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Discovery 2 - Auto or Manual?

N

nbarnwell

In Third Gear
Hi guys,

I had loads of excellent advice regarding my last question on holding out for a D2 with CDL, and would love it if I could get experts' opinions on the choice of automatic vs. manual gearbox now that I'm back in the market for a D2.

I've always preferred manual cars myself, so by default I'd stick with the manual (no pun intended), though my wife found the clutch a little heavy so maybe I should consider the auto?

What do you think - what are the pros and cons of manual and automatic on the D2?

Many thanks in advance.

Neil.
 
Depends on your driving skills and where you are going.

My wife drives our V8 manual and doesn't have any problems with the clutch, although after time they get heavy with rust fretting on the moving parts.

Simpler in terms of maintenance and things to go wrong, but can be a pain in long traffic queues.

Peter
 
Auto has advantages off-road and is easier to drive especially for ladies! Cost is in fuel consumption which is typically 3mpg worse.

I have had an auto for 2 years but I would probably buy a manual next time.
 
mine is manual, wish i had got auto now though, am finding the manual a pain in the **** in traffic when my knee plays up, although since having a new clutch it has felt lighter - my problem with autos is fear of the unknown, i had a jag auto 10 year ago and it was a pain when it went wrong so it put me off.
 
I've had my auto v8 for 18 months now and I wish I'd been driving autos all my life now. Off road it's great and I regularly tow a double horse box.
 
Thanks for the reply. I'm a 4x4 n00b, so what sort of advantages does auto offer over manual? Also, why would you go manual next time?
 
when you test drive a auto TD5 you will instantly notice how long it holds the gear before changing, it revs its nuts off ,

also its pretty gutless until a few bits have been fitted,

i only bought an auto due to the work i do
 
Mine's an auto would never change it for anything.

Brilliant off-road, lock it out in the right gear, no issues, will virtually go anywhere, trail depending!
 
I think Gouldy has hit the nail on the head, the auto does hold RPM and doesnt get into top easily in town, it can be quite a bit heavier on fuel.
Mine is a manual and is great in all conditions but the auto is an excellent drive, maybe the answer is to try both and see what you like best.
 
best advice is to test drive a few of both - i certainly tried some gutless auto ones but also gutless manual ones - i love mine in auto but originally only wanted a manual one, just depends when you find a nice one what gbox is in it tbh ,, plus i am lazy
 
It really is one of those personal preference things - drive a variety and see which you prefer.

There are pro's and cons for both, it just depends what you like.
 
It has been my experience that a manual can/will give reliable, trouble free use for the life of the vehicle. My Disco2 is an auto, with the v8. It is silky smooth, and works well. And it is true, off road an auto is easier. That being said, my other car is a '79 BMW with a manual trans, and If it were auto I would never want to drive it(I would never have bought it!) Because the fun of a small sports car is connecting with the engine and the road through that gearshift. But with the larger vehicles, it can be more relaxing to have the auto gearbox.
 
It really depends what you are used to. I have a manual Disco, after years of manual cars, but the car before was an automatic Volvo, and it was just stop and go, like an electric pedal car - just press one pedal to go and one to stop. It was so simple.
When I was looking for a Disco I drove one automatic and because of my car being automatic, it was second nature. My wife tows a horse trailer and as we live on the top of five successively higher hills she is sore on the clutch, whereas an automatic changes down for her.
However, I did miss the clutch and am now back to completely manual in all my cars. I think I prefer the illusion of having more control over the driving...
 
my D2 Is an Auto, I wanted a V8 and most of them are auto, I did try a manaual but the deal was not right and my wife was not keen on the clutch, she could drive it ... but she was not keen. Got a deal on the tuck I have now and happy I went with the Auto in the end as its no longer standered and the Auto has a better reputation for taking the power than the manual,

it also depends on where you are driving, I dont dirve in alot of traffic but use my car for long jornees, with the V8 fuel was always going to be poor,

If you are going ofroad alot, or doing alot of towing I would go for a auto hands down, with SLS a D2 Auto is one of the best cars you can by for that kind of work

A
 
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