Caitlin Graham initially aimed to learn to drive in an automatic vehicle, anticipating a more streamlined testing process by bypassing the complexities of a manual gearbox.
However, the 22-year-old reports that the limited availability of automatic driving instructors, located more than 20 miles away, effectively steered her toward learning in a manual car.
Recent years have witnessed a subtle yet significant shift in driving preferences, with automatics now accounting for one in three cars on UK roads.
Notably, a quarter of all driving tests conducted in England, Scotland, and Wales last year were administered in automatic cars.
According to the AA, this trend is largely fueled by the UK’s impending ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, as electric cars are exclusively equipped with automatic transmissions.
This development presents a critical choice for aspiring drivers: to pursue learning and testing in either an automatic or a manual vehicle.
This decision carries long-term implications, as passing a test in an automatic restricts drivers to operating automatic and electric vehicles exclusively. Conversely, a manual license grants the freedom to drive both types.
However, many young individuals express concerns that this choice is not always readily available, citing a scarcity of instructors and higher lesson costs for automatic vehicles.
Others are wary of the potential challenges associated with learning in a manual car. Given the high demand for test slots and the extended waiting times for re-takes, some feel that an automatic license offers a more assured path to success.
Upon returning to her “super rural” Cumbrian home after university, Caitlin was eager to obtain her driver’s license quickly, given the absence of public transportation and her desire to secure employment.
Unable to find an automatic instructor, she opted for manual lessons and passed nearly a year after her initial lesson. In contrast, her sister, who learned to drive in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, passed her automatic test in just five months.
Contrary to popular belief, automatic tests are not inherently easier. Data from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) for the financial year ending 2025 indicates a higher pass rate for manual tests (50.4%) compared to automatic tests (43.9%).
“Individuals must still make sound judgments, maintain accurate observations, and drive at appropriate speeds,” notes Stewart Lochrie, chairman of the Approved Driving Instructors National Joint Council (ADIJC).
Cleo Moseley carefully considered her options. “Automatic felt like the slightly easier option,” she said, but “manual lessons were cheaper.”
Stewart from the ADIJC explains that automatic and electric cars generally cost more to purchase than manuals, leading instructors to charge higher rates to compensate.
Cleo adds, “I also didn’t know if I would be able to afford an automatic car at the end.”
The 25-year-old from Northumberland has ultimately decided to learn in a manual car.
“I did really think about it,” she says. “Automatic cars are basically becoming the norm. But I don’t see manual cars [being] the majority five, 10, 15 years from now, so I don’t think everyone should learn manual.”
For Luke Breaban-Cook, the decision was largely predetermined, as he passed his test after learning in his parents’ manual cars.
“They were the only cars available to me,” says the 18-year-old from Battle in East Sussex.
“I didn’t want to get my own car as it was too expensive,” he adds. “Plus I’m moving to London for uni and I’m not planning on driving there.”
Luke initially found clutch control challenging, admitting, “I stalled once in my test,” but he still passed on his first attempt.
Luke does not believe that every learner should take a manual test: “Even if there is a chance that you might have to drive a manual courtesy car or rental car, that chance is getting smaller and smaller.”
Automatic cars can offer enhanced accessibility for individuals with disabilities.
David Robinson, 29, from Cardiff, booked his driving test in September and faces a wait until February to take it.
He chose to learn in an automatic due to his dyspraxia, which affects movement and coordination.
“It just seemed like a better idea because I didn’t want to have to balance the clutch, the brake, the accelerator, check the revs, make sure I’m getting into the right gear,” he explains.
David has not ruled out obtaining a manual license in the future, but intends to assess the situation after the 2030 ban on new petrol and electric cars takes effect.
“It might be that in five years I don’t see the point,” he says.
“While the number of driving tests in automatic vehicles continues to rise, the vast majority of instructors are still teaching in manual cars,” notes Stewart from the ADIJC.
“This will change eventually, as the price of EVs continues to decrease, and driving instructors begin to see the commercial advantages of teaching in these kinds of vehicles.”
For the time being, a stigma remains attached to an automatic-only license, according to motoring journalist and author Maria McCarthy.
“People would say, oh, one day you might need to hire a van or hire a car on holiday and then you’ll need to drive a manual.”
“But these days when you hire a car or a van, most of them are electric. And how often do people do things like that anyway?”
Caitlin’s instructor eventually acquired a second automatic car, but by that point, she had “already committed lots of time to manual.”
Having passed her test in September and now driving her manual 2018 Volkswagen T-Roc an hour to her new job in Workington, she has no regrets.
“If I’d had the choice back then an automatic would have been the dream,” she says. “But now I’m glad I learned manual because I can drive any car and the insurance is cheaper.”
Additional reporting by Connie Bowker
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