All of a sudden, I don't know how to drive stick. And I'm not blaming it on the Hyundai Azera by any means. It was just the car that I tried driving in its manual mode. I love driving stick but remember when I first had to come to terms with that "extra pedal" and how much I sweated every time I stalled the car...
So I figured that driving a manual mode in an automatic car couldn't possibly be as difficult, but, boy, was I wrong. (With all the cars I get to drive, I rarely try the manual mode.) I just can't figure it out but it seems that unlike a regular manual, you can't just downshift 4-3-2-1 without braking. And after watching the other more experienced drivers handle the mode, I had wanted to try using engine braking instead of the actual brakes to slow down.
I was rolling to a stop and tried to downshift all the way to 1st gear but it only went down to 2nd gear, so I gave up, switched back to "Drive" and hit the brakes. Boo. I know it'll take practice but I don't feel a pressing need to figure this out. Paddle shifters, yes. Automanual? Not so much.
Deputy Managing Editor Caroline Pardilla at 14,105 miles
I was rolling to a stop and tried to downshift all the way to 1st gear but it only went down to 2nd gear, so I gave up, switched back to "Drive" and hit the brakes. Boo. I know it'll take practice but I don't feel a pressing need to figure this out. Paddle shifters, yes. Automanual? Not so much.
Deputy Managing Editor Caroline Pardilla at 14,105 miles
stingray454 says:
01:41 PM, 07/10/07
Yeah, I think these manual mode automatics are a pure gimmick. Most people I know with this feature use it once or twice, then leave it in D the rest of the time. There's virtually no fun at all in it versus driving a real manual. Most cars with this, the shifts seem to come seconds after you order them, which seems like an eternity when you want to shift fast.
DSG is the only version of automated shifting I may be pleased with.
tackepj says:
02:31 PM, 07/10/07
It probably prohibits dropping it into 1st while still moving without the brakes in order to avoid an abrupt jolt. I agree with stingray that this feature is somewhat gimmicky for most folks. Those who pay attention to their car enough to want to use it would probably just get a manual anyway...and those who prefer a slushbox pretty much don't care and will likely leave it in "D".
jaymagic says:
03:01 PM, 07/10/07
If you happen to drive in a state with mountains you would find it very handy to have the "slap shift" capability. It is much easier to use than most automatics to shift into a lower gear for engine braking, to maintain a legal speed on a long downhill, or keeping the rev's up for a quicker response on a long uphill climb.
It also comes in handy on snow and ice for 2nd or 3rd gear starts and to keep the tranny from hunting at certain speeds on an icy road. I too would love to have DSG capability, but not the price of the cars with this capability.
Since neither prior poster has any apparent experience with a manumatic type transmission, their comments might hold more weight if they have lived with one.
ttummy says:
03:48 PM, 07/10/07
I have two manumatics, an Audi TT (prev gen) and an Infiniti FX45. I've also driven the Azera as a rental car and have used the manumatic mode.
The transmission prevented you from shifting into 1 so that you don't over rev the engine. You were probably going to too fast to downshift into 1.
Deputy Managing Editor means you've driven cars for how many years?
canadianbacon says:
05:32 PM, 07/10/07
Yeah it stopped you from doing it because it would overtax the engine to go to that low of a gear while you were still probably going a fair clip... 20 mph or so I'd imagine... Even full manuals don't let you do that, most of them limit shifts into first so that it won't go past its natural redline.
Also, these manumatics are very useful for those that need engine braking on a regular basis, like, oh, I don't know, Canadians and the whole northern US where ice is a concern. Tapping on the brakes, like you would to perhaps slow down a little, just prompts a skid on ice, and I've personally seen two or three spin-outs that cause accidents. Not fun. Engine braking is so much nicer.
dalaw says:
06:30 PM, 07/10/07
I would not downshift into 1st to slow down anyway. The drivetrain can jerk very badly doing so since I believe 1st gear ratio is considerably shorter than 2nd.
greenpony says:
11:50 AM, 07/11/07
In the automatics I've driven that would let you downshift to first, they either chirped the tires or blipped the throttle so as not to chirp tires.
swurster says:
07:39 AM, 07/12/07
Some of the shiftable automatics don't let you start in any gear except 1st. I know that's the case with my 2005 Infiniti G35. However my wife's Lexus IS 250 AWD lets you start in any gear. In fact, I think it defaults to 4th for a lot of stops, as that's what it puts the gear display to if you move the shifter from D to the manual mode when stopped. Very strange.
As for not letting you downshift into 1st, I used to have a 2001 Acura CL-S, and if you attempted to downshift in manual mode when the engine was revving too much for that lower gear, not only did it not downshift, but the gear display would flash the lower gear a few times letting you know that it could not execute the shift.
Another benefit of the manual mode in automatics is coasting downhill. That 2001 Acura would leave the tranny in 4th when going downhill, despite it being smoother in 5th. I would force the upshift to make the travel better and let the RPMs drop. I think the G35 goes into 5th quicker and stays there better than the Acura did, probably to help offset the gas-sucking tendency of that engine. Of course, whenever I engage manual mode in the G35 when it's in 5th, it always downshifts it into 4th. I have no idea why it does that.
blacke61 says:
11:35 PM, 07/25/07
I don't think it's a gimmick. Although I would agree that it's not absolutely necessary, it's a nice feature. Both our cars, 2007 BMW 5 and Camry have auto/manual gears and they come in very handy when overtaking or going up a hill. It's especially useful when driving Camry because my Camry's engine is only 2.4 and it's not easy to pass someone on the freeway sometimes. My wife tend to overuse downshifting and the car beeps when she tries to downshift when she really shouldn't. And I did notice that Camry automatically goes to the 4th gear whenever I switch over to manual. But it seems as though my BMW starts off in 2 as to make the start smooth (does anyone know if this is the case?). But trying to start from the 1st gear doesn't really make my Camry fly.
7r0j4n says:
02:38 AM, 02/ 7/09
automatics with shiftronic aka slushboxes, are not meant for performance(other than vw's dual clutch thing) especially coming from a hyundai sedan they are just more refined than seeing 1,2,3..on the shifter selection template like older cars have, more than likely selecting your own gears is for going up/down hill to engine break not really aimed at performance, either way the car knows what its doing in D if its an automatic it should be left alone.