Originally Posted by
Orion ZyGarian
Cars like the E46 M3 with the SMG and paddle shifters are cool, but in turns, the paddles are pretty much useless. Also, the SMG I drove felt like a girl was operating the clutch for me...sloppy, wrong, and miss-timed. I actually prefer the Z4 auto with the paddle shifters in that in my experience, it shifts faster, more smoothly, and just all around better.
Useless in the turns?? SMG transmissions eat normal manuals alive on the twisty tracks. Look at the CSL it was only available in SMG.
When I have it in S5 or S6, and I am not careful, my passengers complain its shifting too hard.
The SMG can be adjusted to shift fast (S6) to verrry slow and easy (S1) If the car felt sloppy to you you probably had it in a very low setting.
If I remember right, you said you only took it around the block. Many people that take the car around the block may say the same thing you did. There is a learning curve to the SMG.