I drove a normal car yesterday

[Cyril Haearn]

Maybe a manual forces one to think more
One often sees vehicles crawling over the line at lights, I think they might be automatics left in 'drive', the motrons are too stupid to use neutral and apply the handbrake

[reohn2]

.....Even round here with all the hills, we're getting 55mpg just driving locally. It's capable of 60-70mpg on main roads.......

That isn't that good for such a small car,I get 55mph out of our 2l diesel Cmax.

As for automatics,if I didn't tow a caravan I think I'd like one,stop start traffic jams being the worst case scenario for manual tranmissions.

[Lance Dopestrong]

Do you actually get that out of your C Max, or is that what the display tells you?

[Bonefishblues]

They just can't do it as well as the tech., that's the point.

But out on real roads and not driving in circles on short and perfect surfaces, there are advantages to a manual system.

Mick's hybrid is something of a different case in that it is to all intents and purposes an electric vehicle. The properties and torque deliverance of such have rather different requirements.

I averaged a measured 55mpg on a commute over 80K miles with 75% on the M40 at the legal limit wherever possible, plus A,B & urban at either end. My current diesel can't match that.

Don't pigeonhole the tech until you've tried it.

...but it's poor in snow, yes, and I have no idea whether you can tow with a Prius, so I guess that rules them out for, what percentage of the population?

ETA
...and size-for size, it's about the same weight as my diesel.

[Bonefishblues]

.....Even round here with all the hills, we're getting 55mpg just driving locally. It's capable of 60-70mpg on main roads.......

That isn't that good for such a small car,I get 55mph out of our 2l diesel Cmax.

As for automatics,if I didn't tow a caravan I think I'd like one,stop start traffic jams being the worst case scenario for manual tranmissions.

Why wouldn't you actively select an auto to tow? When I see recommendations for 'best towcar', they are usually autos.

[Bonefishblues]

Maybe a manual forces one to think more
One often sees vehicles crawling over the line at lights, I think they might be automatics left in 'drive', the motrons are too stupid to use neutral and apply the handbrake

OTOH having the ability to fully concentrate on driving could be seen as a boon. In Toyota hybrids in particular the push-button handbrake is particularly well integrated.

[Bonefishblues]

Do you actually get that out of your C Max, or is that what the display tells you?

Not sure how big the samples are here (I bet the 150 is R2!):

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/realmpg/ford/c-max-2010

[Eammno]

Like all the other automatic stuff you now get on cars, automatic gearboxes are all about expanding the market, to include the less capable, or less confident drivers. Problem is this dumbing down also lowers the average capability of drivers and encourages the lazy attitude we all experience.
It's why the industry is keen to promote self driving vehicles.
OK for those just wanting to get from A to B, but not so good for those who want to participate in the process and enjoy the driving.

[reohn2]

.....Even round here with all the hills, we're getting 55mpg just driving locally. It's capable of 60-70mpg on main roads.......

That isn't that good for such a small car,I get 55mph out of our 2l diesel Cmax.

As for automatics,if I didn't tow a caravan I think I'd like one,stop start traffic jams being the worst case scenario for manual tranmissions.

Why wouldn't you actively select an auto to tow? When I see recommendations for 'best towcar', they are usually autos.

I'm perhaps well behind the curve with autos,but I've always thought an auto would be heavy of fuel,currently the Cmax returns 30mph towing 1350kg of caravan.
Are you sure the best towcars are usually autos?
I confess I don't usually read the 'towcar of the year' awards in the Caravan Club mags.

[Bonefishblues]

Like all the other automatic stuff you now get on cars, automatic gearboxes are all about expanding the market, to include the less capable, or less confident drivers. Problem is this dumbing down also lowers the average capability of drivers and encourages the lazy attitude we all experience.
It's why the industry is keen to promote self driving vehicles.
OK for those just wanting to get from A to B, but not so good for those who want to participate in the process and enjoy the driving.

This is an ill-informed post, I'd suggest. An automatic gearbox dumbs-down driving? It lowers the capability of drivers? Exactly how, pray?

Those who buy premium sportscars/supercars don't now have a choice of manual gearboxes any more. Why? Because nobody ordered them, so they stopped being made.

[Bonefishblues]

That isn't that good for such a small car,I get 55mph out of our 2l diesel Cmax.

As for automatics,if I didn't tow a caravan I think I'd like one,stop start traffic jams being the worst case scenario for manual tranmissions.

Why wouldn't you actively select an auto to tow? When I see recommendations for 'best towcar', they are usually autos.

I'm perhaps well behind the curve with autos,but I've always thought an auto would be heavy of fuel,currently the Cmax returns 30mph towing 1350kg of caravan.
Are you sure the best towcars are usually autos?
I confess I don't usually read the 'towcar of the year' awards in the Caravan Club mags.

Based on my observations, yes. I'll have a wander around and see if I can see some comparative mpgs for each, but even if, say 10% less efficient, when you do the maths as to how many miles pa you actively tow a van, I bet it'd be chump change.

[Cyril Haearn]

Like all the other automatic stuff you now get on cars, automatic gearboxes are all about expanding the market, to include the less capable, or less confident drivers. Problem is this dumbing down also lowers the average capability of drivers and encourages the lazy attitude we all experience.
It's why the industry is keen to promote self driving vehicles.
OK for those just wanting to get from A to B, but not so good for those who want to participate in the process and enjoy the driving.

This is an ill-informed post, I'd suggest. An automatic gearbox dumbs-down driving? It lowers the capability of drivers? Exactly how, pray?
..

Well-informed I think, with an auto drivers have much much less work
Tried to count how many times I changed gear driving 10 km to work
Scores and scores
..
Maybe auto drivers are even worse somombiers

[reohn2]

Do you actually get that out of your C Max, or is that what the display tells you?

Nope,it's checking full to empty and doing the the calcs.
It's fair to say we do very little stop start driving,ours being mainly motorways at 70/75mph and I'm light on the right foot.
Before the present Cmax we had a 1.8l petrol(passed on to no 2 daughter) which returned 37mpg and around 22mpg towing but it didn't have anywhere near the deisel's torque.

Boney's correct it's the 140psi engine,the car is a gem,drives very well and is cavernous inside,a great feature is any one or all three rear seats can be removed turning it effectively intova van,great for carrying bikes even tandems.It's also cheap as chips to service with part being very cheap as it's a tall Focus estate
Highly recommended!

[Bonefishblues]

Like all the other automatic stuff you now get on cars, automatic gearboxes are all about expanding the market, to include the less capable, or less confident drivers. Problem is this dumbing down also lowers the average capability of drivers and encourages the lazy attitude we all experience.
It's why the industry is keen to promote self driving vehicles.
OK for those just wanting to get from A to B, but not so good for those who want to participate in the process and enjoy the driving.

This is an ill-informed post, I'd suggest. An automatic gearbox dumbs-down driving? It lowers the capability of drivers? Exactly how, pray?
..

Well-informed I think, with an auto drivers have much much less work
Tried to count how many times I changed gear driving 10 km to work
Scores and scores
..
Maybe auto drivers are even worse somombiers

Based on what, exactly? Whilst you were busy counting the number of gearchanges (for what reason exactly?), how well were you concentrating on actually driving?

Have you ever owned an automatic transmission car?

[Bonefishblues]

Do you actually get that out of your C Max, or is that what the display tells you?

Nope,it's checking full to empty and doing the the calcs.
It's fair to say we do very little stop start driving,ours being mainly motorways at 70/75mph and I'm light on the right foot.
Before the present Cmax we had a 1.8l petrol(passed on to no 2 daughter) which returned 37mpg and around 22mpg towing but it didn't have anywhere near the deisel's torque.

Boney's correct it's the 140psi engine,the car is a gem,drives very well and is cavernous inside,a great feature is any one or all three rear seats can be removed turning it effectively intova van,great for carrying bikes even tandems.It's also cheap as chips to service with part being very cheap as it's a tall Focus estate
Highly recommended!

You're going down son, and I'm throwing away the key!