Automatic transmission or manual in a sporty Merc?

[popuptoaster]

Really?

Some people two foot their autos i've heard it before, loading up the torque converter on the brakes used to be our version of launch control! Personally i wouldn't bother in any Merc these days, they started fitting the brake assist as standard in the mid 90s and it already pumps up the system if it notices you take your foot off the accelerator quickly so you don't gain anything by hitting the brake before lifting off the gas, in fact you possibly get less braking effort? I don't know if the system works if it detects you foot still on the go pedal?.

 

[Londonscottish]

I’ve never met anybody who thinks that.

Really? I suppose they're normal in A Classes but that's about it.

They are vanishingly rare in the mid-size to large Mercs. About 15 years I was in a manual E Class taxi in Belgium. So that's one E Class.

One of my neighbour once bought a manual C Class. So that's one C Class.

I don't think ANYONE would expect a manual box in an E, an S or an SL. Or a CLS, GLE or CL for that matter

 

[GeeJayW]

Left foot for braking. So much smoother and safer too. (Can cover brake without lifting throttle as a just-in-case without bozo behind getting too close).

Our other cars are manual, so left-foot braking is not something I'm a fan of. If it works for you, all well and good, but it's not for me.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Deleted

 

[Bellow]

Personally i wouldn't bother in any Merc these days, they started fitting the brake assist as standard in the mid 90s and it already pumps up the system if it notices you take your foot off the accelerator quickly so you don't gain anything by hitting the brake before lifting off the gas, in fact you possibly get less braking effort? I don't know if the system works if it detects you foot still on the go pedal?.

BAS has no way of knowing you are going to brake until your foot is on the brake pedal - which doesn't happen when it's still on the throttle pedal.
Would you advise a motorcyclist not to cover the brake lever and pedal in a situation where the brakes may be required, but if not, closing the throttle is unwelcome?
At 60mph, in the 0.6 seconds it is reckoned to take to swap pedals - distance travelled is 50+ feet. BAS doesn't give you that back.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Seven speed works very well in the R171 55.

Drive a 9 speed and then tell me again!

However - I believe that the 7 Spd boxes in the AMGs were different and presumably better.

 

[Bellow]

Our other cars are manual, so left-foot braking is not something I'm a fan of. If it works for you, all well and good, but it's not for me.

Truth is it is only going to work if you can avoid manuals. Swapping between the two is a nightmare!

 

[tbourner]

All the best and fastest cars are auto.

 

[popuptoaster]

BAS has no way of knowing you are going to brake until your foot is on the brake pedal - which doesn't happen when it's still on the throttle pedal.
Would you advise a motorcyclist not to cover the brake lever and pedal in a situation where the brakes may be required, but if not, closing the throttle is unwelcome?
At 60mph, in the 0.6 seconds it is reckoned to take to swap pedals - distance travelled is 50+ feet. BAS doesn't give you that back.

If you check how it works you'll discover the system actually powers up the brakes hydraulics when it detects you lift you foot suddenly off the throttle so that by the time you hit the brake pedal it's already at full power, the more modern cars with radar and other sensors also incorporate those so it's even faster, so yes, it does know you want to stop quick before you hit the brake pedal, It was originally designed to combat most drivers habits of not stepping on the brake pedal hard enough and apparently can stop you 20% faster than without it operational or for the full on automatic versions over 40% quicker.

I drive a truck and have had a lot of old cars with no servos so i'm used to braking hard but my AMG still caught me out once, someone chopped into my lane so i had to hit the brakes and the car braked a LOT harder than i was expecting. I looked into it when I got home 'cos I thought the brakes had grabbed and got locked on as can happen with a knackered disc or bad pad, but turns out is perfectly normal, the car "helps" if it thinks you want to stop quick.

 

[Bellow]

If you check how it works you'll discover the system actually powers up the brakes hydraulics when it detects you lift you foot suddenly off the throttle so that by the time you hit the brake pedal it's already at full power,the more modern cars with radar and other sensors also incorporate those so it's even faster, so yes, it does know you want to stop quick before you hit the brake pedal, It was originally designed to combat most drivers habits of not stepping on the brake pedal hard enough and apparently can stop you 20% faster than without it operational or for the full on automatic versions over 40% quicker.

No braking though is performed before the brake pedal is pushed. And I can get to that point sooner. And, because I'm capable of lifting the throttle quickly and simultaneously, I get all the benefit of the primed BAS - but sooner.

You travel 50 feet at 60mph while you are shuffling your right foot across but really want to stop. That's a huge margin to give away.

 

[Darrell]

Really? I suppose they're normal in A Classes but that's about it.

They are vanishingly rare in the mid-size to large Mercs. About 15 years I was in a manual E Class taxi in Belgium. So that's one E Class.

One of my neighbour once bought a manual C Class. So that's one C Class.

I don't think ANYONE would expect a manual box in an E, an S or an SL. Or a CLS, GLE or CL for that matter

Obviously in the larger cars an auto is to be expected but I meant the A,B,C, CLK, SLK and the SLC.
My W202 was manual because I bought it used and that’s what it came with. My sister specced her long gone and shyte W203.

 

[GeeJayW]

Obviously in the larger cars an auto is to be expected but I meant the A,B,C, CLK, SLK and the SLC.
My W202 was manual because I bought it used and that’s what it came with. My sister specced her long gone and shyte W203.

Our (R171) SLK200 was manual and I MUCH preferred it over the auto version. On paper I think the auto is a tenth or two quicker to 100km/h, but driving enthusiastically along B-roads our manual was a LOT of fun. When I drove the auto version, I just felt isolated somehow. Thought the same when I drove the R172 SLK250 (not diesel) demonstrator. Nice car, but I didn't like it with the auto box. Our MX-5 is manual, wouldn't have it any other way.

On the other hand, the C220d Coupe (C204) we had and our current C250d Estate (S205)... both 7G+ auto and I'm quite happy with that. Don't feel the need to row along, but the C250d can definitely crack on when asked.

 

[Bellow]

For me, it's less about auto or manual but eliminating the clutch pedal. Just about any transmission that does that will be fine by me though preferably without a 'gated' gear change (sequential is fine).
IMO, AMTs were abandoned too soon - in favour of DSG. Lighter than DSG and generally less troublesome had it not been for the crudity of the earlier programming, they maybe would have caught on.
Another regret is that CVT hasn't been a total success. Too many troublesome iterations hasn't helped but for as long as they insist on all control being by hydraulics, the parasitic losses will be high. Sledders control theirs by purely mechanical means. A hybridised version with mechanical elements doing the heavy lifting and electrohydraulic fine control could reduce those losses and make it the most efficient transmission bar none.

 

[Yugguy]

Active brake assist will apply the brakes before you do if it is enabled.

 

[E55BOF]

Even the AMG e class cars are not really "sporty" IMO, to big and lardy to feel sporty, if your divers seat weighs more than you do your car is never going to be sporty!

In that case, the Citroen 2CV was exceedingly sporty....

 

[Bellow]

In that case, the Citroen 2CV was exceedingly sporty....

Name another road car that had zero compliance (ie no rubber) in either its suspension location or brake lines.

 

[Londonscottish]

Obviously in the larger cars an auto is to be expected but I meant the A,B,C, CLK, SLK and the SLC.
My W202 was manual because I bought it used and that’s what it came with. My sister specced her long gone and shyte W203.

Yeah fair enough you're right; there is a split in the range these days from "always auto" to "usually manual".

I'm just old (and old school). I was introduced to mercs in the 90's via E Classes & S Classes and have only had big engined C's and E's myself. Looking at things through that prism.

 

[Alex]

I went with a manual gearbox in my E55. The choice of gears available, simplicity of setup, two overdrive gears, as well as instant response from a short throw stick makes it immense fun to drive. I wouldn’t want your modern 67-gear auto in it.

 

[Darrell]

I do like having an auto Jaaag though.
It means I can use my old Motorola brick phone comfortably without crashing.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Not long now and you will not be able to buy a car with a manual gearbox, the blind panic to reach 'plucked out of the air' pollution target's will force car manufacturers to take all engine control away from the driver until they sort out how the F they are going to make their dream of autonomous electric cars a reality.

My car is the first automatic I have ever owned and now find driving a manual a bit of a chore. But I would never want my motorcycles to be automatic ...ever