I really like manual but the X5M tranny is great. Press the M button. Put it in sport and shift away. They are fast, hard shift. No complaints. Leave it in auto for a nice drive. I use the paddles enough that I am looking to have new ones made. I would like them to come out about half a cm further and for them to be longer.

If car companies can get of the stigma of an automatic, the dual clutch may die at the side. There is a new ZF 8 speed that is supposed to be fantastic. A lock-up of the convertor clutch could mean little to no downside for the auto.

ZF develops 8-speed automatic transmission for passenger cars