Automatics. Do they make sense in the Indian context? And is a Continuously Variable Transmission superior to a conventional automatic? Sirish Chandran pits the Honda City 1.5 CVT against the Chevrolet Optra 1.8 AT to find out.

Just the other day during the judging process for the Car of the Year awards, one of the judges ignited debate on whether cars equipped with an automatic transmission make sense in the Indian context. What he was referring to was the constant stop-go traffic conditions that have become synonymous with driving in our cities but come to think of it, isn't it in such conditions that an automatic makes the most sense? That Indians haven't taken to automatics like fish to water is common knowledge and it's something one would attribute to the Indian motorists' obsession with fuel efficiency. It’s inevitable that conventional automatics will always consume slightly more fuel than their manual transmission brethren and it's this singular reason why automatics have failed to take off in a big way. Couple that to the fact that till recently we didn't have too many sophisticated automatics (forget the Mercs for a while, will you!) and you can just about hear the last nail being driven into the automatics' coffin.

Let's address another preconception here, that of an automatic not being the transmission of choice for the adrenaline-fuelled driver. No disputing that argument but believe me, when confronted with either a manual or an automatic for the daily home to office commute, it's still the automatic's key that's first to go AWOL, hardcore driving junkies that we all are.

Of late there has been a renewed effort by manufacturers to offer if not promote automatic transmission versions of existing cars. At the lower end of the spectrum Hyundai has the Santro automatic which is one of my personal favourites for city transport while at the other end we have the Toyota Corolla going up to the Accord / Sonata and then the Merc brigade. However the segment of motorists that would love the convenience of an automatic and could afford to live with the resultant fuel efficiency compromises didn’t really have an automatic option.

Till now. Enter the Honda City 1.5 CVT and the Chevrolet Optra 1.8 AT, two lazy boy versions of massively popular cars that offers a genuine alternative in the Rs 8-10 lakh price band. A price band in which buyers do actually drive their own cars unlike upper D-segment cars which are invariably chauffeur driven and a price band in which fuel efficiency in not the be-all and end-all unlike in the B and C segments.

We've already road tested the Optra and City in previous issues and so shall refrain from commenting on their style or their chassis and suspensions and instead focus straight off on their transmissions and the resultant effects on performance and fuel efficiency.