How to drive a manual car - a quick and easy guide with pictures

Learning how to drive in a car with a manual gearbox can be an intimidating prospect. However, with the right guidance and preparation, you will easily master the process of changing gears, using the clutch and focusing on the road ahead.

Before you start, it's important to research the process of driving a manual car.

To help you do this, we've created this step-by-step guide that covers:

• How the controls work on a manual car
• How to pull away in a manual car
• How to stop a manual car
• Tips and advice to avoid damaging the gearbox and clutch of a manual car

How do the controls work on a car with a manual gearbox?

Typically, manual cars will have six controls:

• Clutch pedal
• Brake pedal
• Accelerator pedal
• Steering wheel
• Handbrake/parking brake
• Gearlever

Clutch pedal

The clutch is the pedal that is located on the far left of the driver's footwell.

It is essentially two metal plates that connect the engine to the drive wheels.

By pressing your foot down on the clutch pedal, you’re disconnecting the engine from the gearbox.

You should use the clutch pedal with your left foot and only activate it when changing gear, moving off or coming to a halt.

Brake pedal

The brake pedal is located between the clutch on the left and the accelerator on the right.

You press the brake with your right foot to slow the vehicle or bring it to a stop.

Accelerator pedal

The accelerator controls the engine’s revs. The pedal controls the throttle valve, which increases air and fuel into the engine.

Pressing the pedal increases engine power, while easing off will generally reduce the vehicle's speed.

Steering wheel

The steering wheel controls the direction of the front wheels.

Modern vehicles sometimes house buttons and dials on the steering wheel which operate the cruise control, audio system and driver's display.

Handbrake/Parking brake

The handbrake, also known as parking brake, locks the rear wheels and is used to secure the vehicle and prevent it from moving after the engine has been switched off.

On older vehicles, the handbrake/parking brake is activated and deactivated with a lever located between the driver's seat and front passenger's seat.

Electric handbrakes/parking brakes are common on the latest cars, with the function activated or deactivated with a button or handle.

Gearstick

All manual cars have a gearstick, located between the driver's seat and front passenger's seat.

The gearstick will have 5 or 6 forward gears and a single reverse gear.

You must press the clutch fully with your foot to change gear. Failure to do so will result in damage to the gearbox.

How to drive a manual car

Driving a manual car is a simple process. But it's important to follow some key steps to ensure you remain safe.

How to pull away driving a manual car

1. Unlock the car and open the driver's door
2. Get in the car and put on your seatbelt
3. Ensure you can reach all of the controls. If you are unable to do this, adjust the seat until you can comfortably reach the steering wheel and pedals
4. If required, adjust the door mirrors and rear-view mirror
5. Check the gearbox is in neutral - you should be able to wiggle the gearlever from side to side.
6. Put the key in the ignition and start the car (press the start button if the vehicle is keyless)
7. Press the clutch pedal down with your left foot (this the pedal on the far left) 
8. Move the gearlever into first gear
9. Use your right foot to press down on the accelerator (pedal on the right) gently to increase the engine’s revs very slightly
10. Slowly lift the clutch pedal using your left foot until it you feel a vibration
11. This vibration is known as the car’s “bite point” - this is where the clutch plates start to come together.
12. Release the handbrake and the car will start to move slowly
13. Hold the revs steady while slowly raising your foot off the clutch unit you are moving forward with only the use of the accelerator pedal

If you’re too quick lifting your foot off the clutch, or don’t give it enough revs, the car will stall: that’s where the engine cuts out and the red lights glow on the dashboard.

If you stall, apply the brakes, turn the engine off, return the gearlever to neutral and begin the process again.

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How to stop a manual car

Stopping a manual car is a simple process.

1. Gently apply the brakes with your right foot
2. Increase the pressure on the brake pedal as you being to stop
3. Ease the pressure on the brake pedal as you approach a complete stop and press the clutch pedal with your left foot
4. When you have stopped, put the gear into neutral
5. Apply the handbrake/parking brake and release the clutch by lifting your left foot
6. Switch off the car with the key or start button if you are parking

How to drive a manual car on a hill

To drive uphill in a manual car you may need to change to a lower gear.

This is because engines need a certain number of revs to produce power, and if the revs drop below a certain point the engine will labour and vibrate, and could stall.

Depending on your speed, just change down a gear or two, and drive as normal.

You may find you need to put your foot down on the accelerator a little further than usual to achieve a normal level of speed when going uphill. Just be careful when you return to level ground, and be ready to ease off the accelerator and change to a higher gear.

To do a hill start, follow the instructions above, but you may want to engage the handbrake, rather than use the footbrake. This is so that you can use one foot for the clutch, and the other one for the accelerator as soon as possible, which will help you to avoid rolling backwards.

It's even more important to get the strongest bite possible when you're using the clutch on a hill start. Follow our full hill start guide here for more advice.

How to avoid damaging the clutch

Over time, you’ll get used to a car’s clutch and have a good understanding of where its bite point is, as well as how many revs you need to give it to move off.

It sounds complicated but you’ll develop a natural feel for it with practice.

If you’re not careful, though, it can be easy to wear the clutch out prematurely – and that’s likely to cost at least £300, rising well into four figures for some cars. Follow these tips and your clutch should easily last for 100,000 mile or more:

Don’t use the clutch to hold the car on hills or creep forward at junctions. This can heat up the clutch plates and cause wear.

If you’re waiting at a junction, in traffic or at a roundabout, it’s tempting to hold the car at the clutch’s bite point, allowing you a quick getaway when you can move. But this can cause unnecessary wear, especially if you do it often.

Stop, put the handbrake on, and only use the clutch when you’re ready to pull away.

Don’t hold the clutch down when you’re stopped

Again, it’s tempting to leave your car in gear and keep your foot on the clutch when you’re stopped in traffic.

This puts a lot of pressure on the clutch release bearing, however, which could wear out quickly if you do it regularly.

Keep the revs to a minimum

To avoid stalling, especially during hill starts, many drivers are too heavy with the accelerator.

This can cause unnecessary wear on the clutch plates.

You need a minimum amount of revs to get the car to move – and if you’re gentle enough, most cars can move without using the accelerator at all.

How many gears do manual cars have?

Years ago, was normal for manual cars to have just four gears.

In theory, this would make them easier to drive than the cars of today, but back then you’d also have to learn old-fashioned techniques such as double declutching as they didn’t have synchromesh gearboxes.

Gearboxes were also much vaguer than today, making it more difficult to find gears.

Today, most cars have at least five gears, with six gears increasingly becoming the norm

By having an extra-high sixth gear, the engine can run at lower revs during motorway cruising, helping reduce fuel consumption.

Seven-speed manual gearboxes are rare but they do exist – you can get them in supercars such as the Porsche 911 and Chevrolet Corvette.

For more information on passing your theory test and booking the practical driving test, visit our learning to drive section.

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What are the advantages of manual gearboxes?

Whether you prefer manual or automatic gearboxes will come down to personal preference, but there are some clear advantages to driving a manual.

For a start, they’re generally cheaper to buy and better on fuel than automatics.

There are a number of reasons for this – automatic gearboxes are usually heavier than manuals, and traditional torque-converter auto ’boxes would waste energy building the resistance of hydraulic fluid to transfer drive from the engine to the wheels.

Manual gearboxes are generally better for those who like to feel in control, too.

If you’re planning an overtake, for example, in a manual you can drop down a gear in advance for a quick reaction when you need the acceleration.

In an automatic, there might be slight hesitation when you floor the accelerator while the gearbox decides on the right gear.

Today, many automatics come with manual or sport modes for this situation, however.

The same applies in poor conditions such as driving across a muddy field or in the snow.

An automatic gearbox might get confused and select the wrong gear, spinning the wheels or struggling to maintain momentum.

In a manual, you can select a higher gear to increase torque, or slow down using the gears rather than the brakes, helping the driver remain in control.

How to 'heel-and-toe'

When you get used to driving a manual, you may wish to learn more advanced driving techniques such as how to “heel-and-toe”.

The name of this is actually a bit misleading – the pedal setup of cars used to mean you could increase the revs of the engine by toe-ing the brake pedal and blipping the throttle with your heel.

Today, it’s easier to rest the left of your right foot on the brake and blip the accelerator with the right half of your foot.

The benefit of this, when slowing down, is to enable you to rev match as you work down through the gearbox as you brake.

In truth, it’s a little unnecessary – during normal road driving, there’s little to be gained by doing this rather than slowing down using the brake before disengaging the clutch and selecting an appropriate gear, rather than overlapping braking and changing gear.

Once you’ve learned how to do it, however, it’s a satisfying skill – and if you ever take your car on a track day, it could shave seconds from your lap times.

If you’re thinking about doing it for the first time, it’s best to try it on private land without any other cars about and also read our step by step guide to attending your first track day.

After you've learned to drive a manual, it's worth looking at the RAC's breakdown cover product, which will give you complete peace of mind when you start driving in your own vehicle.

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