I have always had automatic trans cars and frequently enjoyed 'manually' shifting them, either upshifting (i.e., to hold first or second gear longer on starting) or downshifting (to get engine braking). All of my recent cars as well as older ones have had the ability to start out in 1st gear and then move to second, third, etc. The Jaguar is the first car I have owned where the lowest gear that could be chosen was 2nd (I believe my son's 1987 Honda Accord also had 2nd as the lowest gear you could select).

I was just wondering if any gurus out there knows why Jaguar chose to not let us select 1st gear?

Thanks,

Doug

 

I read somewhere awhile back, that if you are in sport mode, it starts in 1st gear, though you are correct, you can't select it, nor choose when to shift into 2nd. If i'm wrong, someone will correct me.

 

In the technical specification for the ZF 5HP25 transmission there is an explaination of several Transmission Control Module shifting programs. One detects stop and go driving at slow speeds and prohibits downshifting into 1st, supposedly for fuel economy. All the others start in first gear, either normal or sports mode, from a standing start. You can easily verify by counting the shifts on the tachometer. Once moving, you obviously cannot force a down shift into 1st with the shifting lever butpush the throttle to the floor and hold on. No doubt that it will down shift into 1st.

Cannot comment on the 6 speeds.

 

In my 04 XJ8 it always starts out in first gear with the 6 speed trans. In my 01 XKR with the 5 speed transmission it starts out in 2nd gear unless you floor the pedal. Put it in Sport Mode and it will always start off in 1st gear.

 

I had not really tried to figure out what gear the trans was starting off in from a stop but I just assumed it was 1st regardless of the Mode setting. Nevertheless, it would have been nice to have the lowest selectable gear as 1st rather than 2nd in my opinion.

Doug