I was just wondering what the best / worst automatic car was that anyone has owned / drove (recent or in the past).
although a bit before my time, I did hear that the mini was an economical car in autobox form (I could be wrong but this is what I heard).
I have heard that a 1.6L mark 4 Cortina automatic was a terrible car.
very underpowered and drank fuel.
So are there any better / worse ones ?
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The M plate ('95?) Astra 1.4 GLS automatic I inherited as a company car was brilliant ;-) Not. The engine was 90PS but to make progress it used loads of fuel due to it wanting to kick down. I got the fuel rate changed and swapped it for something else before I had it too long.
But I quite liked it to be honest.
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Back in 1988 I bought a 'T' reg 2 litre mk IV Cortina auto from a disabled gent. Fully Ziebart rust proofed and as good as immaculate. Thrashed it up and down from Essex to Lancs. more times than I care to remember and sold for damn close to what I paid after a couple of years. I liked it a lot but haven't had an auto since. The way Mrs W drives I could be seriously tempted by an auto. I'm not sure she understands the relationship between the engine and gearbox or how what she does affects these bits! Auto could be the answer. I'll be needing a family sized car (Mondeo ish) so I'll take anyones advice.
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Corsa 1.0 Easytronic was the worst I ever suffered. Not a proper auto, but an automated manual.
It was incredibly jerky. The only way I could get the changes to smooth out was to drive very slowly and either change manually or try to anticipate the gearchange and take my foot off the accelerator. Both of which seem ridiculous for an "automatic".
Apart from low speed stuttering, the new Golf 1.6 with 7 speed DSG was the best. Awesome fuel economy and perfect gear changes.
For regular torque converter autos, I'd have anything - as long as it had at least 120bhp or more to kick it along. Anything less doesn't feel up to the job.
The Merc conventional autos were probably the best of that type IMO, very, very smooth indeed.
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escort CVT was horrendous . Senator 24v auto was one of the best boxes I experienced over many 1000's miles
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i liked the escort cvt to be honest but can only remember it in onion form
it did gulp fuel though
i like all autos within reason
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The 1989 Metro 1.3 Auto is the worst automatic I have ever driven by a long way. And I did drive it a long way, London to Newcastle
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The best is almost certain to be some very large expensive thing, a Rolls-Royce or Bristol (with a huge American V8, light weight and high final drive a Bristol might be really nice). Six-cylinder Mercedeses had rather fussy autos although they worked well. I suppose the V8 ones are better though.
I wouldn't give a fig for any auto car with a 'floor change' though. Damn moronic idea. A slim but positive lever or switch behind the wheel is the only reasonable place for the control. Never tried flappy paddles so I don't know about them. Very variable I believe.
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Once upon a time, long, long ago - I had a momentary lapse of reason and bought an MGB roadster in BRG mated to an automatic gearbox ... an absolutely ghastly combo!
Bit like buying a colour telly and watching in B and W.
Best auto? well, I've had loads to be honest - don't like CVt's though.
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4 cylinders + diesel + CVT is not a good combination. CVT worked fine in the Audi A4 2.5 TDI but in the Mercedes B200 CDI that I had following the Audi it made a drone like a London taxi, with similar performance. If it had been a manual I might have liked the B-class more than I did.
Personally I wouldn't have the patience to put up with an automatic with an engine less then 2 litres - certainly not the torque-converter type. I believe that the CVT in the old Honda Jazz worked well. I can't honestly see the point of the new crop of 'automated manuals' unless you have a weak or non-existent left leg.
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Original mini autos were dreadful, the changes were like a manual used without the clutch.
Best I've ever driven would have to be a V12 XJS, such easy access to enormous power.
Just plonk it in drive and tickle the throttle.
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I had a Hillman Hunter 1725 with a 3-speed automatic. Dire by modern standards, but I loved it at the time because I was young and it was wheels!
Plus it had a Webasto sun-roof - great for star-gazing with a girlfriend sat next to you ;-)
Edited by boxsterboy on 19/05/2009 at 22:26
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Mercedes made the best autoboxes although now it is probably ZF or Aisin Warner which I assume are in the Lexus LS series.
The best thing about the autobox in my old BMW 730 about ten years ago was that it would drop into gear instantaneously whereas the Honda Accord would think about it for a while. It makes a difference when you are trying to do a fifteen point turn in a tight drive in the dark.
Worst - oh easy - the manumatic in the Mk1 Smart.
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Worst? Easy. When I was about 16 my father bought an Austin A60 Cambridge with auto box. IIRC it was grey with a maroon stripe down through the middle of it. No too bad you may think but with three children and a 14' Sprite Mustekeer caravan nailed on the back plus all the kit you need to go caravanning it was the stuff of nighmares -even as a non driver as I was at that age. Put me off autos for ever. Maybe they're better now, I really don't care.
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Worst? Any CVT
Best? Has to be the GM Turbo Hydramatic. Good enough for Rolls Royce when only the best will do. Strong enough to cope with drag race burnouts on yank muscle cars.
Worst box on any car I've owned has to be the Borg Warner model 12 on the Jaguar XJ12. Absolute junk
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Best was a 1974 Rolls-Royce Corniche FHC, so smooth and quiet, makes me wonder why 30 plus years later, still few cars are that quiet and refined.
Worst is a toss up between the Yaris diesel MMT I had the displeasure of piloting in February which was a vile piece of junk designed by a halfwit who clearly never drives what they engineer OR a Rover 100 1.4 CVT which had such a strong creep that the brakes could hardly hold it - not Rovers finest hour, much better suited in the R200.
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When I were a nipper, a mate had a Mini automatic. IIRC it changed up at 17,19 and 21mph. Weird.
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My brother-in-law bought a mk4 Astra 1.6 auto for his mum a couple of years ago. I don't know the power output (it's an 8 valve engine with multipoint injection), and it's certainly not quick, but it responsive, perky, sweet, and the auto box does its thing without undue jerkiness or issues. It's a thoroughly pleasant drive, and a really nice little A to B runabout.
The CVT Escorts were just horrendous IMO. Actually made people look if you accelerated briskly in built up areas. Loads of noise and CVH coarseness in response for very little actual forward motion.
The E-class Mercedes taxis I use in Holland have the most seamless changes (from a passenger perspective) that I have experienced, and in 280CDi and 320CDi guise, go like something off a shovel as well. Hugely impressive.
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Worst - a 1972 Vauxhall Viva - 1300cc 0 - 60mph in 3 weeks!
Best - 1968 Vanden Plas Princes 4 Litre R (Rolls Royce engine) - enginve almost totally silent, gearbox changes almost impossible to detect. And 0 - 60mph felt like a racing car (I had a Hillman Impat the time!) Pity the VP was British Leyland though!
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Another poor one was the Daf Variomatic 'rubber band' transmission.
This was partly because I didn't understand or trust it after it leapt backwards one day and demolished a garden wall.
Presumably, I'd left it in gear, but the stupid thing didn't show any signs of wanting to go anywhere when I got out.
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Hyundai Accent 1.3 Auto - positively dangerous for a car built in 2001.
Latest Honda Insight with CVT - putting your foot down was similar to slipping the clutch - lots of noise, but very little progress.
Best - Not driven many torque convertor autos but the Jag boxes are always up there with the best.
DSG offers me the best in terms of auto and decent fuel economy.
A friend had a mid 70s Escort Van 1.3 with an auto box. I wonder how many of those were built.
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Worst "auto" box car I've driven is my current DSG Octavia. 6 speed version mated to the 140PD diesel engine. Maybe it is just that combo as never tried a petrol DSG. It is slow and jerky when in start/stop city traffic. Fine on the open road, but round town no thanks, give me back my Avensis auto - smooth and comfortable in any condition.
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For two years I drove a 1988 Mercedes 260E with 2.6litre engine, 4 speed auto and sport/normal setting.
Lovely to drive, lots of control, good kickdown and enough power to make it worthwhile to overatke with a smooth engine which liked to rev..
Have not driven an auto since but would only do again with power and smooth engine...
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I've had a few drives of a slightly earlier Merc 380SL auto. Extraordinarily smooth drive and punchy performance.
I've also been a passenger in an 02 Merc coupe. Diesel engine with with auto that seemed a successful mating.
I've driven many American hire cars where the auto made the drive very lifeless, but also very suitable to the stately progress in which American traffic often operates.
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Worst "auto" box car I've driven is my current DSG Octavia. 6 speed version mated to the 140PD diesel engine
A work colleague has the same engine and gearbox combo in an Audi A3 and doesn't rate it much either.
He reckons the setup simply cannot deal with a slow reverse off his steep (1 in 4) driveway, and is horribly jerky around town.
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60k covered in DSG cars.
The only time I've found it jerky was when it developed a fault. Driving another car with DSG made it obvious that mine wasn't right.
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Worst automatic by far was the Ford Orion CVT. Drank petrol like it was going out of fashion. Absolute junk.
Best auto has been 4 speed Honda Civic, still going strong after 9 years. Beats me why Honda are now doing i-shift.
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Worst automatic by far was the Ford Orion CVT. Drank petrol like it was going out of fashion. Absolute junk.
>>>>>>>>>>>>> see my post Tue 19 May 09 18:57 :-)
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Beats me why Honda are now doing i-shift.
'Tis the quest for lower emissions!
I had a Citroen C4 1.6 HDI with EGS (automated manual) for a year and found it fine, once you had got used to its way of working. A similar 'box in a Smart 4-2 Brabus was a lot harder to get the hang of!
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I had a good run over some 7 years with Mini 1000 auto as far as the gearbox went. [ It ate free-end engine mounts though ]. Since then, I have had 20 years of [pre-Renault ] 2.6 and 3.0 l Nissans which behaved faultlessly. Whilst working in Australia, my company runabouts were 3.8 and 4.0 l Fords with auto boxes. The 1990 version used to "sing" at 40 mph, and cheerfully shuttle the gears. Real pest, and , as it was brand new, I took it back to main dealer to express displeasure. They said , "Dunno", and referred it back to Ford head office. Ford said, "Yes, we know. It is the hydraulic valves shuttling at high speed. Nothing can be done about it except to avoid that speed". They removed the problem in later models.
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