How to drive a manual car

Gearboxes fall into two broad categories – manual and automatic. In this guide, we’ll focus on cars with a manual gearbox. We’ll explain how to drive a manual car, whether you are a beginner or someone who already drives an automatic but is looking to switch to three-pedal driving.

Once you’ve read this guide, you’ll have a good understanding of how a car with a manual gearbox works and how to drive one.

What is a manual car?

When we talk about a manual car, we mean a car with a manual gearbox and three pedals. The pedal on the right is the accelerator, the middle pedal is the brake, and to the left is the clutch.

You’ll need to take your right foot off the accelerator and use your left leg to press down on the clutch pedal whenever you want to change gear. If you want to know how to drive a manual car in the UK, you’ll change gear using a gearstick with your left hand.

How to drive a manual car: step-by-step

Starting a manual car

So, you are sitting behind the wheel in your manual car. Before you start a vehicle with a manual gearbox, remember the classic cockpit drill that your driving instructor will have taught you: doors, seat, steering, seatbelt, and mirrors. It’s sometimes shortened to DSSSM (driving instructors do love an acronym).

Once you are comfortable, safely belted up, and can see all around you, get ready to start the car. Make sure the handbrake is on, and the gearbox is in neutral. Give the gearstick a quick wiggle to be sure you are not in gear. If it moves freely in all directions the ’box is in neutral.

Then turn the key in the ignition or press the start button. In many modern cars you may need to depress the clutch pedal with your left foot before the engine will start.

Pulling away in a manual car

Right. Now the engine is running, you can prepare to pull away. First, depress the clutch pedal. That’s the one on the left. Without getting too technical, the clutch is a pair of plates that connect the engine to the driven wheels. When you push the pedal to the floor, the plates move apart which disconnects the engine from the wheels, allowing you to change gear.

With the clutch pedal all the way down, move the gearstick into first gear. You’ll do this with your left hand if you are learning to drive a manual in the UK. First gear is usually over to the left and then forwards.

So far, so good. Now comes the bit that takes a bit of practice. Very gently press down on the accelerator (the pedal on the right). You should hear the engine sound change as the engine revolutions (revs for short) increase. Now, slowly lift your left foot until you can feel a slight vibration through the pedal. This is the ‘biting point’ – where those two metal plates start to engage and send power to the driven wheels.

Release the handbrake and you should feel the car start to move forwards slowly. In many modern cars there’s a push-button parking brake instead of a manual handbrake with a lever. This should disengage automatically, or you can press the button.

Now gradually press down a little more on the accelerator while smoothly lifting the clutch pedal. After a moment or two the pedal should be all the way up, the clutch plates will have engaged fully, and you’re on your way.

Whenever you start you need to take care to check your mirrors and look over your shoulder to make sure it’s safe to pull away, but in this guide we’ll mostly focus on controlling the car.

Changing gears on the move

So, we’re now moving in first gear. This is only intended for low-speed manoeuvres and pulling away, so very soon you will need to change up to second gear.

To do so, lift your foot off the accelerator and push the clutch pedal all the way down. Now pull the gear lever back to engage second gear. It’s usually over to the left and all the way back. Once second gear has been selected, smoothly lift your left foot from the clutch pedal and press down on the accelerator with your right foot. Unless you need to accelerate very hard you won’t need to push the pedal all the way down.

The car is now in second gear. You can move up through the remaining gears in the same way. Modern manual gearboxes usually have either five or six gears. The higher the gear, the higher the speed. So, first gear is for pulling away while sixth gear is for high speeds on A-roads and motorways.

When slowing down, you’ll want to move back down through the gearbox into lower gears. You reverse the process of changing up and accelerating, although more care is needed when lifting up the clutch pedal to make smooth gearchanges.

Some drivers blip the throttle briefly when the gearbox is in neutral to match engine revs and road speed when selecting a lower gear. This isn’t necessary, as modern manual gearboxes have a clever feature called synchromesh that largely does this job for you.

How to drive a manual car on a hill

If you’ve ever hiked to the top of a steep hill, you’ll know that it’s a lot harder than strolling along the flat. It’s the same when a car goes uphill – the engine must work harder than when driving on a level stretch of road.

So, when driving uphill you may need to change down a gear or two to help the engine maintain the car’s speed.

As we’ve mentioned already, some drivers like to ‘double de-clutch’ – they briefly raise the clutch pedal while in neutral, rev the engine, then press down on the clutch pedal and select the lower gear. This makes for smooth gearchanges but isn’t necessary with today’s synchromesh manual gearboxes.

You can tell if a lower gear is needed because the engine will start to sound strained, and you’ll be slowing down even if you push down on the accelerator. Change down one gear to start with, but be ready to change down again if the hill is very steep.

If you need to stop on a hill, perhaps at a set of traffic lights, you’ll need to perform a hill start. This is trickier than starting on the flat, and it’s something you’ll need to practice when learning to drive a manual car.

You will need to apply a few more revs than when you start on level ground and be very careful that you don’t release the handbrake until you can feel that the car wants to move forwards. If you release the handbrake too soon the car will roll backwards. It’s not as hard as it sounds and hill starts will become second nature after a while.

How to avoid damaging the clutch

Over thousands of miles, the clutch eventually wears out, and it’s expensive to replace. Good driving will make the clutch last as long as possible.

When stopped in traffic, don’t ‘hold’ the car with the clutch pedal part-way up, and part-way down. If you stop for more than a moment or two, use the handbrake to hold the car still and put the gearbox in neutral.

Each time you pull away, use enough revs to get the car moving, but don’t rev the engine hard. The faster the engine is spinning the more wear and tear is caused as the clutch plates engage.

As you pull away, bring your left foot off the clutch pedal smoothly and promptly. The longer you keep the clutch pedal partly depressed the more wear is caused.

You can’t help wearing the clutch out eventually, but driving well will extend the life of this pricey component.

Advantages and disadvantages of manual driving

Driving a manual suits some drivers, but others prefer an automatic gearbox. Here are the pros and cons of driving a manual car over an automatic:

ADVANTAGES

• Manual cars are usually cheaper to buy than autos
• Fuel economy is often better with a manual gearbox
• Manual gearboxes give the driver full control
• It’s quicker and easier to be in the right gear for overtaking with a manual
• Keen drivers find manual cars more involving

DISADVANTAGES

• Manual gearboxes aren’t available if you want a hybrid or electric car
• Driving a manual is more difficult than driving an auto
• Manual cars are more tiring than autos in stop-start traffic

Learning to drive? See also: How to reverse bay park

Driving a manual car FAQs

● Is it hard to drive a manual car for beginners?

It’s harder than driving an auto. With an automatic gearbox, there are just two pedals to worry about – the accelerator makes the car go, the brake pedal makes it stop. The auto looks after all that tricky gear-changing malarkey for you.

In a manual car you have the clutch pedal to use as well, and it’s up to the driver to decide when to change gear. But while driving a manual is more complicated than driving an auto, it’s not especially hard. Most drivers will get the hang of it.

The big advantage for a beginner is that by passing their driving test in a manual their licence means they can drive both manual and automatic cars. Anyone who passes in an auto is restricted to driving automatics.

● How long does it take to learn to drive a manual car?

Different people learn to drive at different speeds. Younger drivers tend to pick up the skills more quickly than those of us who learn to drive later in life, although that’s not a hard and fast rule.

According to UK government stats, learning to drive requires an average of 45 hours of professional instruction and another 22 hours of private practice.

● How do I start off in a manual car?

With the engine running, press down the clutch pedal (the one on the left) and select first gear with the gear lever. Begin to lift up the clutch pedal and press the accelerator gently. You should hear the engine note change and will feel that the car is starting to pull against the handbrake. Release the handbrake and continue to smoothly lift the clutch pedal. Push down a little more on the accelerator as you do so. You should now be moving.

● How to reverse a manual car for beginners?

Reversing is just the same as starting off in first gear, only the direction of travel will be different. To select reverse gear, you will usually need to push the lever down or lift a reverse selector before the gear will engage. This extra movement is to prevent the driver from accidentally selecting reverse gear while moving forwards. Otherwise you will need to go through the same steps, balancing the clutch and throttle pedals to find the biting point. Remember to look over your shoulder so you can see where you are going.

● Can I drive a manual car with an automatic licence?

No, to drive a manual car you need to have passed your practical driving test in a manual. If you pass in an automatic and later want to drive a manual car, you will need to take another test.