aga

I am very displeased with the Speedshift feature of the SLK32 AMG. Not that the shifting itself is slow, it isn’t. That seems very fast and crisp, and in fact right on the dot when the car shifts at redline. The problem is that when using the manual shifting there is a large delay or lag, prior to the actual shifting. This delay is 2-3 times as long as the actual shifting. What do others think? And if you could try to time your shifting and see how it compares. I am also interested to know if anyone thinks this could be related to the adaptive aspect of the transmission. I can see it deciding to shift slower and smoother if that is your driving style, but there is no reason for a delay while it thinks about it.

I have tried to generate some concrete numbers, but they are hand done by the seat of the pants.

In general I think there is a 3/4 second delay prior to the shifting which happens in 1/3 of a second. Or about .75+.35=1.10 seconds to shift.

After one trip to the dealer I think it was closer to .8-.9 total shifting time, but I didn't write it down then.

By comparison I was driving a BMW X5 and timed that. It was approximately 1.2-1.3 seconds, hardly any difference. That's a SUV!

These times don't seem to change with a cold/warm engine. It also seems to be about the same up and down shifting.

The real problem comes into play on the track where you are in full brake and want to down shift. When you shift the 1 second delay entirely messes up the corner. If you try to plan ahead it's even worse as the computer decides you would over-rev the engine and refuses to shift, even though you would be well within that range after the 1 second delay.

Anyone else have any comments or timings? I have to complain to the dealer again and would like to know where others stand.

Thanks,
Alan