Okay...wasn't going to chime in...but just to bring clarification to some of the comments above about ATC (adaptive transmission control) and the nine adaptive drive programs plus the manually selectable Sport mode...here's some BMW tech info as to how it was developed and designed to operate.
Using the manually selected SPORT or MANUAL shifting modes will stop any of the adaptive shifting programs from engaging that would normally occur when in "D".
At
each start up...when the gear select lever is in "D"...the transmission will select 1 of 3 driving programs based on driver input:
- extreme economy (granny toe mode)
- economy
- sport (adaptive sport mode)
Driver influenced input is NOT stored in the TCM despite the persistent myth that it is..see the text in the red box in the illustration below. The transmission will react within seconds/minutes of an aggressive driver...even if granny was driving the vehicle for the last 5 years. See "driver's influenced features of AGS" below.
There are six other adaptive modes that are automatically selected (when in "D") based on road or environmental conditions (btw, I'm not sure how or if x-Drive affects when or how some of the modes below react/engage):
- stop-n-go mode (city or traffic jam)
- winter
- uphill drive program
- downhill drive program
- curve recognition
- cruise control program
Then there is the MANUALLY selectable SPORT mode (which is more aggressive than the adaptive sport mode) plus the MANUALLY SELECTABLE gear shifting if you have STEPTRONIC (PRND S/M +/-) or the alternate "shift limit" if you have the PRND432 OR PRND321 gear shift lever found in some e38/e39/e46 models.