I was playing around with it a little tonight - The dealer guy said it wastes gas. Is this true? Do I have to be at a stop, to change over to manual mode? And do I have to let up off the gas to "shift" from 1 - 2 - 3 , and down, etc? What are the pros and cons of using this? Thanks!

(To clarify, it's the T5 AWD automatic, not the regular manual)

 

Waste gas? It can depending how you drive. It may also have potential for saving gas.

You can switch over to manual any time. The system has some smarts to protect itself. It will up-shift if revs get too high. It will down-shift if you forget when you come to a stop.

I use it occasionally if I want to hold a low gear for a quick lane change to to pull out in traffic. Other than that I haven't found much point in having it.
Stan

 

Thanks!
Do I need to take my foot off the gas between shifts?
Also, if I'm cruising down the highway would being in "D" or "5" offer better mileage, do you know?
Thanks! Jude

 

No need to take your foot off the gas.

For cruising D or 5 are the same. However, if you try to accelerate there is a difference. In D and applying a light acceleration, the lock-up torque converter disengages and you will see the RPMs increase as some slippage is allowed while in 5, the converter stays locked and feels like a manual transmission. Under heavy acceleration, D will allow the transmission to kick-down to a lower gear while in 5, it will not.

If you are cruising and only need light acceleration to adjust speed, I suspect that 5 may have an economy advantage as it prevents unnecessary converter disengage and kick-downs.

Stan