I’ve found a small silver lining in the cloud the Multitronic gearbox, with its weaker economy and emission downsides, casts over an otherwise fantastic car.
I’d mentally noted the steering wheel-mounted paddleshifts at the start of this long-term test but thought them a bit pointless when teamed up with such a steady rather than sporty engine. They were barely touched for the first few months. But lately, after carrying some fragile and hard-to-secure long loads with the rear seats folded flat, I started to reach for the paddles to change down a gear earlier than the automatic would do normally in order to better control the car’s balance (and thus its contents) before certain tight corners. The ‘plus’ right paddle and ‘minus’ left paddle worked a treat and I’ve been finding myself using them more since. Attached to a relatively medium-powered engine and CVT ‘box, they’ll never give the illusion of a really sporting drive but they can be helpful to gain a little more engine braking and vehicle control in some situations.
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