rustybear3

Sill breaking in my car, but nonetheless, see the paddle shifters as more of a novelty unless you're tracking the car. How many of you use it outside of this and why?

El Cid

In 9 years of ownership have probably used them about three times and that was when the car was new. Have no use for them.
However, paddle shifters make the console shifter redundant or useless. Put shifters on the steering column where they belong, except for race cars maybe.

rbrylaw

Zero. Zip. Nadda. Never. None. Wouldn't bother me if they weren't there.

ua549

I much prefer steering wheel paddles over a console mounted stick. I use them every time I drive the car. I've found that the programmed shift points don't always work well. Sometimes it will stay in third gear into 40 mph range. Other times it will be in 7th gear at the same speed. It is just natural for me to use the paddles. I've had them for over a decade on my BMW's. That said, I only manually up shift because the car does a decent job of downshifting when required.

etaynor

I use my paddles every day. There is a steep hill shortly after i leave my house and i down shift each time i go up or down that hill. I rarely ride the brakes downhill. I think it provides greater control.

JTK44

All the time: I grew up driving stick shift in sports cars. I use them for deceleration on exit ramps off of the interstates and for controlling my speed on long descents. The transmission is warranted for 100,000 miles, and the brakes are replaced at your expense. Need I say more!

Cao Black

I would be in the "not since the car was new" category, but looks like about 50/50 so far. Surprising.

sackboydad

rustybear3

It seems those that do use them occasionally are using them in place of their brakes. either going off ramps or descending hills. Still seems a very limited usage.

c4004matic

Essentially never use them, on the track even less. The transmission on the E43 makes them irrelevant particularly while lapping a track at 130mph. The only time I have used them is in comfort mode to get instantaneous response. Best auto transmission on the market period.

SCRL

I use them for over-taking. A quick "double click" of the left hand one before I start the manoeuvre makes sure I have the correct gear rather than waiting for the gearbox to downshift after I've already started. I find it's smoother for passengers too since the double downshift when not under acceleration is barely noticeable versus a downshift under open throttle.

I also use the left hand one to make SURE I'm in first when approaching a junction that I'm going to need to squirt out of having not QUITE come to a stop. Otherwise the transmission will still be in 2, which is no good.

I think the thing is that the transmission can obviously read the current vehicle conditions and react perfectly. What it can't do is read the driver's mind as to what he intends to do NEXT, so the paddles are useful as a way to give the machine a "hint" prior to it happening.

MikeO3

^^^ Exactly the same for me but also on the straight line when I get bored.

stephos

I'm still running in my car, so I'm keeping well away from them for now.

On other cars in the past, the frequency of my paddle use has depended on the gearbox. If it's good and quick to react when/how I need it to, then I've got no need to reach for a paddle.

I tend to use them more when driving my wife's car (VW Golf GTI) because I can pull on the paddle and drop down a single gear for swift acceleration. Whereas if I try to kick-down using the throttle pedal, it'll drop down 2 gears and accelerate very hard - not nice for passengers.

So far the 9G transmission on my E450 has been very good but I'll only be able to deliver a final verdict after I've properly run it in and tested it in a variety of scenarios. Looking so far though

teksurv

I use mine infrequently, but when used it's generally for mild deceleration.

Egonvdv

I sometimes downshift when going down a steep hill/mountain road, which is maybe 1-2 times a year
they are pretty useless in an automatic..

larrypmyers

My feelings exactly.

fvc

I use them to shift to a higher gear, for better gas mileage while in sport mode and I know I'll be cruising for a while. That's about it.

The_Judge

I've had paddle shifters on my last seven cars, going back to my 2003 E55, and I've very rarely every used any of them. I find that the 9-speed tranny on my current car (2018 E400 Coupe) is very responsive to the throttle, downshifting and upshifting smoothly and appropriately. If I want more aggressive shifting, I simply select the Sport of Sport+ modes. IMHO, it does a better job than I could ever hope to achieve. I drove stick shifts for many years, so I'm not unfamiliar with manual transmissions, but IMHO the paddle shifters are the automotive equivalent of teats on a boar.

rbrylaw

Tell us how you "really" feel! LOL

suby01

I use the paddle shifters all the time. I like them so much that I even got paddle shifter extenders!

That way I don't have to keep my hands on 3 and 9 o'clock only in order to be able to use them. Why use them? When doing spirited driving in back country twisty roads, in Auto the transmission just gets confused and suggests what it wants you to do. To not burn up the brakes as much when you're going 140+mph and need to slow down. The MB paddles including the transmission shifts are a little bit counter intuitive that the transmission will still shift on its own when the engine reaches redline, too many nanny proof systems in place. But also when accelerating as you are in a constant speed, down shift so you have your higher RPM ready for immediate reaction and power.

mickhoog

nope. don't use mine. never have.

ygmn

When I am alone out for a cruise and find a nice stretch of road I sometimes use the paddles but not that much as car does good job and I am normally playing with radio finding a good song on the usb stick.

Cambridgehank

I never used them until reading this thread. I tried and will not need to do it again. What a waste of technology on a limo style car.

johna1

Me too!

KingScrubs