2009 Nissan 370Z Touring: Nice Feature

Don`t you realize that by feeling? Just touching the gear lever you sense what gear you are in cause of its position.
As for the R indicator that might be good if its in a car that has a 6speed with a kinda tricky reverse engagement.

the new legacy/outback with the manual transmission has that too.

At first I chuckled ("Ha, Donna doesn't even know when she's in reverse..."), but then I remembered yes, I have looked down myself to make sure, so I can see it's usefulness.

This is why I'm thankful for my big sis's advice when she taught me to drive stick; she told me when in fear the car may roll, while reversing or taking off, to apply the e-brake. When you feel the car is moving forward, or backward when reversing, release it and be on your merry way.

That advice has saved me and my bumpers many times.

@cr - I do and there's also the sound and feel of the engine plus the tach to go by. But.......I can tell you after 25 years of owning/driving manual trans vehicles that esp with the 6spd at lower speeds (say 35-50) it wasn't always easy to tell by looking at the shifter or feeling its position, what gear I was in. It's in those instances where I wouldn't mind having the option to glance at the IP for the confirmation of gear etc.

This could be even more usefull in cars that you can barely hear the engine, not like this one for sure

Not something I would use very often, as I rarely have an issue determining whether I am in reverse or not. In my Civic Si, reverse is to the right of 6th and it's a very specific location - hard to mistake it for anything else. This is probably different in other cars. Where is reverse in the Z?

As mentioned above, the new 2010 Subaru Legacy and Outback have this gear indicator feature with car equipped with the 6-speed manual trannys.

It's a great reminder for highway use. Many cars today are so smooth and quiet that's it's easy to forget if you're in 4th, 5th or 6th gear. This is especially true with close-ratio 6-speeds. I hope we see more gear indicators on manual trannys. I wish I had one in my WRX, as I often find myself driving in 4th, thinking I'm in 5th; or driving in 3rd, thinking I'm in 4th. It's a small detail, but a good one.

No offence to anyone, but if you are driving a car with a clutch pedal and you need an indicator to tell you what gear you are in, you have issue.

I agreed that if it is a car that you don't drive everyday, and is not your car, you are more excuse from it. But if it is a car you own, even if you don't drive it everyday, you really should know by feel alone.

I think my 1999 Saturn SC2 had that feature. Anyway, I agree it's a nice feature. Yes, 98% of the time you know what gear you're in intuitively, but sometimes you zone out. When my Mazda3 was new, I often came out of 5th hoping to grab a higher gear. It took some time to get used to what seems like a fairly high 3000-3200 rpm at cruising speed. I had been shifting at 2500-3000 during break in, and in an effort to maximize mpg, so it felt natural to upshift one more time, even though I was already in 5th. I can't complain about the fuel economy, but I wonder how much better it might be if there was a nice tall 6th gear.

The previous-gen Mazda6 has this gear indicator on at all times with even the auto trans (so it's active even when you are not in manual shift mode). I like that, it's fun to have.

I can see how this could be useful. It's certainly a feature where it wouldn't hurt to have it. I've recently moved from driving an automatic to a manual myself and I've thankfully not had many issues as far as determining which gear I'm in.

I've found that it helps to get to know how your car drives in certain gears and at certain speeds. This does mean getting to know the car's gear ratios to some extent, but it does wonders when it comes to knowing what gear you're in. I suppose it'd also help to take some time here and there and just sit in the car and move the shifter through the gates and get an idea of how it feels in each gear.

I've found that in my WRX that it's been easy to tell what gear I'm in. The gears are relatively tall so it isn't too hard to tell what gear I'm in if I check my speed and RPMs and shifting through the gates of the 5-speed gearbox is hardly vague, although that's been helped by a short throw shifter. The stock shifter wasn't bad either though.

I feel like it's pretty easy to tell what gear you're in by feel with a 5-speed as opposed to a 6-speed. I could be wrong though as my exposure to manual 6-speed gearboxes is very limited. In my WRX though, it's a dead giveaway of what gear it's in if I put my hand on the shifter.

I think it is a great feature. I often wished for that when driving any manual, especially the 86 Nova 5 speed we owned for 12 years. I also would like it for automatic transmissions that come without tachometers. I realize most cars today do have tachometers, but my 2000 Venture does not, it would be nice to know how many rpms the engine is turning when climbing hills. Although after 10 years, 95000 miles, I have adjusted.

My spouse used to say you don't need a tachometer, or the gear indicator, but then many times she drove on the freeway in 4th gear, never bothering to go to 5th, unless reminded.

If you're driving a car with a manual and you can't tell what gear it's in...do everyone a favor, and park it .

Donna, I'm going to assume that when you took that photo, the clutch was pushed in. I mention this only because with the new Legacy and Outback, if the clutch is pushed in, the gear indicator doesn't show what gear you're in. It only shows the gear when the clutch pedal is released.

If so, then it is a little different than the Subie in that instance.