Automatic driving lessons

Take away the clutch pedal and the gear lever and you remove the single biggest source of early-lesson stress. There are two pedals, a selector with P, R, N and D, and everything else is the same driving lesson anyone else takes.

That does not make the test easier. You still need mirror discipline, junction planning, roundabout observation, the manoeuvres and twenty minutes of independent driving on sat nav. What changes is that all of your attention is available for those things from lesson one, rather than being spent on your left foot.

Because of that, most automatic learners reach test standard in noticeably fewer hours than the equivalent manual learner — typically around a quarter fewer in our experience.

If you pass your test in an automatic car, the DVSA issues a category B auto licence. It lets you drive any automatic car — including almost every electric and hybrid vehicle on sale — but it does not let you drive a manual.

There is no upgrade course and no top-up test. To remove the restriction you take a full practical driving test again in a manual car. You do not need to retake the theory test, and you can keep driving automatics in the meantime.

This matters less every year. New petrol and diesel car sales are being phased out, most electric cars are single-speed automatics, and an increasing share of hire and company fleets are automatic. It still matters if you might drive a van for work or borrow an older family car.

Nervous learners, and anyone who has tried manual lessons before and stalled their confidence along with the engine. Removing the clutch removes the thing most people are afraid of.

City drivers. Stop-start traffic in an automatic is a completely different experience, and if your daily driving is urban you may never want a manual again.

Learners with a physical condition affecting the left leg or hip, and older learners returning to driving. And anyone on a deadline — a new job, a house move, a caring responsibility — where fewer hours to test standard is the deciding factor.

Per hour, our automatic and manual rates are identical. Some driving schools charge a premium for automatic tuition because automatic dual-control cars cost more to buy and insure; we do not.

Total course cost usually comes out lower for automatic learners, because the course is shorter. A learner who would have needed 30 manual hours often finishes on around 25 automatic hours.

The practical test fee is the same either way — £62 on a weekday, £75 evenings, weekends and bank holidays, paid to the DVSA.