I switched to buying automatics for my daily driver around ten years ago when I was frequently getting stuck in traffic jams at the M25 Dartford Crossing. For those unfamiliar with it, this is a mysterious fault line in the time / space continuum that can magnify small traffic incidents and increase their scale to a million times greater than the original problem. Having wrought infernal misery upon the mortals trapped in this purgatory, the operators of the crossing then charge us an expensive toll for the privilege of enduring it. The constant tap dancing required by a manual gear shift became too much.
It is fair to say that the automatic gearshift also makes life a bit easier when trying to navigate around an unfamiliar city with busy traffic, but I also find the tremendous capabilities of my X3 combined with the ease of driving are not inspiring. In contrast I look forward to driving the Plus4 and I see it as 'real driving'. Thank goodness we can still have a real car!
