“Gear shifter”, time for it to go?

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HoustonFlier

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
57
Location
6000ft and climbing!
Ever wonder why the Leaf has an “old style” like gear shifter?
(I thought about posting as debate topic, but it is more my wish as a suggestion.)

The rational to keep something that looks like a "gear shifter" in Leaf was familiarity to “old fashioned” GAS cars, but to keep a feature of something EV tries to supplement seems incredibly anachronistic (EV is, after all, is change in the future of cars).

Because the “shifter” is simply an electronic switch for a power controller (like a relay), it can be any size, shape, or color; thus mounted anywhere.
Its current location is much better served to hold my smartphone, keys (no ignition key), or, dare I say, cup holders!

I was also surprised at the counter-intuitive operation of the shifter! I have handled a number of automatic and stick cars, even golf carts, and I found the shifter movement somewhat foreign. Of course I will adapt, but for the first few times I had to pause and think about what to do.


My ideal “shifter” would be just to right of “start” button, prominent and easy to ID, perhaps a short lever (the Toyota Sienna minivan has it right up on dash for example, and some 50’s car even had Push-Button shifters!!).
The ECO mode button is better on steering wheel, as driving environment could change unexpected, keep it under thumb.

Parking brake location:
That one I do not understand fully its operation. Electromechanical?
American cars have a step on/off pedal parking brake. I think that is viable.
Alternative is lever to side, rather then the large switch currently installed.

Other opinions?
 
i like the shifter.
as to "as driving environment could change unexpected, keep it under thumb."
these are hardly racing situations that we find ourselves in 99.9% of the time in this car. Even in a dire situation, it is brake and steer that matters, not whether you can "downshift" to ECO.

As someone who still drives a stick in my other car, i find it no deal at all to work the hockey puck. Rather, I like it.
 
I'm with HoustonFlier. Lose the hockeypuck. Not only that, I'd like to see the left/right division eliminated. Bring back the front bench seat and room to stretch your legs. Keep the bucket seats - you can still have the fold down armrest in the middle, but lose the whole center console.
 
thankyouOB said:
i like the shifter.
as to "as driving environment could change unexpected, keep it under thumb."
these are hardly racing situations that we find ourselves in 99.9% of the time in this car. Even in a dire situation, it is brake and steer that matters, not whether you can "downshift" to ECO.

As someone who still drives a stick in my other car, i find it no deal at all to work the hockey puck. Rather, I like it.

+1 for me. It is just natural to reach down and toggle the puck without looking, just like a gearshift. I like the design touch, it looks hi tech and interesting. No dashboard-mounted levers for me, please.

And bench seats? Come off it.
 
Auto trans shifters are electrical too. Push-button shifting was possible, and tried, decades ago. The public never embraced it. The shift lever was an anachronism 50 years ago but we still have it.
 
I personally like the "gear shifter" where it is at. My mom's Prius has it next to the steering wheel, and I hated having to lean forward to shift and put it in park (I'm only 5'4''). Even though I haven't driven a manual transmission in awhile, I find comfort in resting my arm on the armrest and having my hand on or near the shifter. Plus, it is easy and fairly intuitive to hit the park button and the park lever.
 
One should not be required to lean forward to the dash while driving.

A mechanical wire for the Parking Brake would be a lot less expensive, and more reliable, IMO.

The console does little now, other than perform as a "bundling board". More leg-room would be great.
 
I like it too but then I'm from a looong line of manual transmission vehicles (like all but 3 years since '85) until last Saturday when I got my Leaf. One co-worker said 'hey it's a neat mouse for your car'.
 
I must agree with skippycoyote and the comfort of the armrest/hand resting near the shift knob. It's placement feels natural, it's easier for us 5'4" avg women to reach and I like the blue on the puck (complements my blue console). The parking brake is in the same location as the Grand Vitara LTD I sold and it's even better that it's small/compact (not a giant handle to yank up). I like the clever button for Park, too. To me the whole arrangement is sleek and futuristic. Perhaps those who dislike these features have just lost their joy... :)
 
I'm with HoustonFlyer. Put the shift mechanism on the dash, move the brake somewhere else, and give me a BIG console compartment. For me the brake is the worst. Three times I've had a passenger pull it while on the freeway thinking they were unlatching that tiny console compartment. Fortunately it just drops you into neutral for a couple of seconds, but it's still a bit scary if you aren't expecting it. And I think our Prius does the shift the right way. I can reach out with my fingertips and drop it into "B" without even taking my hand off the steering wheel. That's rather useful if you are going downhill on a twisty mountain road.

General principle: Driving controls should be on the driver's side of the car, not where they are equally accessible to passengers.

Ray
 
planet4ever said:
I'm with HoustonFlyer. Put the shift mechanism on the dash, move the brake somewhere else, and give me a BIG console compartment. For me the brake is the worst. Three times I've had a passenger pull it while on the freeway thinking they were unlatching that tiny console compartment. ...
It has never bothered me, but it sounds like a third party mod opportunity. Since the controls are all electric, it should be easy enough to create either a whole new center console, or just a new top for that part that relocates those controls and gives more storage space.
 
The puck-shifter and electric parking brake have OK ergonomics, but I too would prefer the center console freed up for storing stuff.

The electric parking brake feels a lot more "premium" than the puck shifter.
I just don't like the lack of immediate feedback...

The puck shifter has cheap-feeling, cheap-looking plastic - the seams and the outside edges.

The Prius ('06) shifter is nice (no stretching forward needed), but hitting "P" might be a slight stretch.
 
+1!

eclecticflower said:
I must agree with skippycoyote and the comfort of the armrest/hand resting near the shift knob. It's placement feels natural, it's easier for us 5'4" avg women to reach and I like the blue on the puck (complements my blue console). The parking brake is in the same location as the Grand Vitara LTD I sold and it's even better that it's small/compact (not a giant handle to yank up). I like the clever button for Park, too. To me the whole arrangement is sleek and futuristic. Perhaps those who dislike these features have just lost their joy... :)
 
eclecticflower said:
To me the whole arrangement is sleek and futuristic. Perhaps those who dislike these features have just lost their joy... :)
Perhaps. I agree the ergonomics are OK, it is just pragmatism, that I don't want them taking up valuable space that could be used for storing stuff.
 
The Puck is a waste of valuable interior real estate, as is the parking brake. A sensible location when mechanically attached to a transmission and rear brake drum actuator, but unnecessary for the simple electrical switch that they have become. Also, operation is not intuitive. Pulling what looks to be a parking brake release sets the parking brake ??? And the puck ruins the PRNDL convention that is the standard subconscious expectation. Pulling the puck to R or D will give you neutral if held too long. Pulling to N gives you… Park ? The position of the Puck and Parking brake tells you nothing, there is no tactile feedback. You need to look at the dashboard to know if/what gear the LEAF is in, and if the parking brake is on or released. Both are distracting.

At the Fit EV introduction, drivers got into the Fit EV and drove off. An ignition key you could twist, a drive selector and parking brake that operated as expected, needed no instruction. Two drivers needed assistance to get underway in the LEAF that Honda provided for comparison in the short time I was there. 5 days and 600 miles into driving the LEAF myself, it is still a conscious effort to get underway, and this from a MINI driver. Sure, drivers eventually get the hang of it, as I did. But I can blame the quirky nature of the MINI on an effort to evoke the original Mini’s retro driving experience. The LEAF was a blank slate. An opportunity to make it better or make it intuitive. Instead, the LEAF drive select and parking brake seem to have shunned convention for the pure novelty, at the expense of driving and interior utility.
 
KeiJidosha said:
The Puck is a waste of valuable interior real estate, as is the parking brake. A sensible location when mechanically attached to a transmission and rear brake drum actuator, but unnecessary for the simple electrical switch that they have become. Also, operation is not intuitive.
<snip>
The LEAF was a blank slate. An opportunity to make it better or make it intuitive. Instead, the LEAF drive select and parking brake seem to have shunned convention for the pure novelty, at the expense of driving and interior utility.
I agree with nearly everything you said in your post, but not your "pure novelty" accusation in the case of the shifter. For those of us who came to the LEAF from a Prius, the positions and behavior are very familiar. My suspicion is that they were specifically targeting Prius drivers, and intentionally mimicked its shifter behavior.

Ray
 
I like the hockeypuck. And I like the centre console; holds a lot of miscellaneous "stuff" (car charger for the smartphone, a soft cloth to clean my sunglasses now and then, and the little card issued by ChargePoint for public charging stations, etc).
 
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