Should you buy Auto Gear Shift / Automated Manual Transmission (AGS/AMT) based cars? Based on Maruti Celerio ZXi AMT/AGS ownership experience

There is a lot of buzz being created by automobile companies for their cheap and fuel efficient automatic cars which are equipped with AGS/AMT gearboxes. All major Indian automobile maker is coming up with a AGS/AMT based car, Maruti being the leader in the pack.

I have been an owner of Celerio ZXi AGS/AMT since one year and this article is based on the experience I had with the car so far, especially the AGS/AMT part.

So first lets explore what is AMT/AGS technology.

 

Auto Gear Shift or Automated Manual Transmission

Is it manual transmission? Not really, if you see it from drivers perspective. Is it automatic transmission? Well, not really either, if you speak technically. So, what is it!

In simple terms, an AGS/AMT is a manual transmission where the task of shifting gears has been abstracted out and given to an electronic shift actuator. An electronic shift actuator is a electric component which is responsible to engage gears based on the inputs like engine RPM, incline angle, throttle etc. Most of the cars in India which are having AGS have electronic shift actuators made by a company called Magneti Marelli. Magneti Marelli is owned by Fiat.

 

What are the benefits of AGS?

1. As instead of a human, where gearshifts might not be perfect, an electronic component is shifting gears the gearshifts are near perfect considering the fuel economy. So, expect mileage of AGS cars to be as good as, or even better than a equivalent manual transmission car.
2. Driving a AGS car is as easy as driving a conventional automatic car.
3. Maintenance of AGS car is cheaper compared to conventional torque convertor or CVT or DSG based automatic cars.
4. Most of the AGS/AMT cars, except like Kwid AMT, do come with manual controls for gear shifts.

 

What are the demerits of AGS?

1. Gearshifts are painfully laggy and slow.
2. Gearbox oil needs to be replaced in around 40k-50k kms.
3. No hill hold control in AGS cars means that you need to be extra careful which doing a hill start as the car rolls back significantly (upto 3-5 feet) on inclines.
4. Clutch plate wears off much much faster in a AGS car compared to its manual transmission equivalent. Some people even have complained of clutch plate juddering in their AGS car only after 6000 kms on the odometer, which is terrible to say the least. In manual transmission cars, a clutch plate could easily last 80k kms.
5. As the gearshifts are optimised for fuel efficiency, sporty/spirited driving is out of the picture. Forget that, even overtaking is a risky activity at high speeds.

So, the big question, should you buy a AGS/AMT based car?

You should buy it(AGS) over “conventional automatic” car if ALL of below points are TRUE for your case:

1. You want a fuel efficient car. However, DSG/dual clutch automatics also deliver good fuel economy.
2. You want a car with low maintenance cost. Conventional automatics like torque convertor, CVT, DSG have much higher maintenance cost than a AGS/AMT car.
3. You are a sedate driver.
4. You are ok with laggy and slow gearshifts.

 

You should NOT buy it(AGS) over “conventional automatic” car if ANY of below points are TRUE for your case:

1. You want to do spirited driving and like being sporty driver.
2. You want smooth gearshifts.

 

You should buy it(AGS) over “manual transmission” car if ALL of below points are TRUE for your case:

1. You want a easy to drive car.
2. You want to pay a premium over the manual transmission car for the convenience of a automatic car.
3. You are okay to get the gearbox oil changed when required.
4. You are okay to replace the clutch plate more frequently.
5. You are a sedate driver and just want best fuel economy from your car.
6. You are okay with the lesser resale value of AGS cars compared to its manual counterparts.

 

You should NOT buy it(AGS) over “manual transmission” car if ANY of below points are TRUE for your case:

1. You want to do spirited driving and like being sporty driver.
2. You like the hassle free ownership experience of a manual transmission.
3. You want to sell the car after using it for a short time. As depreciation of automatic cars are much faster compared to manual cars.

 

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