Manual used, or Automatic new.

[richardfrost]

The other thing with autos is that you can get a far better comfy seating position as you don't have to be flooring a clutch pedal.

This has been the complete game changer for me in terms of my bad back and struggling with driving position. With an auto, it’s so much easier.

[Pine]

Auto is the way forward.  Manuals are so last century.

[Lord Voltermore]

I was a 'manual transmission is best' snob for over 50 years.' More involved with what the car is doing,' blah blah.     I occasionally drove torque converter  automatics in the 1980's.  Not impressed enough to buy one.   

But I absolutely love the hybrid  Jazz  system.  Just press the 'go ' pedal and it goes  ,Instant  torque from rest , always in the optimum 'gearing' ' for negotiating roundabouts, bends, overtaking etc.Great in stop start traffic.    Whilst changing manual gears  was  instinctive, its only when you stop having to do it you realise just how  much faff it is. 

You soon get used to it. Just keep your left foot firmly planted on the floor the first couple of time you drive.  It soon become instinctive ,even for a life long manual driver like me.  And you will wonder why you didnt 'convert' years ago.   

The electric handbrake is nothing to fear.  Simples.A flick of the finger rather than physically hauling up a brake lever. And you dont even have to release it when you drive off.    Hill starts are simple.  The car has built in hill assist.   The car shouldnt roll back.  Just press the accelerator until the car releases the handbrake itself and drives off up the hill.        And in stop start traffic you can use 'brake hold' which keeps the footbrake on when you come to a temporary stop.  No need to set the handbrake. 
By coincidence my wife drove me for the first time in heavy traffic yesterday    (I was,erm, temporarily 'indisposed' )  I realised  she was using handbrake at every stop .  She soon appreciated  the benefits of 'brake hold'. 

I did go through a period when I thought being stuck  in stop start traffic was almost a pleasure.  No gear changing, no handbrake ,absolute silence (apart from the other traffic)   , sheer bliss.   But nah.  Its much nicer  but still a pain in the bum.

[Jocko]

I occasionally drove torque converter  automatics in the 1980's.  Not impressed enough to buy one.   

But I absolutely love the hybrid  Jazz  system.  Just press the 'go ' pedal and it goes  ,Instant  torque from rest , always in the optimum 'gearing' ' for negotiating roundabouts, bends, overtaking etc.Great in stop start traffic.

I have only ever driven torque converter autos (hydraulic) and found they all had exactly the features you admire in the Jazz. The oldest was an 85, then a 92 and finally a 2000. The first had 3 gears the second 4 and the last 5. They did get better with more gears but even the 85 Carlton had very things you mention in your second paragraph. I have never had the pleasure of driving a new Mk4 Jazz so I cannot comment on whether it is better than my S40.

[peteo48]

Yes - I am an auto convert after spending almost my entire driving lifetime as a passionate advocate of manuals. I wish I'd made the switch sooner and the ability to select a decent driving position - in my case having the seat that bit further back than would be possible if I had a clutch - is an unexpected bonus.

Learnt something new reading this thread. I actually didn't know it was possible to engage the handbrake to
 hold the car and then just drive off when ready- I've been using brake hold from day one!

[Kremmen]

What also worries me about brake hold is it apparently has a time limit ?

Wasn't there a post here where it disengaged after only a few minutes ? Maybe an accidental pedal press.

[shufty]

...10 mins or something like that. You'll have applied the handbrake way before then though.

[Jazzik]

What also worries me about brake hold is it apparently has a time limit ?

Don't worry, read your manual... page 502
. The system automatically cancels and the parking brake is applied when:
. Braking is kept for more than 10 minutes.
and a few more situations...

[RichardA]

Just to let you all know, some off-topic posts were removed for that reason alone.

[Andy H]

Just wanted to say.  Thanks everyone for their comments, and assurances.

I took the plunge, and just been to the dealers for a test drive. Took a little while to get out of the habit of wanting to grab the gear lever.   And wanting to change down a gear when going round a sharp corner.   But wow, its so smooth to drive.   The upshot is, I ordered a new crosstar.  Due to arrive in a couple of weeks.
 
Thanks
Andy

[jamjar]

Just wanted to say.  Thanks everyone for their comments, and assurances.

I took the plunge, and just been to the dealers for a test drive. Took a little while to get out of the habit of wanting to grab the gear lever.   And wanting to change down a gear when going round a sharp corner.   But wow, its so smooth to drive.   The upshot is, I ordered a new crosstar.  Due to arrive in a couple of weeks.
 
Thanks
Andy

You will love the car.

[Lord Voltermore]

You'll love it. Enjoy.

For anyone else still uncertain about the technology and driving an automatic.   Although I have done loads of steep hill starts without problem  yesterday was the first time I have actually parked on a steep hill. Having come to a stop I  needed to reverse back a bit.   I naively assumed that even though I was in drive  the car would roll back anyway  due to the steep gradient. Nah. The car didnt move - almost as if I had applied the handbrake ,or footbrake. Which I hadnt.  To reverse I needed to go into R.  So the hill assist ,or whatever it was that held the car ,worked very well.  Same moving off forwards up hill.  Into D  (or B if you prefer) press the accelerator, and off it goes. No rolling back.  All that clutch control skill I perfected over the years is now wasted !
 But not missed.   No more 'eau de ferodo' from a slipping clutch    

[Jazzik]

I took the plunge

[Kremmen]

When I taught someone to switch to auto from a long time of manual driving I got them to remove their left shoe.

Then when they went for the clutch they realised something was wrong, and it worked.

[Lincolnshire Rambler]

In reply to LV it is very impressive to have the auto hold work on a very steep hill and more so how the petrol engine uses the right amount of revs to balance the needs of the electric motor. Even on a steep hill 1:4 it doesn’t go to the silly revs as it does when you floor the accelerator! Last summer a broken down car towing a caravan on the hill leaving whitby caused a stop start queue . Completely no drama in tbe jazz doing a dozen or so hill starts in the afternoon summer heat.