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Automatic gearbox
- Thread starter pjonesf1
- Start date
Well I'm the other way to you. For the last twenty years, with the exception of my kitcar, all my cars have been automatic by choice. Indeed I had a long search to find one particular car in auto format, the majority being manuals.
Earlier this year I bought a '15 Swift Lifestyle also based on a Ducato and my one big regret with it, is that it isn't an auto to the the extent that I'm trying to get quotes to convert it. To be fair I have found over the 4,000 miles we've done in it this year has been motorway based so the advantage of auto has been less pronoiunced than round town driving where auto really does come into it's own
My extensive experience with autos has been exemplary from a reliability and ease of use point of view. I have never had a breakdown caused by gearbox and in fact the only gearbox problem we've had in our family was with my son's two year old manual Landrover that ended up costing the warranty provider £3k.
The other point you should consider is that the base vehicle, the Fiat Ducato, is primarily designed and built for commercial van usage so the vehicle and especially the drivetrain is robustly built to handle the potential abuse of van drivers and is unlikely to be a problem for us careful more mature drivers 😱hmy:
Earlier this year I bought a '15 Swift Lifestyle also based on a Ducato and my one big regret with it, is that it isn't an auto to the the extent that I'm trying to get quotes to convert it. To be fair I have found over the 4,000 miles we've done in it this year has been motorway based so the advantage of auto has been less pronoiunced than round town driving where auto really does come into it's own
My extensive experience with autos has been exemplary from a reliability and ease of use point of view. I have never had a breakdown caused by gearbox and in fact the only gearbox problem we've had in our family was with my son's two year old manual Landrover that ended up costing the warranty provider £3k.
The other point you should consider is that the base vehicle, the Fiat Ducato, is primarily designed and built for commercial van usage so the vehicle and especially the drivetrain is robustly built to handle the potential abuse of van drivers and is unlikely to be a problem for us careful more mature drivers 😱hmy:
Strictly speaking, the Fiat is not an automatic gearbox. Fiat describe the Comfort-matic as "an innovative robotised transmission that combines the advantages of a manual gearbox (simplicity, fuel efficiency and performance) with the practicality and comfort of an automatic transmission."
It's been around for some time now and I'm not seeing the motorhome forums flooded with reliability problems. There are some known issues exacerbated by people not reading the manual first. I'm done over 22,000 miles in 3 years with a 130bhp plus Comfort-matic. Total reliability but not necessarily perfect.
It's slow off the mark in 1st gear so fast roundabouts need to be taken with care [its no slower than a lorry]. It can get confused by rapidly changing terrain that requires frequent gear changes - it can't keep up. It does have a sequential manual mode so when it does cause me some problems - usually on the seriously undulating hills of the Pennines, I switch to manual just with a sideways flick of the gear lever.
I find it provides effortless motoring in the UK for over 95% of the time. It's particularly useful in heavy traffic or when needing to make tight manoeuvres because it provides smooth operation.
I'd recommend the Comfort-matic. I'm just not totally convinced that the premium price is worthwhile. I'd probably prefer to spend the money on a 150bhp engine. However, if you want easy of driving, or have trouble changing gears manually, it will probably be some of the best money you can spend. If you can afford it and already have the 150bhp or bigger, then motoring nirvana is just a little step nearer.
It's been around for some time now and I'm not seeing the motorhome forums flooded with reliability problems. There are some known issues exacerbated by people not reading the manual first. I'm done over 22,000 miles in 3 years with a 130bhp plus Comfort-matic. Total reliability but not necessarily perfect.
It's slow off the mark in 1st gear so fast roundabouts need to be taken with care [its no slower than a lorry]. It can get confused by rapidly changing terrain that requires frequent gear changes - it can't keep up. It does have a sequential manual mode so when it does cause me some problems - usually on the seriously undulating hills of the Pennines, I switch to manual just with a sideways flick of the gear lever.
I find it provides effortless motoring in the UK for over 95% of the time. It's particularly useful in heavy traffic or when needing to make tight manoeuvres because it provides smooth operation.
I'd recommend the Comfort-matic. I'm just not totally convinced that the premium price is worthwhile. I'd probably prefer to spend the money on a 150bhp engine. However, if you want easy of driving, or have trouble changing gears manually, it will probably be some of the best money you can spend. If you can afford it and already have the 150bhp or bigger, then motoring nirvana is just a little step nearer.
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