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Automatic Transmission
• ‘4’ (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears)
Automatic gear changing is limited to the lower four gears only;
use this position for town driving and on winding country
roads.
• ‘3’ (1st, 2nd and 3rd gears)
Automatic gear changing is limited to the lower three gears
only; use this position in congested traffic conditions. This
position also provides moderate engine braking for descending
slopes.
• ‘2’ (1st and 2nd gears)
Automatic gear changing is limited to first and second gears
only; use when driving up steep gradients and for negotiating
very narrow, twisting roads. This position also provides more
pronounced engine braking for descending steep slopes.
Using the automatic transmission
The following information is important - particularly for drivers
who are unused to driving cars with automatic transmission.
• Before starting the engine, ensure that both foot brake and
handbrake are applied.
• After starting the engine, KEEP BOTH BRAKES APPLIED
before and whilst moving the selector lever to the required
drive position.
• Keep the brakes applied until you are ready to move - an
‘automatic’ will tend to creep forward (or backward) without
throttle application, as soon as the brakes are released.
• Never 'rev' the engine while selecting a drive gear, or while the
car is stationary with a drive gear selected - an ‘automatic’ will
move immediately the accelerator pedal is pressed.
Gear change speeds
With ‘D’ selected, the road speeds at which gear changes take place
will vary according to the position of the accelerator: minimum
acceleration will result in gear changes at low road speeds, while
larger throttle openings will cause the gearbox to delay gear
changes until faster road speeds have been reached (thereby
increasing the rate of acceleration).
With practice, gear changes can be made to occur at a wide range
of road speeds depending on accelerator position.
‘Kick-down’
To provide rapid acceleration for overtaking, push the accelerator
pedal to the full extent of its travel in a single, quick movement
(this is known as ‘kick-down’). Up to a certain speed, this will
cause an immediate downshift into the lowest appropriate gear,
followed by rapid acceleration. Once the pedal is relaxed, normal
gear change speeds will resume (dependent upon road speed and
accelerator pedal position).
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