The same price as manual, two automatic cars, two instructors who teach it
Automatic lessons
Learning in an automatic at the same hourly and block prices as manual, with Amara in the west and Raj in the south and the bay. No clutch, no stalling, usually fewer hours, and a licence that covers automatics and the electric cars most people will be driving in ten years.
Half our new learners now ask for automatic, and the old advice that "you should learn manual to keep your options open" is weaker every year as the cars on the road change. An automatic licence does not let you drive a manual, but it lets you drive every electric car ever made, and most learners get to test standard in fewer hours without a clutch to think about.
Amara covers Canton, Ely, Fairwater and the west in an automatic hatchback; Raj covers Grangetown, Butetown, the Bay and Penarth Road in another. The lessons follow the same DVSA syllabus and the same written plan, and the test is the same test at the same centres; the examiner simply does not watch your left foot. We charge the same because the car costs us the same to run, which is not true at every school.
If you already hold a manual licence and want confidence in an automatic, or have moved to an electric car, a two-hour refresher at £76 covers regenerative braking, one-pedal driving and the things that catch manual drivers out. And if you are undecided, the introductory two hours can be in either car and your instructor will tell you honestly which to carry on with.
What is included
- Same prices as manual, no surcharge
- Two automatic cars, west and south
- The same written plan and syllabus
- Fewer hours to test for most learners
- Refreshers for manual drivers moving to automatic or electric
- Honest advice on which to choose after the first lesson
What it costs
The same as manual: £38 an hour or £34 to £36 in a block, £60 for the introductory two hours. No automatic surcharge. The prices page has every price, the blocks, the DVSA fees and the pass rate by quarter. No booking fee, no fuel surcharge, no extra for automatic.
Questions about automatic
Is an automatic licence a disadvantage?
Only if you need to drive a manual car, which fewer and fewer people do: no electric car has a clutch. If you later want a manual licence you take another test, usually after ten or so hours of lessons.
Is the test easier in an automatic?
The test is the same and the examiner marks the same faults. Most people make fewer faults in an automatic because there is less to do, which is why pass rates are a little higher.
Book the introductory two hours. £60, from your door.
The controls on a quiet road, moving off and stopping, and enough driving to see how you take to it, with the instructor who covers your area. At the end you get a written plan and an honest estimate of the hours. Book with the form or ring the office, Monday to Saturday 8 to 7.