How to learn to drive standard

The professionals won't mind as much if you grind a few gears in their car during the learning process, and likely have proven methods for teaching you effectively. Hopefully their prices are fair. In addition to getting the hang of the shift pattern, which depends on how many "speeds" the car has and how the gearbox is designed (and reverse is in a different place on different cars, sometimes with an extra button to push or shifter ring to pull up to get it into reverse), shifting involves letting up on the clutch pedal in a smooth, gradual motion. With a little time behind the wheel and behind the shifter, you'll get the hang of it. And the clutch on one car feels different than the clutch on another.

With more driving skills in your bag of tricks, you might even find you enjoy having that extra control over your machine, running thru the gears on a twisty road. As an added bonus, manual cars tend to get better gas mileage than automatics, although that depends on the car and the driver.

Yes, you should definitely take lessons from a driving teacher. The thing is, you also need to practice, ideally including with hills. The best way would be to rent or borrow a car with manual transmission. My first car was "stick" and I continued driving them for 20 years before I went to automatic. My last two trips included "stick" rentals and each time it took me a couple of days to get used to it.

Hello Andrea,
You could consider renting a manual car and asking that one friend to help you both learn the basic clutch work and shifting from 1st-2nd. You will need a large empty parking lot or something for practice. If you were able to get the shift clutch transmission down on a rental then your friend may be more willing to let you drive his car to learn the upper shifting, 3rd-5th. One of the hardest parts about driving a manual car is learning when to shift properly with out lugging down, revving or killing the engine too much. Another hard thing about manual is being able to engage/disengage the clutch without killing the engine. Which brings us to the hardest thing...engaging your clutch on a hill!!! Even a slight hill can feel like a mountain when you are trying to disengage the clutch, engage the gas and accelerate up the hill without rolling back into the car behind you (who is usually stopped too close to your bumper). You will want to practice this maneuver a lot, on an empty hill somewhere, before you will feel confident behind the wheel. Learning to drive manual well with confidence takes time. It is not something that can be learned overnight. Having said that though it is a very useful skill to have. You will never be limited on what you can drive/rent. Also, those of us who have driven manual for years will tell you that they really like it. Automatics are boring to us and do not encourage the driver to have the experience of controlling more aspects of how the vehicle handles. You may find you are a secret manual lover one day totally in love with how skilled a driver you have become! Perseverance is its own reward! Good Luck!

In most European countries, if you take your driving test in a car with an automatic transmission you get a licence which is only valid in cars with automatic transmission. To get a licence which is valid in all cars you must take your test in a car with a manual transmission.
The result is the only people who take their test in an automatic are those people who cannot drive a manual, for example for medical reasons. Everybody else takes their test in a manual.

Luckily for you licences from non-European countries are accepted for a short period only from tourists from countries which have more lenient test requirements, for example do not require tests to be taken in manual cars. This concession only applies temporarily for tourists. Immigrants from outside Europe have to take a driving test.
Consider yourselves lucky, sooner or later they will decide to abolish this loophole.

I agree with all of the previous posters about the necessity of learning now and getting practice. Some people pick up driving with a standard transmission quickly and easily, but others don't. You need to make sure that you're ready to go when you pick up your rental in Europe so that all you'll need to worry about is where you're going and how to read the different signage and not how to shift gears. Do not under estimate the warnings about learning how to shift gears on hills. I write as one of those people who didn't learn the standard transmission quickly, but I eventually mastered it. Will you be using right-hand drive cars anywhere? It's really a mind blower to suddenly have to shift gears with the left hand. That really requires a comfort level with standard transmissions. I know because I've had to do it in England and Wales.

Hi Andrea,

Yes, have someone instruct you either via driving lessons or rent a car and have a friend teach you. I have never owned a manual trans. car, but have had a motorcycle most of my life, so I'm used to a clutch and shifting. The only time I drive a stick car is on trips in Europe. The only thing that still makes me a bit nervous is stopping on a steep hill with a car right on my back bumper. This is very important to practice, practice, practice, as it will happen. Be prepared. That said, I do enjoy driving the manual trans. car while on our trips. Every car is different, so I always take a few minutes in the pick up parking garage going between forward and reverse before heading out.

Paul

Andrea, you are probably aware that even if you did request a rental car with auto trans, they may not have one when you show up. This is one reason that every driver should know how to drive a manual trans car, the other and bigger reason is in case of emergency, whether home or abroad, you can help drive!
I like the rent a car for a day with a friend idea. If there's not a suitable friend available, you may find help from someone who is into cars, such as a high schooler or an employee at the local auto parts store. For most people it takes an hour or two and you'll have the technique-it's not hard, just new.

Learning to drive a stick is one of the hardest things you will ever do.....but.....once you master it, it will be one of the easiest things you ever do.

I agree with everone who advises practice, practise, and more practice. A few lessons is likely not going to cut it. Consider that you will be driving strange roads, with strange signage in a foreign language and the last thing you want to do is to worry about stalling. Experienced manual transmission drivers never think about shifting, they just do it. New stick drivers think about it all the time.

Just got back from three weeks is Sicily. I've been driving a manual for decades so it was no problem, but I did see some people, likely Americans, who were struggling. Scary part is, here in the States the amount of cars with manual transmissions is decreasing yearly. Driving a manual is becoming a lost art.

When you are on vacation, the last thing you want is the added stress of being a relative newbee at driving a stick. Believe me, it will be stressful. Maybe stay with an automatic this trip and practice more for the next trip is the way to go.

Get professional help and, unfortunately, one you have the basics down you should rent a manual car for a couple of weeks. I have encountered a lot of things that were much harder to learn than driving a manual trans. We taught both of our sons to drive in less than an hour. And we always owned, just for that reason, at least one vehicle with a standard trans.

Wow, thank you all for such quick replies!

Regarding hill practice, luckily Peterborough, like Rome, is built on seven hills. In fact, we live at the top of one! I wouldn't have to leave my neighbourhood to master that skill.

Sara, my English expat friends detest standards and can't figure out why they are still the default over there, but I think they are the minority.

Dave, I have heard about people arriving at the rental depot only to discover they are not getting what they reserved, but each time we have rented we have discussed it at length on the phone with an agent. They always have told us that to guarantee an automatic, we'd have to make our way to particular depots, and pay in advance (otherwise they wouldn't ship one in for us). And we haven't been let down (yet).

Allen, we have plenty of time to figure this out since we won't be driving over there until next year (June or September) at the earliest. My biggest challenge is getting DH to get on it!! Maybe he'll get driving lessons for Christmas!

Thanks again everyone.

You might want to scope out the availability of manual transmission cars to rent -- around here it was slim to none (unless you wanted a Porsche/Maserati at $$$ per day -- and for those they wanted you to be an experienced manual driver so you wouldn't damage their expensive transmissions.) I was also looking to get driving lessons for DH so we would have more flexibility in renting.

Andrea, lots of good advice here. The one thing I can add is see if you can rent a diesel. Diesels are much more forgiving when shifting. I just got back from two weeks in France driving a diesel and had almost no problems even when starting up a hill. It did stall out the time I tried to start up in fourth, but that's pretty understandable. Diesels also get good gas mileage.

Andrea,

I'd also suggest signing up for lessons at a local driving school, as you'll get proper instruction from professionals. You might find that it only takes a few lessons and doesn't cost that much. Once you become comfortable with a manual transmission, it's somewhat like "riding a bicycle" and you don't forget, even if it's not something you do often.

I doubt that renting a vehicle with manual transmission will be possible. I don't know about Peterborough, but I haven't seen a standard transmission at the rental agencies in this area for a LONG time (I used to rent cars on a fairly regular basis). It would be better to learn the proper technique from a driving instructor, rather than just stumbling along on your own (IMO, as a "professional driver").

You'll have to check with your local driving schools, as not all of them may offer training with manual transmission. There appears to be one school in the Toronto area (shifters.ca) that specializes in that, however that would be a bit of a drive for you.

Good luck!

The only transmission I have driven for nearly 20 years is manual.

It will seem difficult on a hill to keep the brake on, gently accelerate the fuel, and let the clutch out gently, all at once - I mean, you only have two feet, right?

Remember that you don't need to do it all with your feet. That lever between the front seats is your friend. When you have stopped on a hill, use the handbrake. Than it is a simple (hah!, I hear you say) thing to use the two feet on the accelerator and clutch, and let the brakes off with the handbrake. Voila! No rolling back, and no panic.

Once you learn, you will never regret the flexibility you will have, along with the feeling of freedom that comes from knowing you can drive just about anything.

Back in the dark ages (1960) when I got my driver license at 14 (you could do that in TX then), my driving school vehicle was an automatic. I was upset because we owned no automatic vehicle. I took the lessons and did most of my practice in our 56 Ford. I also took and aced my driving test in that Ford.

Hearing stories like this make me feel so lucky. We own 2 automatics and one stick shift vehicle, and of course my husband's race car is a stick shift. I don't drive that, but I feel equally comfortable driving the automatic 4WD 1-ton dually as the 1986 MR2 as my Highlander daily driver.

I know that confidence comes from being able to drive both manual and automatic transmissions. I feel like I could drive just about anything to help out in an emergency, which is why I got my license so early in the first place.

When you develop your manual transmission muscle memory, you'll have that confidence, too.

The OP said she doesn't know any body with a stick shift. They are getting harder to find. For my current ride, I had to drive 600 miles to Fargo, ND to find a dealer who had the model I wanted on their lot with a stick shift. Turns out they got it by mistake and were happy to make a good deal.

I agree that driving a stick is an important life skill, like learning to play the piano or speak French, only not as difficult or time consuming. Once mastered, you can tell stories with other cognoscenti that will make automatic-only drivers envious. Like the time a squirrel stored a black walnut in my linkage and I had to drive to Chicago with only 3 of 6 gears functioning.

Suggest training be on a gravel parking lot, as it is somewhat forgiving compared to concrete or asphalt surfaces.

Listen to Bill Cosby's Driving in San Francisco monologue before trying hills.
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Bill Cosby - Driving in San Fransisco: http://youtu.be/oOmayx2JBs8

Does anyone remember the hill release clutch in the 60s? I think it was Dodge (maybe others) that a built-in brake release with the clutch that was very easy to use on hills. Whatever happen to that system? Must have had a failure rate or it would still be around today. In those days the seat in front was a bench, and the brake release was on the left and had to be pulled and twisted to release. A bit trickier than the brake release between the seat.

@Andrea-to your English expat friends who detest standards and can't figure out why they are still the default over there, the answer is motoring heritage -- MG, Jaguar, Austin-Healey, Triumph, Mini Cooper, Lotus, and so on . . .

@Sam-you had a 6-speed nutcracker ! Silly squirrel.

I fondly remember my 5 speed Datsun and though I sorta-kinda knew how to drive a stick shift, that first trip home from the car lot was a bit scary. The first hills even more so. It only took a day or 2 to get used to driving, but hills stayed scary for a while longer. Short time later, I was able to advance up to driving a deuce and a half truck that needed double clutching. Those were fun!

I think you might want to look at what these lessons will cost you and compare it to the increased cost of renting an automatic. Even or a lot more? Have you thought about taking a train? :-)

Jo, we enjoy the convenience of a car, but use a train when more appropriate. The area I am considering exploring next is Alsace, so I think a car would be best. We would be there for four or five days, and then turn it in and head into Switzerland by train.

I contacted two local driving schools and neither offer standard lessons. I am going to try to get more information on the website Ken found.

Frank,

Subaru still has the anti-rollback clutch.

Andrea- this might be a long shot, but are there any enthusiast car clubs in your area (BMW, MG, Porsche, etc.) who might have suggestions or opportunities for you to learn to drive a stick? Any car dealers of those marques (or even of "regular" cars or trucks) who might have a suggestion?

Cyn, that is a good idea except Peterborough is Hicksville! Red-neck Canada, and insular to boot. I don't think that would work. Was thinking maybe kijiji - maybe there's someone out there who wouldn't mind making some extra cash. Or maybe I'll just continue to stump up for the automatics.

Andrea,

A few additional comments......

You might also try CAA on this website....

http://www.caasco.com/Auto/Driver-Training/Beginner-Driver-Training-Course.aspx

There's a list of "approved schools" on the website (but alas none in Peterborough).

Even if you normally use public transit in Europe and drive an auto transmission at home, this would be a good time to get "up to speed" (so to speak) on driving a manual transmission as it's a good skill to have. Once you get used to driving a standard it becomes very intuitive. I don't have any difficulty with them at all (even on hills) even though I haven't driven one for awhile (my present vehicle is an auto - I suppose I'm getting lazy in my old age). I used to do a bit of drag racing in the '60s, and proficient coordination between the clutch and gas was a necessity. Some of the others used an electric brake on the front wheels (which would help on hills too), but I never bothered with that.

I saw a news item in the spring that indicated North American car manufacturers were considering doing away with sales of standard transmission vehicles here, because so few people order them. That hasn't happened yet and I doubt that it will, as there will probably always be a small number of enthusiasts ordering cars with manual shifters. From what I've seen, the situation is the exact opposite in Europe and other parts of the world.

driving a deuce and a half truck that needed double clutching. Those were fun!

Noisy, too, if what you are talking about, Jo, is an Army deuce and a half. All wheel drive, too.

But my overwhelming memory is loud.

See if you can get a Peugeot Megane, small hatchback with a combi-automatic transmission. You can drive it in "manual mode" (but no clutch) or full automatic. Loved it.

I realize that you are in Canada, and these people are in Atlanta, but you might want to contact them to see if they know anyone in your area that teaches stick shift.

http://www.stickshiftdrivertraining.com/home

As others noted, driving manual takes practice, but easy to grasp if you get enough hours in. It's kind of like learning to ride a bike, once you get it, you get it. I grew up in the States, and learned to drive with a manual, took my driver's test with a manual, and currently still own and drive one. I've noticed that muscle memory plays a huge role as whenever I get in my husband's car, my foot automatically searches for the clutch to put the car in neutral. It's kind of seems involuntary at this point. There are some YouTube videos that may give you a bit of a background to work off of. I think it's a great "skill" to have, and as you noted, it can save money with rentals in other countries.

Nigel - you are correct. No shocks to speak of either.

no one added the REAL way to learn to drive a stick.....like I did at age 12.......on a tractor.

I could still do that, shift gears, etc.....as long as no one expects a top speed of me of more than 5 mph !!!

Just saw Sam's comment about a combi-transmission car he loved, but the Mégane is a Renault model, not Peugeot, whose models carry numbers rather than names.

I'm with the "do it, you'll love it" crowd. Drove my manual Honda Civic for 18 years (pause to shed a tear for the dear old rust bucket) and now have a boring old automatic Subaru. Which means I haven't taught my kids to drive a standard, bad momma! How about just buying an old clunker with a manual transmission for $1000 and practicing on it until it dies? The Internet can be your teacher and you can practice with no one watching and wincing.

Only one thing to add - once you have mastered the skill on a particular car, don't be upset with yourself if you stall a few times in a different rental car. Even though you're doing it right, clutches all have a little different feel, and you have to add a little more or a little less gas as you come off the clutch. I did most of the driving on our last few trips to Europe, and got the odd raspberry from my family members when I'd stall at a stop sign. Until I put my husband in the driver's seat, and he did the same thing. Then it was all understanding and sweetness...especially since the reason I drove was I was the only one who could read the road signs in those strange languages ;)

I remember needing 40 years ago to learn how to drive a stick. Fortunately, a friend sat beside me as I drove her Fiat. But these days standard transmissions are becoming a thing of the past. The reason? today's six- and seven-speed automatic transmissions get better gas mileage, and the automakers need to comply with fuel economy standards.

These days I would definitely go to a driving school. Learning to drive a standard transmission satisfactorily will not take terribly long -- at most a day. Learning how to drive a standard transmission really well does take time and experience. To be satisfactory, you need to learn: (a) how to judge whether to shift; (b) how to change gears; and (c) how to use a clutch and let up on a clutch gradually so that you don't stall constantly.

What matters is safety and for that you must be confident in using this kind of cars. Learning is not directly difficult, you have to built up some routine and with that the confidence. You have to know before what to do in different situations like for instance emergency braking, for learning this a driving school is certainly not a bad idea. Expect things like stalling will happen, but with enough routine it will help to remain more calm at those moments, and handle the situation better. So be prepaired well.

The first driving lesson starts here learning to use the clutch and gear lever, in my case at an abandoned country road. Each lesson I noticed getting more routine and it became gradually a second nature. It really helps to remain more rational and act safely in all kinds of situations.

How long will you be in Europe? If 21 days or more, look at the leasing programs of Renault or Peugot, then you can get an automatic.

Stephen, we looked into the lease when we were in France for three weeks a few years ago. At the time I couldn't figure it out - it seemed to be valid for Americans but not Canadians. Since then someone I know did it so there is a way, I'd just have to look further.

I floated the idea of driving lessons to DH as his Christmas gift and he was decidedly unimpressed. I think we are destined to continue to pay the exorbitant fees for automatic, as well as continuing the journey to the depots where they "guarantee" they'll have one.

Thanks all.

Andrea - this has certainly been a lively and well-attended topic. So I'll try to limit myself only to a different perspective - SAFETY and peace of mind. I'm fortunate in that I learned to drive with manual transmissions, owned serveral, and have rented cars in Europe on approx. 15 occassions (usually two weeks at a stretch).
I would appear that your main concern is "paying thru the nose" - sorry but this is hard to quantify. Are you talking about an extra $250, $500 or $1000? Covering a week, two or month? What might your cost be for learning how to drive a manual transmission before your trip (lessons? renting a car for practice?). Perhaps, at the end of your efforts you'll be a competent "rookie" driver for manual tranmissions, how might the extra "concentration" on the use of the clutch and shift mechanism detract from your challenges of driving in an entirely new environment (UK or Ireland, round abouts, signs in a different language, managing a GPS, cobblestones, hedgerows, etc.).
Now please don't get me wrong - I LOVE driving abroad. But, you may want to consider renting an automatic so that you are not distracted by your emerging skills with a manual trans.

as we were wrapping up our time in Italy, one of our number was staying behind to connect with some other friends and was attempting to rent an automatic car. even tho she had a reservation, she spent about 48 intense hours "negotiating" with the company to make sure they would really have her car for her when she went to pick it up. not fun. another reason to try to head off the whole thing while you are stateside.

Andrea, I read your last post to say you had to travel to the "remote despots" to get your car.................

I have been driving a manual car for 53 years. The rest of the family have all gone 'soft' and drive autos. I don't believe you could have a couple of lessons, a couple of days practise and take on driving in Europe. Thinking back to when our kids got their driving licences, they had a month or two of driving manuals with me. They had at least 3 driving lessons with an accredited instructor before they were competent enough to take their driving licence test. Driving a manual needs to be instinctive. Pay the extra for an auto.

Judy, it is unfair to compare the time a rookie 17-year old driver takes to progress from auto to manual than an adult with years of experience.

A variety of car that is becoming more common in Europe is the semi-automatic car, and even more clutch control. These mean a car with with a stick, but an automatic clutch control (you just press it down to engage a new shift, and it won't kill the engine unless you select a gear way ahead of what it should be).

I would always advise if you are used to an automatic, to rent an automatic. It will save the hassle. When there is talk of transmission types of cars I always think of the stats I ran across. According to the stats I can find in the UK in 2013, 75% of new car sales were manual. In the US it was 4%. I am already resigned should I go to the US or Canada to getting an automatic.