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Next up – auto v manual. What’s your favourite transmission, and why?

by Australian 4WD Action

In a Facebook poll of 3,448 respondents, 26.5% chose “Manual – gives you better control out in the bush”. How we count

Manual – gives you better control out in the bush
26.5%
Manual – I prefer to swap gears myself
24.2%
Auto – they’re better for tricky off-road situations
20.9%
Manual – more reliable than an auto
6.9%
Manual – it suits my needs best
6.8%
Auto – I just like auto boxes!
6.2%
Auto – they’re more refined and smarter boxes
5.2%
Auto – perfectly matched to my engine
3.2%
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Manual won, but barely — "better control out in the bush" took the poll with just 26.5%, edging its own stablemate "I prefer to swap gears myself" (24.2%) by 77 votes. Stack every manual reason together and they clear 64%; split apart, none of them reach a third of the field. Eight options, no consensus, one gearbox type doing all the work.

Australia, the biggest bloc by far at 54 sampled votes, actually backed the runner-up — "I prefer to swap gears myself" — not the poll's overall winner. The gender read is just as lopsided: the top auto pick, "tricky off-road situations," drew 28 men and zero women, while manual's top two option pulled in a combined 48 men to 5 women.

  • Plurality, not a mandate · Winning option took just 26.5% of 3,448 votes.
  • Australia dissents · Biggest country bloc favored the runner-up, not the winner.
  • Manual, fractured · Four manual options split 64% combined, none alone above 27%.
  • Zero women, off-road auto · Top auto pick drew 28 men, 0 women.