Same old question... Auto vs Manual...sorry...

I have about 1 week to finalize my order and that's the one thing I can't seem to decide about. I've read all the threads about the subject multiple times. It seems that the choice is a matter of priorities so I was hoping that stating mine and than asking the advice of people who have received their cars would be helpful. I have test driven both but not back to back and I don't have the possibility to do so here. I drove first an SD4 manual, loved it. Then a TD4 manual, didn't like it. As last I drove a SD4 auto, loved it but probably still had the TD4 in mind to compare.

So, mpg is not the biggest issue, neither is the difference in price although it would mean a 2000 euro difference + about 500 euro tax difference.

I will use the car mostly for home-work traffic which is about 15km one way not heavy traffic and a few times per year a 600km drive to visit family.
I've never owned an auto and I have no problem with driving manuals. Shifting manually doesn't annoy me but I don't take a great pleasure from it either.
It's my first RR, I had a LR Defender before and I loved it.
My current car is a Vectra GTS, 150hp, obviously manual.
I chose the SD4 because I wanted better performance.
I don't like a car that is sluggish and I like it to be responsive on throttle inputs.
I don't care if I'm a dot on the horizon as soon as the traffic lights turn green but I don't want hesitation when overtaking so I think the 0-60 time is not representative for this.

My worry is that the auto would feel sluggish or hesitating.
If I'd opt for the manual I'd use the money to add the Nav which I didn't take now due to budget.

I'm sorry to bother again with the same old issue..

I'm in exactly the same position as you except for the Vectra (Honda CRV).The same questions. It's been on my mind day and night, but when i went to pre order my Evoque today i finally decided on automatic. Almost everyone says: automatic of course for that car! I tried a TD4 and it felt fine, not sluggish. I'm getting a TDS so it will be even better. It was a treat at traffic lights I must say.
You must have ordered by now, what did you decide?

Now I have my car I'm thinking I should have got a auto but the extra 4 to 5000 euro where I live put me of.
I do love the manual but I feel the auto would have felt better and I'm not sure about the smoothness of the gear changes of the low gears.
If I was in the uk I think I would have got a auto in a shot

SD manual will keep you happy - the auto is quicker on paper and fuel economy in thereal world seems to be broadly similar. I'd like an auto myself but the Evoque's auto box is kind of dated if you have driven say an Audi/Vw with a dual clutch DSG transmission and use that as a baseline comparison (which I couldn't help doing myself as its my benchmark).

If you are OK with a manual (and the shift quality is excellent anyway) select that and have the Nav (and all the bits that are included).

Quote:I'm in exactly the same position as you except for the Vectra (Honda CRV).The same questions. It's been on my mind day and night, but when i went to pre order my Evoque today i finally decided on automatic. Almost everyone says: automatic of course for that car! I tried a TD4 and it felt fine, not sluggish. I'm getting a TDS so it will be even better. It was a treat at traffic lights I must say.
You must have ordered by now, what did you decide?

Good to see I'm not alone losing sleep over this! I ordered on the 19th of january but this thread I created about 20mins ago.. I first ordered a manual, then switched to auto, then manual and now I have it back on auto since a week or two.. I must make my final decision in a week or so.

I'm just afraid that in my head I'm overrating the auto and that I'll regret not having taken a manual..

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(06-03-2012 05:45pm)Rootsboy Wrote:  Now I have my car I'm thinking I should have got a auto but the extra 4 to 5000 euro where I live put me of.
I do love the manual but I feel the auto would have felt better and I'm not sure about the smoothness of the gear changes of the low gears.
If I was in the uk I think I would have got a auto in a shot

Thank you for the reply. Could you please tell me where you think that your manual is lacking compared to the auto? Why do you expect the auto to be better?

I was lucky enough to do a land rover evoque experience day and managed to drive a td4 manual, an sd4 manual and a sd4 auto, all three were very impressive and gave me a really good chance of comparison, I now have a td4 manual and find it very responsive, I was expecting it to be slow as it is the lower powered but it is torquey and feels punchy.
Some of the threads you may have seen suggest a lazy auto gearbox, the sd4 dynamic auto I drove was a rocket.
Whichever one you go for I am sure you will be happy with both the power and fuel consumption, it comes down to a matter of personal choice. Tim has mentioned that these new autos learn driving style. The lower the mileage when you receive the car the better the chance of the car learning your driving style.
Or you could simply remove the battery lead for 20 mins and this will clear all previous memories and then drive the car to your style and the shift patterns will be optimum for you.
Obviously the manual will give you the best mpg, but for comfort the auto is nice.
I get taxed on co2 so the manual was my first choice.

Hope this helps you.

(06-03-2012 05:09pm)Kimv Wrote:  I have about 1 week to finalize my order and that's the one thing I can't seem to decide about. I've read all the threads about the subject multiple times. It seems that the choice is a matter of priorities so I was hoping that stating mine and than asking the advice of people who have received their cars would be helpful. I have test driven both but not back to back and I don't have the possibility to do so here. I drove first an SD4 manual, loved it. Then a TD4 manual, didn't like it. As last I drove a SD4 auto, loved it but probably still had the TD4 in mind to compare.

So, mpg is not the biggest issue, neither is the difference in price although it would mean a 2000 euro difference + about 500 euro tax difference.

I will use the car mostly for home-work traffic which is about 15km one way not heavy traffic and a few times per year a 600km drive to visit family.
I've never owned an auto and I have no problem with driving manuals. Shifting manually doesn't annoy me but I don't take a great pleasure from it either.
It's my first RR, I had a LR Defender before and I loved it.
My current car is a Vectra GTS, 150hp, obviously manual.
I chose the SD4 because I wanted better performance.
I don't like a car that is sluggish and I like it to be responsive on throttle inputs.
I don't care if I'm a spot on the horizon as soon as the traffic lights turn green but I don't want hesitation when overtaking so I think the 0-60 time is not representative for this.

My worry is that the auto would feel sluggish or hesitating.
If I'd opt for the manual I'd use the money to add the Nav which I didn't take now due to budget.

I'm sorry to bother again with the same old issue..

In my view, you are a natural auto driver!

I have only just taken delivery, so, in a way, it's not fair to comment too authoritatively, but the auto box seems fine to me, and don't forget you've got paddle shifts as well, which work really well. Plus you've got a 'sport' setting which holds the gears and doesn't use the high top gear. I also think residuals will be better on an auto, as this, to many people, is the 'natural' choice for RR owners.

I've had automatic gearboxes on Mercs. for years, and the best compliment I can pay the Evoque is that I drove all the way home and never noticed the gear box at all, so it was doing everything 'right' for me. My final point would be that, for any sort of stop start traffic or queuing, auto, is so much easier.

I originally chose a manual but then changed to auto and glad I did. There's always the paddles if you want to play and also the sport mode ( which I havent used).

This is my second auto and feel it suits the car, plus I suppose as I get older I'm becoming a lazier driver and the auto makes everything effortless especially in slow moving traffic.

Only niggle is a slight flat spot when crawling then accelerating. Am sure this will be sorted by dealer.

Good luck with your choice.

Has to be an auto, it isn't one of the highest tech autos but mated to the 2.2 diesel it works well and you have to be doing something silly not to have almost seamless gear changes, even with the paddles the changes are very smooth.

I ordered my first auto, mainly because I'm bored with the gear changes in heavy traffic, where I spend quite some time.

I tested the TD4 and the engine is more than powerful enough for me. You do feel a bit of lag while overtaking as the gearbox shifts down. Apart from that the ride is very smooth and you find yourself speeding before you notice.

One thing I forgot to check is the flappy paddles, I don't think they come with the TD4. I would have taken the SD4 if it weren't for the taxes, based on the looks only.