Different shifting designs
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: May 2012
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From: Maryland
Lexus Champion
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,001
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From: Southeastern PA
Well for example:
Stuck in downtown Brooklyn yesterday at night, traffic not moving.
Needed to make U-turn to go another route.
Also yesterday, looking for parking at meter. Saw one open up on the other side, quick U turn. This was Atlantic Ave next to Barclays Center so you NEED to be quick!!
I don’t take my eyes off the road which i would have to do if it was a button.
This also applies to parallel parking on busy streets- you have to be quick and never want to take your eyes off side mirrors.
Stuck in downtown Brooklyn yesterday at night, traffic not moving.
Needed to make U-turn to go another route.
Also yesterday, looking for parking at meter. Saw one open up on the other side, quick U turn. This was Atlantic Ave next to Barclays Center so you NEED to be quick!!
I don’t take my eyes off the road which i would have to do if it was a button.
This also applies to parallel parking on busy streets- you have to be quick and never want to take your eyes off side mirrors.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,497
Likes: 251
From: Illinois
Same here. Both of our cars have the BMW joystick shifter and both my wife and I have adjusted to them. Not a big deal. I'm sure we'd adjust to button shifters if they were on a vehicle that we liked enough to buy. Some of them seem better than others but the operation is similar.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Mar 2008
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From: California
One reason I keep sticking with Lexus/Toyota is their shifters. For the most part they are sticking to tradition (and also still offering manual control). In an emergency, it's the quickest way to make a shift without having to locate, look, or think. I think it should all be about safety, which has been greatly eroded with the advent of infotainment systems and all the funky new shifters.
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Lexus Champion
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,001
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From: Southeastern PA
One reason I keep sticking with Lexus/Toyota is their shifters. For the most part they are sticking to tradition (and also still offering manual control). In an emergency, it's the quickest way to make a shift without having to locate, look, or think. I think it should all be about safety, which has been greatly eroded with the advent of infotainment systems and all the funky new shifters.
Lexus Champion
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From: WA
Lead Lap
Joined: Oct 2012
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From: Co
My first time exposed to anything other than a normal shifter was our 2006 ML 350. It was a stalk. I never liked it but my wife didn’t mind. I was always reaching for a place to rest my hand. For me it just feels good to hold onto a conventional shifter. When I picked my 2019 Santa Fe this was one of the deciding features. It’s old school and the manual use is forward for upshift and down for downshift unlike the ridiculous opposite movements in the Grand Cherokee. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to pull downward to shift up and push forward to shift down. I never got used to that. So now our Grand Cherokee L (GCL) has the rotary button I’m trying to get used to. The new Santa Fe’s are rotary now also. Even with the new beefed up 2.5T engine I’m not going to give up my conventional shifter for it.
Last edited by Kennyr44; Dec 4, 2021 at 03:24 AM.
remember any modern transmission is fully electronic controlled. You aren't moving a mechanical linkage, you are manipulating electrical contacts to control the transmission and its computer. There is no difference if they were buttons instead. Shifters arent any more "mechanical" in terms of controlling the transmission so dont kid yourselves. Going to a rotary/button shifter is a big space saver for the center console and a rotary shifter mounted in the dash area between the gauge and steering column occupies what otherwise wouldve been useless space. I can kind of see a joystick shifter for sporty cars, but other than that, its a waste of space. You can clearly see how much of a space hog it is in these pictures. Really great consolidation of many shifter designs.
Last edited by 4TehNguyen; Dec 4, 2021 at 05:05 AM.
CL Community Team
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 9,314
Likes: 585
From: IL
ALL motorcycles work the exact same way, since the beginning of time, for the same reason. Press down to upshift, pull up to downshift.
The "forward to upshift, back to downshift" is a compromise design for people who want to pretend they know how to drive.
Even Hyundai isn't consistent across the line. So while your Santa Fe does it the wrong way (IMO), their driver-focused cars like the Veloster N and Elantra N do it the right way--just like BMW, Porsche, Dodge, etc.
Last edited by geko29; Dec 4, 2021 at 10:19 AM.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 68,095
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From: Maryland
My other issue is the wiper stalk on the Pacifica is where the shifter stalk is on my S560, so when I drive the Pacifica I instinctively try and shift the wiper stalk...
