Manual or Automatic Driving Lessons?
Should I learn in a manual or an automatic car?
When looking for an instructor consider what car they use. Is it a manual or an automatic?
While automatics are easier to drive as there is no clutch or gears to master, you won’t legally be able to drive a manual if you pass in an automatic.
Unless you’ve got disabilities preventing you from driving a manual, a manual licence will offer you more flexibility in the future but saying that so many new cars sold are now automatic, all your hybrid and electric cars will be automatic and almost all new lorries and buses sold today will also be automatic.
So the decision is yours but it looks like automatic vehicles are the future but if you decide to learn in a manual you will currently have more cars to choose from when you pass your driving test and the best bit, if you pass your manual driving test then you can drive automatic cars anyway.
Being restricted to an automatic gearbox
Passing your driving test in an automatic car means you might restrict what type of vehicles you can drive in the future such as vans or some lorries, saying that, most manufacturers now produce automatic versions of most vehicles including lorries and buses for example but if for example you applied for a job with a company using a mixture of manual and automatic vehicles your restricted licence could go against you if there are candidates with a full manual licence.