Semi automatic cars?

Has anyone every driven a semi automatic?  I know how to drive an automatic and have learned to drive a stick this year, so will a semi be a problem?

Hi Lola,

You will have no trouble using a semi auto gearbox car!

You can set it to 'auto change' meaning it does behave like an automatic or you can set it so that you change gears by either pushing the 'gear lever' up or down or if the car is more expensive and technologically advanced, via Paddles behind or around the steering wheel.

Our Smart Cars are semi auto and thats how they work, by default you're in 'manual' mode, and the car will not change gear until you flip the button for up. If you're at higher speeds and slow down, the gearbox will auto shift down to stop over revving of the engine/gearbox.

It's 'relatively' quick to get used to - and i'm pretty sure those 'basics' are what different manufacturers and designs are like pretty much across the board - things get more 'difficult' if you're buying a Sports Semi Auto a la Ferrari or Maserati or BMW M type car which have different programs and responsiveness to their gearboxes!

So which car you getting ?  a Smart Car or a Ferrari 360 ?!!!

Hope this helps!
Dennis! West London & Slough UK!

I didn't even know such a thing existed! I'm just now learning to drive a stick. Maybe this is a good answer for me if we buy a car after we relocate in August.

A friend had a semi-automatic Porche and loved it.

There was a rather different type of semi-automatic transmission offered on some Chrysler Corp. cars back in the early 1940s, and one which might seem distinctly odd today.  It went by the name of Vacamatic on Chryslers and Simplimatic on DeSotos.  The system involved both a fluid drive and a manually operated clutch!

It was basically a 4-speed transmission but automatic shifting only took place between 1st/2nd and between 3rd/4th gears.  A manual shift lever was used to select high or low ranges as needed (or reverse).  You only needed to use the clutch to initially select the required range or to shift between high/low ranges while on the move. 

It was pretty short-lived, no doubt because GM had already introduced the fully automatic Hydra-Matic transmission on 1940 Oldsmobiles.

I had a VW semi-automatic (70's something model).

I vowed never to own another 'halfway' car. It just didn't respond like my 1960 VW bug did. You didn't have the full freedom of an automatic. I just never understood the point.

That's just my experience.

I've never heard of such a thing either! I'd be interested just to rent a semi-automatic just to try it sometime though!

Semi-Auto's in sports cars or luxury cars are sometimes referred to as Triptronic or Steptronic.

A friend of mine had a Ferrari 360 F1 which is basically a clutchless manual where you change gear by 'paddles' on the steering wheel.  Have to say i wasn't impressed as the gearchanges where very jerky and the car was not very smooth in traffic.  Apparently, the later 430 F1 Ferrari is much improved and is reckoned to be the best.

PS You can't beat the satisfaction of driving a modern Ferrari with a manual gearbox. I hired a manual 355 for a weekend a few years back and it was fantastic.