I have been driving for 59 years, motorcycles and cars both manual and automatics.

For sure in heavy traffic an automatic is much better than a manual. Although some think a manual change is more sporty, however, the public highway is not the place for 'sporty driving'.

I remember maybe 40 odd years ago, the police in London changed to automatics for their Area Cars. At first the class 1 and 2 drivers (the highest grade) complained that it would impede their ability to enforce the law and catch speeding drivers. Very soon, they too accepted that automatics were the best.

A couple of years ago I changed my car and went back to an automatic, 7 speed, with a sports button and partial manual over-ride. My reason was that I wanted my wife to learn to drive.

So my advice to everyone is: go for an automatic every time.