Actually I do not miss the stick, the direct 8 speed tranny is incredibly fast and responsive, no manual will ever get close to it, no what I really miss is a clutch ! Driving it in M mode is great until you come to a stop where the shift from M2 to M1 is very jerky.
That and the headroom, we need more headroom, specially when on the track, with the added height of the helmet, I had to lean back more than I like it.

 

Having had manuals all my life till the F I initially tried to drive it manually but I kind of lost intererest doing so, it is too much work, hard to play with the paddles that are not on the column and using the stick plus/minus got me confused too. I also realized that the Sport auto mode was doing a great job. I would be in M mode doing a 0 to 60 at a red light or when pushing very hard on mountains roads, so very rarely.

It seems also nice not to be distracted by the manual work, it seems safer to gave both hands on the steering wheel and to have the brain fully dedicated to the road, especially when you push hard when a split second of inattention or a short wander to the RPM gauge could be disastrous.

I think true manuals will become a thing of the past within a few years, gear boxes like the F are obsoleting them (even though the software can be improved)

 

lately I have been driving mellow to save gas and give myself credits. I got it up to 23MPg...then I spent it to 20...then to 18. Its pretty hard to resist. You can drive in normal and hold you foot on the pedal..as soon as you hit sport you feel the pedal sink (without prompting) the engine opens up..the damn car growls at you like a rapid dog. Its basically like peter griffen with the devil on the shoulder and the angle guy is stuck in traffic

8th gear is a belssing though, you get amazing contributions to your average when you just take it easy.

 

I don't think it is about the speed. The automatics have been faster than the manuals for quite some time now. But for me it is just the fun of driving. Half of my cars do have automatics, and I'm finding I'm interested in driving them less and less over the years. But it is all personal preference.

 

The problem with any automatic is that it doesn't have eyes or a brain. Everything it knows comes from the current speed of the vehicle and how hard you push the gas pedal.

The paddle shifters - two complaints, they should be on the column, not the wheel. Second, they don't allow for random-access gear selection. You have to work your way up or down serially through the gears. In a manual, I have the option to select any gear I want, any time, and I can anticipate what gear I want before I get there. I also get neutral, so I can just coast into a stop without any further downshifting.

It's a preference thing, but I can scoot around much faster in a stick because I can anticipate what gear I want, long before I need it. There's no "sport mode" because there is no modality. It's a more-connected feeling.

All in all, the car is a BLAST to drive and own. It is perfectly designed for what it is used for, which is a good daily driver for people who sometimes like to go crazy-fast. It's not at all obtrusive on the daily commute, other than being kind of stiff in the suspension. It shifts smoothly, is reasonably quiet and comfortable. But it has that Mr. Hyde thing when you want it, plenty of power, plenty of brakes, plenty of handling.

 

I would love an update to the transmission to make it like the Gallardo, you pull both paddles at the same time and go into neutral.

 

is350!!!!!!!! imo!

 

so...how would the paddles attach to the column and not be attached to the wheel??? how would you access them when you are not doing full clock turning? I have not found the paddels to be out of range except when I do multi clock steering in which case I probbably do not need to shift. I dunno.

Fig

 

I have not tried paddles on the steering column since I don't have a F1 or a GTR but it is a preferable design since I guess you always know where the paddles are. On the F at slow speed and when turning I always fight to find the paddles... Obviously in a straight line it is not a problem.

 

When in need to find the paddles at low speed and while turning the wheel, I reach for the gear shift, it is always where it is supposed to be !

 

Go drive a F1 Ferrari, you'll see the paddles on the column. Or the tiptronic on a Porsche, if you prefer wheel mounted paddles, is a better implementation since either paddle can up/down shift.

In any case, there's a difference between street car driving and race car driving. I'd still like a stick better.

 

People complain about no stickshift and then complain about the paddles not being mounted to the steering column. If I'm not mistaken, isn't the shifter in the ISF mounted in the same location that a manual shifter would be?? So what's the difference in shifting with the shifter in the ISF and a manual around a corner?? It's the same thing. Am I missing something here or are people just becoming really lazy?

 

The stick is not comparable to a manual one because it's merely a up or down switch, only one gear at a time. Unlike a manual where you can go from 4 to 2 in one movement. I never got used to this "+/-" shifting operation with the stick, every manufacturer has its own implementation, sometimes it's left/right sometimes (like in the F) its "forward/backward". Even today I have to look at the stick (when I want to use it) to make sure I know I push or pull it right and don't do the opposite of what I want to do.

In manual I prefer the paddles with the exception that at low speed around gear 1 or gear 2 and while turning it's too hard to find them. Several times I downshifted instead of upshifted. I should rather have been in Sport mode, it would have been faster.

So I would now only use the M mode in straight drag race situation when the opponent is a challenge (like a M3 or M5) otherwise the Sport auto mode will do just fine. Perhaps on a track I would use M mode too.

 

Indeed

 

[QUOTE=foup;3909689] Even today I have to look at the stick (when I want to use it) to make sure I know I push or pull it right and don't do the opposite of what I want to do.QUOTE]

Seriously??