SMG Transmission good?

[Bret]

I am considering trading a Mustang GT for a Z4. I want a manual transmission since my experience with automatics indicates they sap some power.

But, is the SMG transmission as good/fun as the manual? Or is it more of a gimmicky option?

thanks in advance!

[Flex]

The SMG is crap. It is awkward and slow. Get the manual.

[Ex330i]

Flex wrote:

The SMG is crap. It is awkward and slow. Get the manual.

That would be a driver problem - You have to feel the car!
Mine is fine and faster on the track than a manual.

[TrueM5r]

Flex wrote:

The SMG is crap. It is awkward and slow. Get the manual.

Apparently spoken by someone whom has little/no experience on the track with an SMG... Much faster on the track than a typical manual and more convenient on the street ~period~

[bigi]

I like manual trans. but with all of the traffic is a pain. What should i do? smg of auto. I have never driven smg before when u switch to auto does it drives like a regular auto trans? or not

[330cicoupe]

Im a bmw tech.drive these cars everyday.you will probly like tha smg after you get use to it.its not slow.smg is just a manual transmission with the car doing the shifting for you.personally i prefer the regular stick shift but i like both.when tha new m5's came out they were all smg if it was crap and slow they wouldnt have used it in the new m5..smg is more for racing than anything else..shift faster than you can shift manually.

[Andy Pandy]

I have just bought a z4 smg and it take a couple of days to get used to it, then you can't believe why you didn't get one years ago! You can cruise about with the ease of an auto or go nuts qnd the shift is very brisk! I love it!

[234acc]

SMG is basically a manual without a clutch; the car does the clutch work for you. It really is a manual at heart, so you get the increased pleasure of a manual, but with the car taking care of the clutch, it's (almost) as convenient as an automatic, especially if you live in a congested area. I'd get the SMG over the manual if you regularly experience traffic (especially stop & go traffic), or if you think you're gonna have some days where you just don't want to deal with the hassle of a manual. In the first few hours of driving an SMG, you'll probably hate it. But if you give it even just a day or two, you'll probably love it. I've never met anyone that hated BMW's SMG.