Posted on 10 Mar 2013
Absolutely!
I passed my car test in 1972, having had a motorcycle licence since 1965. (Yes, I am that old.) Until 2003 all my various vehicles were manual and autos were "not for proper drivers," possibly unreliable, needing extra cooling for the transmission fluid and hideously expensive to repair compared to a new clutch.
What changed?
I'd been towing since 1988 when in 2003 I bought a new diesel Mondeo 2 litre manual. The engine was great except it had little or no torque until the turbo kicked in at around 1800 rpm. Also the gearing, particularly in reverse, was rather high. The car had one of the recent "dual mass" flywheels (part of the clutch). These appear to be somewhat less robust than earlier designs.
A consequence of the need for revs, together with high gearing meant that manoeuvring involved rather more clutch slipping than is ideal. For the first time in years of caravan towing I smelled burnt clutch when reversing upwards onto a sloping pitch.
I thought automatic. I wasn't wrong.
Since then I have towed with a Rover 75, Kia Sorento and now a Skoda Superb, all automatics, without any extra cooling or special modifications. In all I've covered about 150,000 miles, including about 20,000 towing (we tow to the South of France every year) with no trouble at all. The only downside is increased fuel consumption, particularly in the Sorento, although the Superb's consumption isn't too far off the quoted figures I've seen for the manual.
Go for it! It's so much more relaxing on today's crowded roads. With cruise control and an automatic, towing a heavy caravan, or even a light one, on the motorway is just so stress free.
