, but ultimately it's a personal and individual choice for each driver. Most Australians choose to drive automatic transmissions with over 70% of learners choosing to get their automatic license. This can make it more difficult and expensive to find manual lessons as well. Luckily, if you decide to choose manual lessons, No Yelling offers the same price for both transmissions and has instructors that service a majority of Brisbane even stretching to the Gold Coast.
Keep reading to find out our top things to consider and which choice is the right one for you.
What type of cars do you have access to?
We all know to perfect a skill, practice is key. It's important to consider what cars you have access to for practice outside your professional lessons. You can still get your licence with either transmission even if you practice cars that don't match, it will just take a little longer and require more driving lessons to perfect these skills. If you decide to go manual, and this is a barrier for you, booking lesson packages is a great idea to save some money and keep your lessons rolling throughout your learning period.
Are you an adventurous soul? Planning on local thrills?
In Australia, we are spoilt for choice for automatic vehicles even if you're traveling and hiring a car. However, if you plan on long road trips in campervans, camping in remote locations, or exploring beach dunes a manual licence might be best for you. Hire cars do come in both transmissions in Australia, however, it does limit the vehicles you can
get and what you can do.
Have you got the travel bug and planning overseas trips?
Depending on where you are traveling to, automatic cars are not always the preference or readily available in all countries. In South America and many European countries, manuals are still the favourite. It will be a great advantage to have access to a wider range of overseas vehicles to hire or buy at the best prices too. So if you are an avid
traveler, the manual is maybe right for you. Plan on staying put? Automatic will probably suit you fine for just that.
What future cars do you plan on driving?
Are you a bit of a car fanatic? Have a dream vehicle or really into classic cars? Let's face it, some cars are made to be manual transmissions or you can only get them in a manual transmission. If you have a passion for cars, whether it be performance or classics a manual might be the way to go. If you are someone who just wants something affordable to get you from place A to place B, you have a little more flexibility, and automatic might be the way to go. Keep in mind though, manual cars do tend to sell for cheaper and often can be less costly to maintain as well.
Do you prefer an easier route when learning, or like a challenge?
Learning to drive a manual does add an extra challenge to the learning-to-drive experience. Manual drivers are required to multi-task and they often enjoy this as it can help them be more attentive. If the idea of learning to drive is very overwhelming and you just want to get your licence to get you places automatically might be the way to go. There are fewer steps to learn and you might find it easier to not have to change gears as a distraction to all the other elements of learning to drive.
Are you going to need to drive heavy vehicles in the future?
For large trucks, buses, or any other heavy vehicle a manual licence is the way to go. At No Yelling, we get a large number of students returning to learn the manual after it's been required for a job. If your career direction might require you to be driving heavy vehicles, it might be best to get your manual licence so you don't need to go back and redo the test again later.
So there you have it, many things to consider whilst choosing which transmission is right for you. Whatever you decide to start with is completely fine. Our instructors at No Yelling are able to help you change transmission if you decide your choice is not right for you or we are very skilled at helping students prepare for their manual test if you've gained your automatic licence and decide you would prefer both. The only wrong choice is to not start your learning journey.
