# Stick Shift vs Automatic vs Single Pedal **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 17, 2025, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932 "2025-11-17T20:49:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2025, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/81 "2025-11-20T22:51:54Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > In the UK you can opt to qualify as a driver of automatic vehicles only: IIRC in Australia if you take your driving test in an automatic vehicle you’re only licensed to drive automatics, but if you take it in a manual you can drive both. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/82 "2025-11-21T17:09:51Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > As for built-in GPSes… I don’t think I’ve ever seen a good one on any brand of car. Isn’t that why Android Auto and Carplay are so popular (and why it’s incredible to me that GM is discontinuing those)? Auto makers are notoriously bad at being able to make good software and UIs. When car GPS came out, they were out of date the day the file was created (a new development / roads added, a speed limit lowered or a stop sign/light added somewhere, a long-term road closure due to a bridge out, etc) there was no way to update them over the air. You would need to either insert media into the car, most likely a CD or take it to the dealer for them to plug in a cable to get an updated road database. Once smartphones came into being, & people ended up using their phones with up-to-date maps, along with just connecting to the phone to use the phone book there as opposed to a separate one in the car (yes, I had an early bluetooth car where one had to manually, _verbally_ enter every contact I might want to just press the {call} button & say, “Call \_\_\_”; you (or a passenger) couldn’t add someone while the vehicle was in motion), & despite enunciating clearly, it would frequently take multiple times to get a name/phone # into the car’s phonebook.) it made sense to build Android Auto / carplay so that the car manufacturers were out of the mapping business, only being a display screen for someone else’s maps, calls, texts, etc. In enshitification’s close cousin, they are doing away with those options & building their own, which will be a subscription based model. While you mast still be able to buy a car, _for now_, you going to only be able to rent/subscribe to certain features in it. Frankly, I believe the days of being able to _buy_ a car are not going to last much longer, either. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/83 "2025-11-21T17:11:52Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > OTOH, most traditional car designs (i.e., coupes and sedans) _don’t_ have rear wipers; they also tend to have rear windows with a shallower pitch, which may be part of why they don’t have/need wipers Also, having a trunk stick out past the rear window changes the air flow such that you don’t get as much road spray & dirt sticking to the rear window in a sedan like you do with a car with a ‘flat’ back such as an SUV or wagon. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/84 "2025-11-21T17:23:51Z")
There were also standalone units like Garmin, Magellan and TomTom. Those didn’t have over the air updates either and the maps would slowly go out of date. I think I had a couple of Magellans and you could plug it into your computer and periodically load a giant new file. In the dial up and DSL days it would take several hours. I would do it overnight. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/85 "2025-11-21T17:35:56Z")
One problem with single-pedal driving, as implemented on a lot of EVs today, is that the brake lights ONLY go on when you press the actual brake pedal. So your car could be screeching to a halt, and the cars behind it wouldn’t see any brake lights. Technology Connections talks about this issue here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0YW7x9U5TQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0YW7x9U5TQ) ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/86 "2025-11-21T17:38:22Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > having a trunk stick out past the rear window changes the air flow such that you don’t get as much road spray & dirt sticking to the rear window in a sedan like you do with a car with a ‘flat’ back such as an SUV or wagon Rear wipers are pretty nice, but my sedan doesn’t have one. Even when (mostly) only dealing with precipitation covering the back window, it can still be annoying. I deal with it by using old fashioned RainX. It isn’t magical, but it does make a big difference in water sliding off the rear window enough to see out of it. I have a glass roof, and I only RainX the rear window, and there is a distinct difference in how much the water sticks to the waxed and unwaxed parts. I have to apply it every few months, but it only takes 5 minutes, and is an excuse to hand wash all of the windows. Re: GPS Old GPS units being out of a date wasn’t a huge problem, because they were really only good to replace a paper map, AAA triptik, or map directions printed from online. Major road reconfigurations were an issue, but even data 5-10 years out of date was almost always good enough. They were really convenient when going someplace new. Live data is a huge game changer though. For the vast majority of my trips, I don’t need the GPS to tell me how to get there. I don’t use one on my motorcycle, and I get around just fine. The live traffic data and live road closure data is completely worth the effort, though. I’ll put my long memorized commute into my GPS, just because that 1 out of 20 times there is a major traffic incident it can re-route before the problem. > [@tracer](#): > > the brake lights ONLY go on when you press the actual brake pedal. So your car could be screeching to a halt, and the cars behind it wouldn’t see any brake lights. > > Technology Connections talks about this issue here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0YW7x9U5TQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0YW7x9U5TQ) Even Alec acknowledges this is one of the things Tesla got right. Non-illuminating brake lights would be a huge argument in favor of just using two-pedal driving, and letting the computer handle the regen/friction balance. That is assuming his Hyundai, and other cars with that problem, turn on the brake lights in response to pedal pressure, and not actuation of the friction brakes. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/87 "2025-11-21T17:55:52Z")
Our Equinox EV turns on the brake lights during regen braking, but I haven’t put a GoPro on the back to check on what the threshold is. Following a friend’s Equinox (who uses one pedal driving) they appear to come on regularly. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/88 "2025-11-21T18:31:04Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Even Alec acknowledges this is one of the things Tesla got right. All I know is Tesla so I’m very surprised that not everyone does this. That’s crazy. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/89 "2025-11-21T22:52:28Z")
Agree. The idea a computerized car is coasting down with any more retardation than mere aerodynamics and doesn’t have brake lights illuminated ought to be an immediate NHTSA recall. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/90 "2025-11-25T21:24:32Z")
I’ve driving single pedal for a week now, both highway and city. I’m getting used to it, and there’s no way to forget because the second you lighten up on the accelerator the car reminds you what mode you’re in. I’m still slightly misjudging stopping distance and end up stopped before I want to, or at leasted headed that way so I have to give it a bit more pedal as I get close to the stop line. But I think I’m in, I’m going to keep it on. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2025, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/91 "2025-12-01T19:38:40Z")
My biggest problem so far is that approaching a stop I let off the pedal too early, not yet trusting the regenerative braking to act so quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2025, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/92 "2025-12-04T21:28:00Z")
I’ve been teaching my kids on our (automatic) combustion car, because the electric cars are too easy to drive. (It’s also the oldest, cheapest to insure car.) Once they understand the basics, then maybe occasional use of the electrics. > [@echoreply](#): > > One pedal EV driving is even easier in the mountains. This is the one thing I wanted to post. Once you’ve driven a one-petal, all-wheel-drive electric car in the mountains, you’ll never want to drive anything else. Especially downhill; no worries about gearing or overheating brakes. You control the speed entirely with the “one” petal. The car adjusts the power/regen to each wheel separately, which makes the car so stable on downhill curves. And you’ll have a charged battery when you’re at the bottom. > [@tracer](#): > > One problem with single-pedal driving, as implemented on a lot of EVs today, is that the brake lights ONLY go on when you press the actual brake pedal. So your car could be screeching to a halt, and the cars behind it wouldn’t see any brake lights. The other half of this issue is that there’s no way to know when your _own_ brake lights are on. I’ve always have had the habit of turning on the hazard flashers when slowing down significantly on the highway. I now do it much more frequently. Even if the brake lights are illuminated, I want the extra visibility of hazards. Rear-end collisions are too common on California highways. ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2025, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/93 "2025-12-04T22:41:24Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Rear-end collisions are too common on California highways. We’re too busy texting, doomscrolling, and ordering DoorDash behind the wheel. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2025, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/94 "2025-12-04T23:49:38Z")
Today’s 12.6F morning reminded me… A complication with one pedal driving is that regen will be lower than usual on a cold (or 100% full) battery. A cold battery is limited in how powerful of a charge it can accept, so the computer will limit the amount of deceleration due to regen that is available. It’s really not that big of a deal, and is one more quirk to get used to. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2025, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/95 "2025-12-05T00:10:55Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Today’s 12.6F morning reminded me How does that affect your range? It’s only 42F here, and already our range is down to 160 mi… 70% of the summer max. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2025, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/96 "2025-12-05T00:23:53Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > How does that affect your range? Here is just a paste of my lifetime data from Teslafi. Efficiency % is a bit weird, because 100% efficient is 277 Wh/mile. For example at 20-25F I’m using 385 Wh/mile. It is easy enough to think of it as a percent of my rated range achieved at each temperature range. | Temperature F | Efficiency % | Miles Recorded | | --- | --- | --- | | -5 to 0 | 41.1 | 3.16 | | 0 to 5 | 57.8 | 38.93 | | 5 to 10 | 63.8 | 105.8 | | 10 to 15 | 64.6 | 272.66 | | 15 to 20 | 73.1 | 566.32 | | 20 to 25 | 71.8 | 1119.81 | | 25 to 30 | 77.3 | 1771.68 | | 30 to 35 | 80 | 4455.6 | | 35 to 40 | 82.4 | 5167.86 | | 40 to 45 | 89.1 | 6439.15 | | 45 to 50 | 90.3 | 5525.35 | | 50 to 55 | 93.2 | 6170.49 | | 55 to 60 | 97.7 | 5797 | | 60 to 65 | 98.9 | 5549.26 | | 65 to 70 | 98.5 | 6519.17 | | 70 to 75 | 99.8 | 5597.63 | | 75 to 80 | 99 | 7839.68 | | 80 to 85 | 99 | 5748.96 | | 85 to 90 | 97.5 | 4645.53 | | 90 to 95 | 92.4 | 3073.57 | | 95 to 100 | 96.7 | 1093.51 | | 100 to 105 | 88.4 | 159.76 | | 105 to 110 | 123.9 | 2.03 | ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2025, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/97 "2025-12-05T00:45:16Z")
Interesting. And what’s the capacity on your battery? That also means your car is much more efficient at 40F (89%) than mine (about 70%). If [my math is right](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cfQY_3TqHGr5jGYtiI1amHqeNtWzfKwBRqiSAAMxgg8/edit?usp=sharing), at 40F you’re still getting about 3.2 mi/kWh, which is what I get only under ideal conditions. I guess that’s not too surprising, given how new Toyota is to the electric game… Tesla has a much longer head start and a lot more R&D. It’s also interesting that your efficiency skyrockets past 105 degrees. Is that right? Wonder what would happen if you drove at 120F or higher… take it to Death Valley for a test drive sometime? 🙂 (Edit: Oh wait, that’s probably just cuz you only recorded 2 mi on it) * * * Edit 2: Also, jealous that you can datalog stuff from your car. My app doesn’t even work… it has a 1-star rating on the app store and most of the functions are completely broken 😆 ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2025, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/98 "2025-12-05T17:57:05Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Interesting. And what’s the capacity on your battery? Original capacity was 72 or 75 kWh when new, and now is down about 20%. That’s a rated range of 310 to 251. > [@Reply](#): > > Tesla has a much longer head start and a lot more R&D. Tesla was ahead of anyone by a good 10 years, and I find it incredible that my 7 year old car is still more efficient than anything I can buy in the US, other than a Lucid Air or another Tesla. Of course they’ve blown all of that lead, and the Chinese brands have surpassed everyone. Lots and lots of valid reasons to hate on Tesla, but so much of their technology is top notch. Also, for these cold ranges, I still have the resistive heater. Newer models with a heat pump will be doing even better. Winter tires also have an efficiency penalty. I think on that chart it’s necessary to trim the edges. 123.9% efficiency probably just means that a data reading was inaccurate, or possibly it was two miles downhill, which is possible. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2025, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/99 "2025-12-05T20:33:04Z")
And here is the tire information: My current summer tires, Hankook ION Evos, are 99% efficient. My two previous sets of winter tires (I don’t remember the model) were about 86% efficient. Now, some of that efficiency causation is going the other way. The winter tires are less efficient because they’re used in the cold. So, cold weather driving is less efficient because of temperature related reasons: denser air, more energy intensive climate control, energy expended heating the battery, etc. It is also less efficient because winter tires have greater rolling resistance than summer and all season tires. There are some temperature EV threads this discussion can move to where it will be more on topic. To summarize for the current topic: adjustments to all types of transmission driving style must be made when conditions change. The exact conditions and what changes need to be made are going to be different for each type. Reduced regen in the cold is an example that will change one pedal driving. Towing a trailer, reduced traction, mechanical problems will change things for all of them. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2025, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/100 "2025-12-05T22:20:13Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Also, for these cold ranges, I still have the resistive heater. Newer models with a heat pump will be doing even better. Winter tires also have an efficiency penalty. Ah! That’s what was puzzling me. I was going to say driving around my PHEV for the last few days (we had 6-8" snow Tuesday night) and the numbers seemed less generous than my experience. Below freezing I see the noticeablr drop, but less than 10% anywhere from say 35-45. But I do have the heatpump design, and of course, the car will cheat and use it’s ICE for colder starts, not so much of an issue since it’s in a semi-insulated garage overnight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932.md?page=6)