Learning to drive in a manual transmission vehicle in the UK, has been the standard approach since the driving test began in 1935. This is also the case for most of Europe, however, countries like Australia, Canada, Japan & the US have steered towards automatic vehicles.
Passing your driving test in an automatic vehicle means you can’t drive a manual vehicle and historically that’s meant a big disadvantage when choosing a car. Historically there have been fewer automatic vehicles to choose from both in make & model and volume, therefore they have tended to be more expensive to buy. Reliability issues have also impacted people’s decisions as issues are typically expensive to fix.
Learning in an automatic has previously been used as an option for people who struggled with gear changing and was viewed as a quicker and sometimes easier way to pass their test and get on the road.
But that’s all about to change!
The way we power our vehicles not just in the UK, but across the world is changing. We are looking for a cleaner, greener, and more cost-effective way to power our vehicles.
Less time needed to pass than the national average
The UK government has banned the sale of new petrol or diesel vehicles in the UK from 2030. And it seems many manufacturers have chosen electric vehicles as the way forward. Electric vehicles have a battery that can be used either on their own or with the assistance of a petrol or diesel engine (hybrid). An electric vehicle is often heavier than a traditional combustion engine vehicle as the battery required to power a car is significant. As technology improves the size of the battery is getting smaller and therefore lighter.
Fully electric vehicles for many years were expensive to purchase and had limited mileage capabilities, this meant for many people it wasn’t realistic to move to a vehicle powered solely by electricity. As we move towards that key UK deadline, manufacturers have invested huge amounts of money and research into electric cars and now can reach over 350 miles in just one charge. With the technology built into an electric vehicle and the reliability that comes with fewer moving parts, there is less of a need for a human to manually change gear. The automatic transmission system is now just as efficient if not more so in some cases. The cost of an electric vehicle is still going to be an issue for many people, but as more competition enters the market, more affordable models are being produced.
The team here at RED is already preparing for a world where our cars are mostly electric and therefore automatic. However, this will be a gradual process and we want to mirror demand rather than force a learner’s hand.
An alternative to relying just on electricity is a vehicle powered by hydrogen. This means you’ll still have to visit a fuel station to power your vehicle, but instead of a traditional combustion engine, you’ll be using your hydrogen to power a new electric motor. Again, these hydrogen-powered vehicles are generally automatic.
Another reason for someone to choose an electric vehicle is how cost-effective it is to run. We have all seen recent prices soar at the fuel pumps and even with the cost of electricity doing the same, it’s still considerably cheaper to run an electric vehicle. Things to consider with charging include what time you are charging if you’re charging at home and what providers you use to charge your car on the public network.
With the future of vehicle production in the UK all pointing towards automatics, it is becoming less important for new drivers to be able to drive a manual vehicle. In the short term, it will be cheaper to buy a manual vehicle, but the gap between the two will become smaller as the number of automatics on the market increases.
We’ve got a special offer this spring to get new customers in the driving seat:
For more details and to buy, visit our offers page here.
Find out more here.
Our Driving Lesson Gift Vouchers make the perfect gift for someone who wants to get on the road quickly. Purchasing a RED Gift Voucher is simple and secure. Simply click this link and follow the steps to purchase a voucher from as little as £10.
*One of your free hours must be used on the day of your test. The 14 for 12 offer is not available to existing RED Driving School students and only one ‘14 for 12’ offer per learner.
In the initial years, it’s unlikely that learning to drive an automatic electric vehicle will be any cheaper than a manual. In fact, it will likely be more expensive than learning in a manual. Whilst the cost of running the car is less, the cost of purchase still significantly outweighs that benefit and therefore requires us to charge more. At RED you will find that automatic driving lessons are more expensive than lessons in a manual vehicle. The balance to this is that we’d hope that without the complexity of the clutch and changing gears you would take fewer lessons to reach test standards. We can’t guarantee this as everyone is different and develops at a different pace, but traditionally this has been the case.
The next step for vehicle development especially within the tech world is autonomous vehicles. We’ve already seen the early stages of this with brands like Tesla, however, there’s no doubt more brands will be investing in this technology moving forward. A question we get sometimes here at RED is ‘do I even need to learn to drive if all cars will drive themselves eventually?’. Well, the simple and short answer is YES! Put quite simply, this technology is still new and therefore still relatively untested and expensive. Things like legal responsibility if there’s an incident and the mix between autonomous vehicles and manually controlled vehicles still need work to understand. For years to come, we believe there will be a requirement for human intervention or at least human ability to take control if required.
Not sure which option to choose? Our call centre is always ready to help you! Give us a call, answer a few questions and we will suggest the best course that fits your needs just in 10 minutes.
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