I have a mix of both "D" mode and manual mode. On the highways, I usually use D since I don't shift gears often. I do play around with manual mode around town as it's less boring and helps keep my speed downhill instead of barreling down in 5th. I hate the delay of manual mode with the short gearing; there is always a noticeable delay from moving the shifter and the actual gear shift and you have to compensate by shifting early.

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