[78F350]

My usual DD is a '99 Tip'. I've had a couple '99 Tiptronics and the transmission control is biased more to fuel economy and smooth driving. For an easy drive to work, it will typically shift to a high gear than I want, and keep the rpms around 1800-2200. Not sporty. I have read that if you drive it hard in auto-mode, it will sense it and change to a sportier program, but I find that it quickly reverts back to dull.

The same cars, driven in manual mode are a different animal. For a fun drive, you can put it in (M) and take over control. High revs and sharp shifting up and down with no worry of over-revving. Take one out for a test drive and (possibly terrify the owner) put it in (M) at a stop and FLOOR the gas. ***Make sure the car has been warmed up first*** The car will run up through the gears, shifting at redline. From speed, downshift repeatedly for a hard deceleration. This is not abusing the car, it's a 'function check'.

My '01 Tip', behaves a little differently than the '99s. It naturally revs higher and feels sportier in normal driving. I think the TCMs in the '00 and later have better programming. I still miss the tactile feel of a shifter. The only way to manually change gears is with the +/- on the steering wheel. I wish they had a +/- stick like many other cars. Still my favorite weekend driver is my '99 manual.