Should you learn to drive in a manual or automatic car is a common question we’re asked.

There are many influencing factors, and questions you need to ask yourself to make sure you make the right decision for you.

The demand for manual and automatic driving instructors is roughly 50/50 at the moment.

These include:

  • A friend or relative owns a certain type of car, which you will be driving
  • What type of car you will be hoping to drive once you’ve passed your test?
    • This might be a hybrid (part electric) or full electric vehicle (commonly known as an EV), and therefore are automatic.
    • It might be a slightly older and cheaper to buy car, of which there is probably far more choice available if you have a manual licence.
  • More and more new automatic vehicles are being sold year on year as technologies develop and automatics become more affordable.
  • It used to be just bigger, more “executive” cars were automatic, but now automatics are readily available across the full model range, including small “city” cars, as well as family cars, SUVs, and even vans, lorries and buses.
  • Some car manufacturers have now stopped manufacturing and selling manaul cars.
  • If you are going to be driving around town more than open roads then automatics significantly reduce the effort needed, as there is no operating the clutch to change gear. In an automatic you use just one foot, with two pedals, one to stop and one to go.
  • You may have a medical reason.
  • You feel more comfortable not having to worry about the clutch, and have more time focus on the road.
  • Automatic driving lessons are often viewed as the easier and quicker way of passing the driving test.

You must remember though, that if you pass your test in an automatic, you will be restricted to only being permitted to drive an automatic. A test pass in a manual car will permit you to drive both manual and automatic vehicles. If you pass in an automatic, you can take another test in a manual car to upgrade your licence to manual. Let us know when you enquire what type of lessons you want.

ELITE Driving school have the choice of automatic or manual instructors in most areas we cover, including:

Some driving schools charge more for automatic lessons, but ELITE Driving School are fair, and charge the same price, regardless whether you decide to take manual or automatic lessons.

You can check out all of our manual and automatic driving instructor profiles, including their reviews from previous satisfied learners.

You can then check instructor availability and simply book in your first driving lessons online, and get your learning to drive journey underway.