Gear Shift Selector

[davidfkon]

Does anyone out there know what year they went from the stick to the rotary/paddles?

Thanks,


-David

 

[davidfkon]

and what is it like using the rotary/paddles vs the stick???

 

[umbertob]

MY2014 was the first year of the rotary knob and shift paddles here in North America, along with the introduction of the SCV6 and 8-speed tranny (I believe they had the rotary knob in Europe at least a year or two earlier than MY14s on diesel models.) Little experience with the rotary thingie + paddles - only on an Evoque loaner many, many years ago and only on pavement, so I can't give you an informed opinion. Even when not using CommandShift, I like the look and "feel" of the stick myself, without it the car doesn't look quite right to my old eyes... I still rest my right hand on it quite often while I drive - even though I haven't driven a stick shift in, like, 30 years. Old habits. I guess it's just a matter of getting used to it.

 

[danrhiggins]

2014. That was the year of mine. I got used to the rotary and when parked it made the console somewhat useable space. The paddle shifters were OK on relatively straight and flat road. In fact, I didn't even use them then. Though I seem to remember that with the 2014 you couldn't use the paddle shifters when you were in D. That was disappointing because the most common reason I would use them was to down "shift" for engine braking on longer and steeper descents. Saves on brakes and being in Colorado I was doing it all the time. But I needed to first shift into S mode (CommandShift). (You're not really shifting to a lower gear but actually limiting how high the automatic shifting can go. So very handy when you want to keep the gears no higher than, say 2nd or 3rd, to use engine compression braking.)

On off road trails I did NOT like the paddle shifters. Because in that case you are much more often shifting gears and your wheels are often not pointing anywhere near straight ahead. So I would have to look at the steering wheel to see if it was right side up or upside down to determine whether the paddle shifter in my left hand was to down shift or up shift. Very frustrating. The 2013s and earlier would have been better. Now that I'm driving a Land Cruiser it is very much like the 2013 and earlier LR4s. I like that better.

BTW, I also seem to remember that with the 2015 model they allowed you to down "shift" while in Drive (vs CommandShift) but I can't remember for sure. I know I could not with my 2014.

 

[danrhiggins]

MY2014 was the first year of the rotary knob and shift paddles here in North America, along with the introduction of the SCV6 and 8-speed tranny (I believe they had the shift knob in Europe at least a year or two earlier on diesel models there.) Little experience with the rotary thingie + paddles - only on an Evoque loaner many, many years ago so I can't give you an informed opinion. Even when not using CommandShift, I like the look and "feel" of the stick myself, without it the car doesn't look quite right to my old eyes... I still rest my right hand on it quite often while I drive - even though I haven't driven a stick shift in, like, 30 years. Old habits. I guess it's just a matter of getting used to it.

Like Umberto said. With my 2014 I missed having a place to rest my right hand. And, again, when you are on a trail and the steering wheel is spinning around and your shifting between S1, S2 and S3 in 4L it is much nicer to instinctively know where to put your right hand to quickly shift up/down.

 

[davidfkon]

thanks for the input . . . I could see the paddles being a potential issue when off roading . . .

 

[danrhiggins]

When they introduced the paddle shifters and made 4L an option with the 2014 it felt to me like a clear sign they were sliding away from their adventure/off road legacy. Those changes made it seem like they were more focused on the on-road market.

 

[Surfrider77]

Paddles sound like an absolute nightmare when driving in sand. Sometimes you hit the really soft stuff and I can react very quickly to slap the stick into lower gear and pull myself out of the situation. Carrying speed / momentum is the name of the game driving in the sand dunes here. Those paddles would be all over the place and the time it would take to figure which is up or down could be the time it takes for that momentum to die and you're then stuck recovering in soft sand. Not good at all.

 

[davidfkon]

i would tend to agree surfrider77 - is there anyone out there that has gone from stick to rotary? what are your thoughts? is it old folk that need to learn new style? any input from '14-'16 users doing off road?

When they introduced the paddle shifters and made 4L an option with the 2014 it felt to me like a clear sign they were sliding away from their adventure/off road legacy. Those changes made it seem like they were more focused on the on-road market.

maybe . . new user's input would be nice -

 

[davidfkon]

MY2014 was the first year of the rotary knob and shift paddles here in North America, along with the introduction of the SCV6 and 8-speed tranny (I believe they had the rotary knob in Europe at least a year or two earlier than MY14s on diesel models.) Little experience with the rotary thingie + paddles - only on an Evoque loaner many, many years ago and only on pavement, so I can't give you an informed opinion. Even when not using CommandShift, I like the look and "feel" of the stick myself, without it the car doesn't look quite right to my old eyes... I still rest my right hand on it quite often while I drive - even though I haven't driven a stick shift in, like, 30 years. Old habits. I guess it's just a matter of getting used to it.

we went off roading and I believe - if my old mind still works - you had the range rover w/the dial that allowed modified height . . .?