In Sept my wife and I are planning a 12 day Cotswold, Peaks, Lakes, and Edinburgh car trip. An automatic cost about $120 more than just manual. Although that's a couple of nice meals, entrance fee to sites, etc., but for just $10 per day I am thinking it's probably worth it to make a more pleasant country car tour for 2 weeks.
Thoughts and advice. Thank you.
If you are inexperienced with the techniques of UK driving , generally referred to as " driving on the left " ( more to it than that ) ,an automatic will be one less thing that provides a distraction while you adapt to driving there . I view driving in the UK as neither a horror show OR a stroll in the park , it's a middle ground -- there is a learning curve , and some drivers learn more easily than others . Having a car in the rural areas that you mention enable you to see things that you won't be able to duplicate using public transportation . I love driving there , having become used to the technical aspects ( narrow and winding roads , hedgerows , curbed roads with few soft shoulders , etc. ) Drop the car before you get to Edinburgh , it's useless there , but the Cotswolds , and the Peak District are absolutely heavenly with a car ,
I highly recommend paying the extra for the automatic, even if you know how to drive a stick (with your right hand). Shifting with your left adds yet another layer of disorientation to your driving experience, and since it's potentially a personal safety issue and as well as a stress reducing issue, go ahead and treat yourself to the automatic.
This just isn't to make your experience more pleasant, it's potentially a personal safety and financial issue.
I take my own advice when renting in UK, and drive a stick everywhere else in Europe.
But don't just check the automatic box in the online form and think that takes care of it in the UK. It doesn't. If you really want an automatic, I suggest you do what I've done and telephone the UK office about two days before your departure, reference your contract # so they're looking at your info, and tell them "I really, really want an automatic." That should do it, at least it's worked for me in situations where I realized later that if I hadn't done it, I would have gotten to the rental lot and been told, "sorry sir, we're out of automatics."
It's different over there.
I agree with the above, an automatic will simplify driving in the very different way you'll have to learn. I found it helped a lot, especially since I found left-side driving harder than I'd expected to. I use a stick on the Continent when I'm on the right side of the road, but I prefer an automatic in the UK. Besides the cost (worth it IMHO), another disadvantage may be getting a bigger car than you would otherwise. Roads can be narrow and windy, shoulders can be stone walls. But for the places you're going, apart from Edinburgh, driving will make a much easier and better trip.
Thank you very much. Auto it is!!
Good move , start by reading up about traffic regulations in Britain at these sites , courtesy of MC , who posts regularly on the Scotland thread ----- https://www.gov.uk/browse/driving/highway-code , https://www.learnerdriving.com/learn-to-drive/highway-code/road-signs
If you have never driven in the UIK or on the other side of the road, go for the automatic. I am very comfortable with a manual and am eternally frustrated and annoyed by how hard it is to buy a vehicle in the U.S. with a manual (even trucks), but on each of the last two summers in the UK I was glad for the automatic. It's one less thing to worry about and to distract you. On the main roads ("motorways" and "dual carriage ways") I was fine and might go for a manual, but once we got off the main roads in the Cotswolds, Lake District, Wales, and Scotland I was thinking getting the automatic might be one of the best decisions I made for the trip(s). Think about some of the narrowest, steep roads you've driven, with blind turns and hardly anywhere to pull over. Now throw in shifting with your left hand. That's something I still prefer to avoid.
