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Seems like 7th gear is unaccessable? When I'm on highway I can't shift to 7th manually; actually cant at all. Only goes up to 6th. I figured I might as well try to upshift and save some gas, but it seems like I can't do that much with my route anyway. I get 28MPG on good days though.
When I stop I guess I have to shift it down slowly until I get to the stop? Its not like manual obv.
On my 2011, "manual mode" sets the upper limit for gearing. It doesn't force the tranny into the selected gear.
Setting the tranny to [3] doesn't keep it in 3rd gear. In other words, if you're in [3], the tranny will still start in 1, and then go to 2, and then to 3. {I haven't tried pushing it to see if the computer will upshift beyond the selected gear when the revs get up there}
The reason you don't see [7] is because [D] selects the entire range.
On my 2011, "manual mode" sets the upper limit for gearing. It doesn't force the tranny into the selected gear.
Setting the tranny to [3] doesn't keep it in 3rd gear. In other words, if you're in [3], the tranny will still start in 1, and then go to 2, and then to 3. {I haven't tried pushing it to see if the computer will upshift beyond the selected gear when the revs get up there}
The reason you don't see [7] is because [D] selects the entire range.
Oh.
That's kind of weak then
Slight letdown.
When you switch to manual it downshifts; I was driving ~45mph, downshifted to 4 then reshifted to 5, and then shifted up to 6. And it worked, because rpm's went down, so thats not the same thing then...idk
You don't "switch" it to manual, you just tap it left to downshift, right to up shift. Generally if you are going to use it you are probably looking to downshift for more performance. Then it will hold the revs in that gear. When you stop it will still show the gear you had it set to, but it will start in 1st in Sport, 2nd in Economy. Then it will keep up shifting on its own until it reaches the gear you had selected before. Hardly a manual, but you can have a little fun with it. Still miss not driving a manual car anymore.
I have noticed is the usual acceleration lag that everyone complains about. However, I have found out that when I have my whole foot flat against the accelerator pedal and accelerate with my foot in that position it seems like the lag smooths out and comes on quicker. I am guessing that is because I typically only use part of my foot on the pedal. I kind of have my heel between the accelerator and the brake, so that it is easier and quicker to brake as I can pivot on my heel. By doing that I only am pushing down on the accelerator with the top part of my foot and I guess that feels like I have to put more force on the pedal to get it to do its thing. When my foot is flush against it it feels like less effort to push the pedal and I get the sensation that it responds quicker. Am guessing that might be what the sprint booster must feel like. Maybe its just me, but I would guess a lot of people work the gas and brake like I do and maybe the pedal is designed more for the full foot on it. Then again, maybe I'm crazy.
Naw Alfa, I do a similar thing, and sometimes I don't pick up speed as quickly as "others" would like to. So they pass me in their prius :O
Right well that clears it up. I guess its a good thing in a way to you cant screw up your tranny, but still kind of lacks the experience.
Someone said to get rid of the lag they set their car to D6 and the lag just went away. Doesn't make sense but maybe someone should try it and report back; I've sort of gotten used to the lag since I've been driving only this a lot recently, so I won't be able to tell much I don't think, but I'll give it a shot.
I have done that, where I put it in D6 and that "seems" to help a little, especially on the freeway. Even better is leaving it in a lower gear, like D5 or D4, like on city streets, if you know on the streets you will be driving on will not have it rev higher than you would like.
I also like to just quickly, lightly tap the accelerator and it will quickly drop a gear, kind of like heel and toeing in a manual. If you time it right the acceleration is a lot quicker because you are already in a lower gear.
It will never be as good as we would like, but I have kind of come to terms with it after driving the better part of the last 30 years driving nothing but manuals.
Also on a side note, I left my car outside last night and this morning driving it on my daily commute, it seemed like a whole different car...literally, it was picking up speed like a c63 and I was barely hitting it...it was like I got a tune and sprintbooster all at once lol. No idea, but on the way back it was back to normal. Hm.
About the car not wanting to shift into 7th on the highway... If you have it in Sport mode it will take a while to shift to 7th and usually won't do so on mine until I hit 70+ MPH. If I switch it from Sport to Eco mode while I'm on the highway it will instantly upshift to 7 on its own.
"Manual" mode is not common, and you generally get it as part of the "dynamic handling package".
The picture above shows both the "sport mode" and the "manual mode" buttons. The "manual mode" button acts exactly how you described in your original post and will hold gears to your hearts content. However without true "manual mode" shifting through gears is really a range limiter and doesn't represent the gear your in.
About the car not wanting to shift into 7th on the highway... If you have it in Sport mode it will take a while to shift to 7th and usually won't do so on mine until I hit 70+ MPH. If I switch it from Sport to Eco mode while I'm on the highway it will instantly upshift to 7 on its own.
I owe you one (all this time I was under the impression the car should be at a standstill when pressing down the switch for the eco - sport change).
I really don't drive this beauty very much (but it's a striking little coupe).
I'd definitely shrug it off as internet rumor. The only time you require to be on standstill (or extremely low speed) is when you are shifting to reverse, or when switching between Hi/Low on manual transfer cases. The rest can be done on the fly.
Just wondering if some people would interpret the wording differently.
When I first read the quoted wording from the manual where it says "E or S to Manual" my interpretation was:
'E to Manual' or 'S to Manual' vs. 'E to S'?
Which means E to S can be done without vehicle being stationary?
Honestly, my W204 C300 did not come with the M mode, hence I always play with E/S mode while driving and experienced no problems.
Maybe the car equipped with the M mode should follow the guideline in the manual. (Change E/S to M when stationary)
Just my thought.
You're right, it is technically stating about switching from either of the automatic programs (E/S) to Manual. In the older W203 manual the wording was different and said the same thing about switching between C/S only when the vehicle was stationary. The W203 manual states the following:
"Never change the program mode when the gear selector is out of the position P."
I switch between E/S all the time while driving and I've never experienced a problem or any odd behavior due to it.
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