More Gearshift Info

[MicroNut]

Another good review:

http://www.auto123.com/en/info/news/...py?artid=91605



Of particular interest, this journalist took the time to really give the gearshift a good work out. Some details I was unaware of (bolded below):

Those who had the opportunity to drive the first-generation fortwo are quite familiar with the hard-shifting transmission. While the new autobox is smoother, maintaining a solid foot on the throttle still results in a lot of jerky action. However, there's a way to eliminate it significantly: all you have to do is to slightly release the throttle near shift points

In manual mode, with the help of the tachometer, finding the ideal spot to shift gears is easy. You can either use the console-mounted stick or the shift paddles on the steering wheel (Passion models only). Engineers made a significant addition to the whole process: by clicking twice on the paddles or quickly tapping the shifter forward twice, you can skip a gear. For instance, after taking off in first gear, you can shift directly to third gear, which comes is handy in fast city traffic. You can also downshift from fifth to third gear when the traffic slows down unexpectedly.

[SmartBob]

Good stuff, M.N. These are the kind of notes I should right down for the real thing one day.