Enterprise

Automatic Car and Van Hire

Regardless of what kind of vehicle you are used to driving, when you hire a car or van your priorities may be different to when you are buying a vehicle for yourself.

While some people find manual transmission cars more exciting to drive, there is a lot to be said for a comfortable and easy driving experience, especially if you are away from home, or abroad where you aren’t as familiar with the roads.

Why Hire an Automatic Car or Van?

Easier to drive

With automatic transmission vehicles you don’t need to manually change the gears. This makes them simpler to drive as you can focus on steering, braking, and accelerating. This makes it a lot easier when you are driving an unfamiliar vehicle.

Better for driving in traffic

Stop-start traffic can be tiring to drive in, both mentally and physically. An automatic transmission takes the repetitive pressing down on the clutch and changing gears out of the process. This makes driving in heavy urban traffic more pleasant and less tiring.

Great for driving on hills

An automatic vehicle automatically adjusts the gears for you, so you don’t need to worry about rolling back or using the clutch to maintain control. So, if hill starts make you nervous, an automatic vehicle will do most of the work for you with hill-start assist.

More comfortable for long drives

If you are hiring a car for a long journey, it’s worth considering hiring an automatic car. The easier driving process can reduce fatigue and make a long drive more enjoyable. Automatic cars shift gears faster and more smoothly than manual cars giving more responsive acceleration when overtaking other vehicles on the motorway.

Effortless Driving

Automatics are more accessible for drivers with limited mobility. If you have back, leg or knee problems, driving a manual car or van with constant use of the clutch pedal can be painful. Driving an automatic puts less strain on the neck and spine, it requires less leg and knee movement as you don’t have to keep pressing the clutch and is less jerky on transmission shifts.

Ideal for International travel

While you may not be nervous driving at home, if you have hired a car you may be on holiday somewhere new, or even driving on the other side of the road.  Removing the complexities of manual gear shifting frees you up to focus on where you are going, allowing you to be more relaxed and better enjoy your trip.

car through a country road.

Get Cheaper Automatic Car Hire

Pay in advance and get 10% off vehicle hire. You can still cancel for free up to three days before your rental starts.

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Free Pick up/Drop off Service

If you can't get to us, we can collect you, take you to the branch and drop you back after your rental. 

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Treat Yourself to a Luxury Automatic

Choose from a wide range of luxury and high-performance cars when you feel like splashing out on something special.

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Why Hire with Enterprise?

Customer Service

Our customers are our priority, which is why you can expect not only great value rental cars but also first-class service.

Choice

With a fleet of more than 2 million vehicles globally, we can help you find the car that best suits your needs, wherever you are.

Wide Network

With over 400 branches across the UK, including at all the major train stations, ports and airports, convenient car hire is never far.

Automatic Car & Van Hire FAQs

Usually hiring an automatic is more expensive as automatic cars are more expensive to buy and maintain. However, depending on availability, location and model, you can often hire an automatic for a similar price to a manual transmission car.

Yes, with a manual licence you can drive both manual and automatic vehicles. However, if your licence is just to drive automatics, you will not be able to hire a manual car or van.

Yes, with no gear changing or clutch required, automatic cars are generally easier to drive than manual (stick shift) cars.

Start your booking by entering your hire dates in the booking form, then choose your pick-up location. You’ll then be taken to ‘Choose a Vehicle Class’ where you can filter by transmission type. If you want to compare manual and automatic prices, just scroll down. You'll know the transmission type by the first icon under the car class name.

You can rent automatic cars in all our branches globally, but availability might be limited so check online in advance. In parts of Europe where manual cars are more common there may be fewer automatics to choose from, and they may cost a bit more to rent.

Yes, if you have no experience driving a van, hiring an automatic is a great choice and will take a lot of the stress out of it. You won’t have to worry about getting to grips with the gears or stalling, so you can relax and focus on manoeuvring a larger vehicle than you are used to driving.