GoingIn2011

Are they mostly automatic over here?

I have never driven automatic before, is it the norm?

Thanks

Natalie

pricklykina

People do tend to like them here and most people I know have auto so there is no shame attached to them ( apart form when you have English visitors and they tell you that you are not proper driving and not in control....blah....blah...blah)

alanmacc

yup its pretty much the norm here for autos, as most cars are imported from the Jap market and the Jap market favors autos.

really east to drive, like a go cart, put it into "D" and off you go, just remember your left leg is useless, but i bet you try to press the clutch a few times before you realized there aint one there

hazeandsteve

......manuals are plentiful, get what you want (instead of online lessons.)

luvwelly

I got a manual but only because I feared the ridicule when I returned to UK if I'd forgotten how to gear change!
Hire cars here are mostly automatic as well.

Debbie2NZ

Manual cars are available in NZ. I made it my business to buy one.

luvwelly

In a nutshell: if you can drive a manual, you can drive an automatic easily....but the reverse is not true.

BEVS

I don't know anyone that drives an automatic and I've been here 7 plus years.

Don't fret. Just buy or hire the vehicle you are comfortable with.

HHmmm. You know what ? Gear changing and the like is all part of control. Especially on frosty roads, off road or hair pin jobbies. The brain sees and adapts.

theghostofdustybin

what ever you get be sure to start a thread about how everyone is a rubbish driver except you......

lardyl

or get the OH to have a manual, you get a more powerful auto and when you have to drive their clunker think of it as keeping your driving skills honed.

TBH though the advantages of the auto are reduced in NZ cause you don't change gear anywhere near as much as on the equivalent roads in the UK nor is there so much snow/ice (up here anyway) - but I was thinking of getting an auto back over there just so I could read me map, text, program the sat nav and eat lunch at the same time!