auto to smart transmission?

[kateyk12]

I had a little rabbit over 20 years ago that was manual trans., but have been driving automatic transmission cars every since. How tough would it be for me to transition to driving a smart car? It doesn't have that 3rd petal, right? so, how does that work? you just take your foot off the gas, shift then resume??

sorry to sound like a moron, but if I don't get a chance to test drive it, I would like to know if I would be able to.

[jwight]

My guess is it will be no problem for you. Drives just like an automatic, but you have the option of going through the gears manually if you want to (much like the VW Tiptronic transmissions.) The driver controls the throttle pedal, the car's computer shifts the gears.

[randyzimmer]

None at all.
Gas and brake, car does the rest.

[kannonvaggon]

Yep. Works just like an actual automatic transmission when ya want it to do that. Just put it in drive and yer good to go. My wife ONLY uses the "auto" function. I myself like to "fiddle" with the gears now and then just mostly when acting like boy racer on the backroads... Ya even get the choice of using the paddles or the shifter to up and down a gear if'n ya got the paddles. I usually use the shifter cuz if I'm doing it at all I'm usually in some twisties and I personally find the paddles to be almost useless whilst turning the wheel back and forth briskly. The shifter works fine.
The auto controller does a pretty good job itself, but I find it seems to be a bit on the slow side to downshift and a bit ahead of the game on most upshifts unless one gets in the throttle fairly deeply. Not all that bad and somewhat entertaining and different.

[stevenvillatoro]

Put it in 'D' and go. You simply have additional versatility IF you want it.

[SGTMAJOR]

I drove around in "D" for the first couple of days..... now it's nothing but the paddle shifters. (smile) Love this thing!

[stevenvillatoro]

Originally Posted by SGTMAJOR

I drove around in "D" for the first couple of days..... now it's nothing but the paddle shifters. (smile) Love this thing!

I drove around in 'manual' mode for the first couple of days... now it's usually in 'D' so I can return the 'thumbs-up' from other drivers, and wave to the cameras.

[SuperGeek]

I've driven auto my whole life, after a horrible learning experience on a manual. Transition to smart's transmission was seamless, except for the 'nodding dog' effect which I solved in my first hour.

I drive in "D" (auto) mode in the mornings when I'm too tired to shift properly. I've found that before 9am I'm more likely to forget I'm in manual mode and rev a cold engine to 5k RPMs and that's not healthy for any engine. So, I go to work in "D" mode most of the time, shift to manual if I need passing speed (pop it left and down once and you can downshift for medium acceleration; in auto mode to downshift you need to floor it, and it will move).

5mph in a parking lot will drive you batty, though. It's taking me longer to figure out the technique there. Give it some gas and it's fine, let go and in 1st gear it'll slow down pretty quick. Kinda embarrassing when I'm surrounded by pedestrians staring at me, thinking the car's screwed up when it's really the driver. I'm thinking, hey, I slowed down because you stepped in front of me, now please get out of my way. But no, they want to stop and stare in the middle of traffic. Something about pedestrians having the right of way. Pesky laws.