No such thing on an automatic - it just changes gears! Noticeably it changes at much lower rpm at low throttle than at high throttle. Mine changes up to 8th at 1,100 rpm if I'm driving like Hoke Colburn - but 4,500 rpm, the rev limit, at full throttle - yes, it's a diesel!

BMWs, like I'm sure other cars, have driving 'modes'. In Eco, throttle response is dulled and gear changes are recommended once you go past 1.5k rpm. In Comfort mode, normal throttle response, change indicators at 2k rpm. Sport mode, sharpened throttle and no change indicators.

The Eco mode, the throttle response is so dulled as to be almost dangerous. Change up when recommended, and unless you're going downhill the engine is labouring horribly. The only time I could foresee it being of use would be if you were desperately trying to get to a petrol station that was 50 miles away, and you had an indicated 45 miles of fuel remaining.

Both our cars have them. Mine is a Skoda Roomster and Mrs B's a Citroen Berlingo Multispace, presumably mechanically similar to OP's. Both would have me change up at point where engine is both cruelly laboured and below the torque band. Way below 2k revs never mind the 2.5 to 3k (both are diesels) I'm comfortable with.

Maybe the electronics reduce the fuel flow so as to avoid worst of possible bearing damage from labouring but even so....

Oddity with Berlingo is that when, for example, climbing moutain roads (the continental sort) it'll drop out of the torque band so that acceleration out the hairpins doesn't happen, In the old IDI days you'd feel every detonation to remind you to change down.

Indeed - these features are devices for lazy drivers or, at most, for the first month or so after buying the car - if a driver cannot tell by experience soon after when the best time to change up/down is, then they don't deserve to be driving.

At first, I just used my Mazda handbook as a 'rough guide' figure for driving on the flat without any distractions, then make my own mind up like most people, dependent upon road conditions, the level of acceleration I need and fuel economy I'm reasonably looking to achieve, without unduly stressing or labouring the engine.

Just get an automatic and do away with all those manual shifting :-)

My petrol DCT changes fairly early on ECO mode but keeps revs bit longer in non-ECO mode.

Computers calculate the force needed to move the car at a specfic speed and compares against the torque generated by engine at a specific RPM (and resultant power being developed). If it sees car will develop enough power to pull at higher gear it will shift (or indicate to shift).

I am yet to see in an auto shifting to higher gear stalled/laboured the engine - which means artificial intelligent algorighm does a good job.

My Skoda Octavia is the first car with a gear change indicator I've owned. No problems following the advice unless I see something coming like a hill or bend and need to stay in a lower gear. The 1.4 TSI is very torquey and does not labour anyway. And 30 mph in light traffic can be ok in 4th or 5th gear.

Edited by Glaikit Wee Scunner {P} on 07/05/2017 at 17:58