Can anyone tell me if the paddle shift was available on 05s or was it introduced only in 06. If anyone has a paddle shift how do they like it any regrets?

 

Introduced in 06, 05 had an A4

 

The paddle shift was introduced as an option in 2006 along with the 6 speed automatic. I choose this option and have used the "S" mode that allows the use of the paddles almost totally. You can also use the "D" mode and it is then a normal leave it alone automatic transmission. Absolutely no regrets.

 

I put it into S and if I don't touch the paddles, it acts completely as a full automatic. Only if I feel like shifting and either downshift or upshift will it switch to the manual mode. Once I get up to a steady highway speed and don't think I'll be shifting for awhile, I may slip it into the D mode, but at any time can slip it back into S and it will stay in the automatic mode until I hit one of the paddles. This makes it very user-friendly. With the F1 transmission on my Maserati, you have to push a button on the dashboard to go from full automatic to manual, a bit more cumbersome, but the paddles are far better on the F1 tranny. The A6 is a very advanced tranny and I don't miss the clutch at all unless I want to rev at a stop light and pop the clutch, something I should have outgrown years ago anyway.

 

On occasion love popping the clutch on my MN6....

 

Don't confuse him Husker. He's goin'ah brake an ankle trying to push the left foot rest.

 

I love the paddles, I don't miss the clutch at all!

 

I use the paddles exclusively!

 

I like the A6 as well.
I've found I like the shift patterns you get with "S" (as long as you don't touch the paddles).
But the paddles are also fun when you wanna play.
No regrets, although I wish the up shift initiated a little faster when you hit the paddle.

 

Really wanted a manual trans, but had to go with a automatic. Don't regret it, the paddles add excitement to driving.

 

I am willing to be corrected on this, but it's my impression that the paddle system in the '06 C6 is not a "true" paddle-shifting "manual" system like one finds in Ferrari, Maserati, etc., but rather a conventional 6-speed automatic in which the select-shift function has been moved from the console lever to "pseudo"-paddles on the steering wheel.

Notice that when you up- or down-shift using the C6 paddles there is a slight delay while the automatic shifts, just as there would be using a lever. By contrast, in a Ferrari or Maserati touching the paddles results in an instant gearchange.

Having said this, and having had a 2002 Maserati CambioCorsa for awhile, I much prefer the C6 arrangement. Paddleshifting in a F/M is invariably jerky, and the jerkjerkjerkjerkjerk process when you come to a complete stop is a pain in the neck (literally). Unless you plan to be reincarnated as a pigeon, in which case you'll get some advance practice.

In the C6 you're telling the car where you'd like to be, and the car takes a moment or two to do it smoothly. Much nicer transition for both you and your passenger. And coming to a stop is buttersmooth too.

This is an area where I think Corvette got it 1,000% right. I think that after they have suffered with those "true" paddle systems for a few years, F/M will come back to sticks, or something more like Corvette. Playing F1 driver sounds nice, but the reality gets old fast.

 

I never use the paddle shifter. I suppose it would be fun to shift through the gears on occasion but in normal driving I don't see why you would want to use it.

 

I drive both an A6 vert and a 2005 Maserati Quattroporte with the F1 "Cambiocorsa" transmission. The latter's paddles are indeed fast but the "jerkjerkjerk" doesn't have to happen when slowing down: all you need to do is allow the transmission to downshift automatically, same as on the Vette's A6. No noticeable downshift and certainly not jerky unless you manually downshift.

Two main differences between the A6 and the F1: on the F1, the paddles remain in a constant position since they are mounted on the steering column, not the steering wheel itself. This makes finding them a lot easier while turning. Because the Vette's paddles turn with the wheel, the engineers made both sides able to upshift and downshift whereas in the F1, the right paddle is only for up and the left only for down. The second big difference between the two trannies is the automatic function of the A6 is superb while the Maser's is horrible and not even worth using.

To sum up: the A6 is an excellent tranny IMO and the only thing I'd change would be to mount the paddles on the column instead of the wheel. Otherwise, for upshifting it is more fun than plain automatic and quick enough for the kinds of driving most of us do. For out-&-out acceleration, best bet is to leave it in D or S and let the transmission do the shifting for you: you can't shift as fast manually, either with an M6 or manually pushing the A6's up paddles.

My $.02

 

The auto transmission w/o paddles tends to upshift to a higher gear than we might need at the time.

 

I understand that Maserati has improved the CC since 2002. The only way I could come to a pigeonneck-free full stop was to double-twitch both paddles into neutral when anticipating a stop, then coast to it.