In a world where manuals are a dying breed, so called “semi-automatic” transmissions have long become most automakers’ popular alternatives or even replacements for manuals. Often better known by various automaker branding such as Steptronic, Geartronic, or Sportronic, these transmissions seek to offer the best of both worlds by giving drivers the ability to “shift-it-yourself” without a clutch pedal, either through the gearshift selector itself, or more recently, steering wheel mounted paddle shifters. But are these really proper substitutes for true manual transmissions? The general opinion, one that I personally share, is “no”.
I for one, have always owned automatics, and find them best suited for my needs in a daily driver. Living in the greater Boston area often entails horrendous traffic, and chronic achilles tendonitis from years of long-distance running, a sport which I continue to take part in, makes driving manual downright painful sometimes. That being said, I thoroughly enjoy driving manual every now and then, and it would be the only choice in transmission if I ever bought a fun weekend driver.
The first car I ever experienced paddle shifters in was my uncle’s Mk5 VW GTI. I remember him excitedly talking about them when he took delivery, and showing me how to use them when he took me out driving shortly after I got my learners permit. I never really warmed up to them and now a decade later, the last three of my cars all having paddle shifters, they are still something I could care less about. I’ve tried them a few times on occasion, but if I’m ever going to shift myself in an automatic semi-automatic, I prefer the gearshift, which in itself is a very rare occasion.
For me, there isn’t really any gray space in the middle. I’ll either drive fully automatic or fully manual. From my experience, I’ve found most people are the same way. But I am curious to know if there is anyone out there who does use their paddle shifters. Does anyone even prefer them?
The only time I ever used my autostick was when something went wrong with my rev limiter and it wouldn’t shift out of first gear when I was accelerating onto a highway. That remedy failed and I had to pull over and restart the engine. This is all just a marketing gimmick especially now that automatic transmissions are more efficient than their manual counterparts.
That Mk5 Golf GTI that introduced you to paddle shifters may be one of the few cars I’d occasionally use them in. VW Group’s dual-clutch transmission with it’s split-second, near-instantaneous upshifts and downshifts show off the paddles at their best and most useful. They work less well with a traditional slushbox (including VW’s sometimes sluggish 6-speed auto) and especially CVTs with fake “gears”. But even paddle shifters get more use from me than “sport mode”, “eco mode”, or other modes on the main floor shifter. The whole point of an automatic transmission is that it’s automatic. I shouldn’t need to deal with paddles and modes. (except sometimes the winter mode if well executed).
The comments seem to cover the range from true paddle shifting to merely using the gear selector to pick a gear, which the transmission controller may or may not actually select. I’ve only driven one car with steering wheel shift controls, a Ferrari, and yes – I used them and it was fun.
Today I briefly drove a new Mini rental with automatic on a tight mountain road, and while the powerband and transmission programming didn’t play well together in Drive, attempting to use the unintuitive manual modes was no more successful for me, so I eased off and just cruised in D. To be fair, some more experience with the car may have resulted in a satisfying experience. But in just a 30 minute drive the instrumentation and control layout and function got a D minus grade for me.
On my Tacoma there are frequently mountain road situations where I would rather pick the gear I want and hold it, not the gear the computer picks and then changes every few seconds based on throttle opening, rpm and road speed, so I use the lever, and would perhaps prefer to be able select that gear without removing my hands from the wheel. But that scenario is certainly not one where I’d play the paddles up and down like I would the shifter on my motorcycle. If I wanted to do that I wouldn’t be driving my truck.
By the way, interesting to read the different opinions on the 6MT Fit … we test drove a 2018 Fit Sport and both my wife and I felt the combination of powerband, clutch and shifter feel, and gear ratios was nearly as nice as the Golf we ended up with.
Finally, while I realize some people need automatics for medical reasons, it’s not my experience that heavy stop and go traffic is a real reason to go clutchless. While drivers in China, Japan, Taiwan, Australia and the US seem to be adopting automatics in a big way, urban traffic in France, Italy and the UK is pretty bad but those folks seem to do just fine with 3 pedals.
In the UK, automatics are now in about 40% of new cars sold. The take rate for the rest of Europe is growing steadily.
Europeans are apparently just more stoic (or cheaper). Let’s face it; a clutch gets old in stop and go traffic.
Amen. About 15 years ago I was overjoyed to find a nice (at least superficially) ’85 Volvo 245 Turbo with M46 4-speed + overdrive. So much so that I flew to North Carolina to fetch it. But Toronto’s traffic very quickly made me half-wish for an automatic. The other half of the wish came from something that hadn’t occurred to me the previous times I’d picked a car: this time I had a partner (now spouse), and the manual transmission meant we couldn’t readily hold hands in city traffic slow and otherwise low-demand enough for one hand to suffice on the steering wheel.
I last read it was 30% and was surprised by that, but many Europeans simply don’t want auto, there are very few auto drivers amongst my friends and family, its what they choose.
Most people here purchase secondhand anyway, many new cars are purchased by companies and many jobs come with a company cars as a perk. The end users do not have to consider the repair costs after the warrantee period.
In the secondhand car market, used autos are regarded with suspicion and for good reason, I have had 4 gearbox failures since 1978, 3 autos and only one manual, and reconditioned manual gearboxes are cheap and readily available, autos are very expensive in comparison
In 2017, it was 37.4% and rising. It’s safe to assume it will hit 40% any day now soon.
I certainly use them. Part of what’s great about driving is having control and more control is more fun. Maybe if I lived somewhere flat, I’d skip them but with California hills and curves, using shifting for engine/ gear braking, anyway I can is fantastic.
I’m with the author on this, paddle shifters suck compared to buttons on the shifter stalk. I’ve only driven a manual once, and thought I may like it if I ever get the opportunity to drive one for an extended period, but that hasn’t happened (I’m not quite old/stable enough to buy my own car). That being said, I’ve driven a Focus with shifter buttons and a Chrysler 300 and an Acura TL with paddle shifters. I found the paddle shifters an ergonomic nightmare if I tried to shift while steering, whereas obviously button shifting didn’t present the same problem. So if I had to choose between paddle shifters or no manual control at all but having a responsive automatic that doesn’t shift at 2500rpm while still accelerating, I’d choose the latter.
(My two cents turned out to be awfully cheap per word)
Practically every day (2012 MDX). Primarily for downshifting when approaching slowing traffic or before going into a Turn. The MDX system is nice, in that if you use the paddles while in normal automatic mode it resumes auto operation at the next logical shift point. But if you place the selector in S mode, using the paddles puts it into full manumatic.
I have experience with paddle shifters in both exotic and regular cars. A few years back, I did a HPDE (high performance driving experience) day with a company that supplied the cars and the location. You got your choice of exotic car and were supplied with a driving coach to go around a local sports car track.The cars were automatic only, apparently due to the fact that many of the participants had never driven manuals on a road course and it would make it easier for the driving coach to take control of the car in the event of a problem. The Lamborghini I was driving was quite fun and I will do it again when I get a chance.
My kid’s Saturn Aura XR had the 3.6L V6 and the six speed auto with the shifter paddles on the steering wheel. I’d driven the car numerous times and found them somewhat useful in challenging terrain. Like others mentioned, the transmissions on their own upshift frequently and don’t downshift far enough for braking purposes. At least on that car, it was fairly powerful and when the transmission was left to it’s own programming it was a good setup. The paddle shifters weren’t that necessary.
My own car, a Pontiac G6 with the 2.4L Ecotec and a similar six speed automatic has an “Autostick” style of selector. The funny thing with that car is that at part throttle acceleration, it will shift up with nice clean shifts. However, trying to merge in fast highway traffic, the trans will “flare” or not shift up into the next highest gear and rev beyond the HP and torque curves. I end up using the autostick feature to try and better match the revs to the gears, but even then, the trans STILL sometimes flares. Again, like others have mentioned, the trans will decide when the appropriate time is for shifting, not you, meatbag.
I also would probably like to have a manual of some sort, but after breaking my left ankle twice in three years, it’s not having any more of that, so automatics for me…
My only experience with paddle shifter semi-automatics has been in rentals or BMW loaners, and I’ve never been happy with the lag. I only use them when driving through hilly areas where I have to hold gears. My own personal ride of course is a 5-speed 89 E30, so I don’t ever daily something like that. I do use manual mode for in auto-equipped cars because sliding the shifter over to M and driving normally changes the shift points, or allows me to use fuzzy/learning logic to change the shift points. My all-time favorite auto trans experience was figuring out there was a hidden sport mode on my cousin’s 1997-ish 740il, which changed the car dramatically – my cousin, a racer, drove it after and was shocked at how different it was, iirc.
Tested them in a 2017 Fit hybrid (I live in Japan), and even the salesman said “they are not worth the cost, but try them”. He was right. They reacted too slowly (the Fit drivetrain’s computer shifts when it decides the time is right).