6 Cars That Simply Wouldn't Suit A Manual Gearbox

1. Jaguar XJR

While there are occasions when you want to flick it into dynamic mode and behave like a hooligan, the 542bhp Jaguar XJR is mostly about wafting around and occasionally punting it. A manual gearbox just doesn’t fit with that; a big, comfy car like this should be effortless to drive when you’re not in the mood.

2. Range Rover

Sticking with the luxury JLR theme but dropping the lunacy back a little, and we arrive at the Range Rover. There’s arguably no better luxury vehicle out there than a loaded Range Rover, and it seems unfathomable that these were once (P38 generation and older) flogged with a manual gearbox option.

A Range Rover is all about floating around in your elevated driving position with a machine doing the shifting for you, while you feel smug about just how well life is going.

3. Nissan GT-R

With Nissan’s advanced ATTESA (Advanced Total Traction Engineering System for All-Terrain) all-wheel drive system, sophisticated traction and stability control and 542bhp on tap, the R35 GT-R is designed to be enormously capable. With that in mind, its slick six-speed dual-clutch gearbox is a perfect fit for the car. So it’d seem wrong for your less-than-optimal manual shifts to get in the way of all the work Nissan’s boffins have put into making the thing so damn quick, wouldn’t it?

4. Ferrari 458 Speciale

Likewise the 458 Speciale. The amount of effort gone into making this car as fast as possible on track simply boggles the mind: there’s some seriously clever active aero, some equally clever passive aero, updated versions of the already very advanced electronic driver aids and even more power. Would you really want to slow it down with a set of manual cogs? Sure, you might get a tiny bit more driver involvement, but it’s not like a 597bhp rear-wheel drive Ferrari is going to be lacking in the excitement department.

5. Toyota Prius

OK, so we are cheating a tad given that it’s not actually possible for Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive to be hooked up to a stick shifter, but if it were, it’d result in the most pointless manual gearbox-equipped car in history. It wouldn’t make it any more enjoyable to drive, and would spoil one of the car’s few attributes: it’s relaxing to pootle about in at low speeds.

6. Mercedes-AMG GT

The AMG GT is a curious one, as it sits in a sort of no-man’s land between sports car and - as the name implies - a grand tourer. Whatever it is, it feels just right with an automatic gearbox. The seven-speed, transaxle dual-clutch transmission is an absolute belter, with ultra-fast and crisp changes. Whether you’re on a cross-country trek or hammering around a track, we doubt you’d be pining for a manual.

Any other cars you think would fit the bill? Or do you vehemently disagree with my views? Voice your opinions in the comments below!