Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Plus Four, Supersport & Plus Six (CX & CXV Generation Vehicles) Manual or automatic Plus Four?

So yesterday I got to see my new car, and I really liked the colour, especially the interior looked stunning. :-)

There was only one problem...my dealer got two cars, ordered for demo use, yesterday. A gold automatic, and «my» blue manual. I have since I first heard about the new Plus Four been certain that I wanted a manual, and after driving the Plus Six, my desicision was validated.

The problem is that I fell hopelessly in love with the looks of the gold Plus Four. :-( 🥰

Has anybody drived both the manual and automatic version, and if so; what is your thoughts?

In the Plus Six I felt that the car was to jnpredictable and a bit scary with the automatic, and it also anoyed me that it was constantly changing gears. Mind you I intend to use the car as a GT more than an out and out sportscar.

The Plus Four auto won me over. Unlike the Plus Six you feel in control and the power deliver is stunning, the car really flies.
With the manual I often felt in the wrong gear for the power curve.

There's no chance of me ever being able to afford either, but as a life-long driver of cars with manual gearboxes I can say with absolute certainty that I would go for the automatic option on the Plus Four.

As requested by the factory and organised via AWSC I did a back to back road test and evaluation for the then new 4 seat and the revised Aero back in 2007 and one of the points I made in the article was to stop calling these cars automatics. Think of them more as ‘clutchless’ and you get closer to what they are, the modern day fully electronic and adaptive automatic gearbox is nothing whatsoever to do with the old-fashioned ‘slush box’ that was hydraulically controlled.

They are a total transformation and can be driven just as easily and with as much enjoyment as a conventional manual gearbox if you choose to do so.

As always I would want half an hour behind the wheel of both cars before signing anything and making a choice.

BR
Colin

That is 100% total sense, auto's are nothing like "auto boxes of old!"

My very first ‘factory’ training course was back in 1969, as an apprentice I was sent to BL, at that time the school was in Cowley, for a Borg Warner 35 Automatic Gearbox course. A full weeks training (little knowing 10 years later I would be an instructor at the school after it had moved to near Browns Lane Coventry!). Springs flaps and balls, a work of genius to operate the bands and clutches but they were dreadful ;-).

Many years later I sat in on Volvos Aisin Warner Auto Trans course at our school and all I recognised were the gear sets and clutches, all the control system was smoke and mirrors to me.

BR
Colin

Just my two cents, I'm off the market. I would strongly recommend anyone making such a large investment to test drive both cars thoroughly.
I believe that for the manual transmission the physical action speaks for itself, something most of us would not want to miss. We project our old expectations and habits onto the new car.
But...if, for example, for reasons of emissions or fuel economy, the manual gearbox should be extremely long, which some reviews suggest, then it is definitely no fun at all. Then you end up using two,three of six gears on the country road.

My feeling tells me that the automatic version of the Plus Four could fit very well because the engine is more lively and has shorter gears. So that the automatic doesn't shift around hectically and stupidly, you can drive in control mode with the shift paddles.

Just because the Plus Six puts too much on us or itself, this doesn't have to be the case with the Plus Four as an autobox. My intuition tells me it could be the better choice than the manual transmission. But as I said, I would definitely test drive both cars.

Buy in haste, repent at leisure ...

get it exactly as you want it, order your exact spec

Sounds like an auto Plus 4 is the way to go but it would tip me over the £80k mark on my spec list.

This is a nice (classic) P4 - unusual colour - not heard of it before and a snip at £55K old money mog.

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/morgan/plus-4/morgan-plus-4-2-0/10527033?utm_expid=.tpJdMtjvQA-ox8DOzal2LQ.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pistonheads.com%2Fclassifieds%2Fused-cars%2Fmorgan%2Fplus-4

Oops! Forgotten how to hyperlink.

Thank you guys! Your unanimous vote for an automatic has helped me to make up my mind. The order has been changed for the automatic car in white gold. She looks absolutely stunning! :-)