Renault "Quickshift" manual gearboxes

[cooperlola]

Anybody got a Renault with one?  If so, what do you reckon to it?  I may be forced into "automatic" mode against my nature so this seems the obvious way to go, especially as the Clio and Modus both share a floor pan with the dear departed..

[mint]

Coops, you may not remember but you gave me some sound info on automatic gearboxes in France last year.

Thanks to your advice, we bought a Mazda Premacy from a friend of someone here on the Forum.

Now we have one RH and one LH automatic.  Would no longer do manual but that's only through laziness.

How's the right wrist?

Sorree...................

Know nothing about Renault!  Love France but NOT French cars!

[Jonzjob]

I don't know about the Renault, but we have had a Citröen Grand C4 Picisso with the semi auto sequencial 6 speed box for just over a year now and it is great!! We changed to it because the arthritis in my hands was making gear changing in our C8 very difficult. It's fun to drive and I use it in both manual and auto.. Bit like driving an F1, but without the wheel spin. I suppose that could be down to the traction control though [Www]

This site gives more gen.  http://grandc4picasso.citroen.com/fr/ .  I have never had a Renault, but I've had lots of Citröens, from a Diane to a C8, and love them!!

Good luck and we hope the recovery is still going well!

[DerekJ]

John. We have the Citröen Grand C4 Picasso as potential replacement for SWMBO's car but have some reservations about getting the semi-auto version. I think that's what Citröen call EGS isn't it?

Our reservations are mainly potential reliability as we've heard a few "war stories" about French auto electrics. We have a preference to go for a standard manual gearbox but they don't seem that available in the secondhand market.

[cooperlola]

It's not clear to me whether the quickshift is actually French or Japanese, as so much of the Renault parts bin is now that they are 50% Nissan.  I'm guessing French developed as the Note does not have a robotic clutch option whereas it's brother Modus does but I don't know.  There's no way I'd chose an automatic normally (although I've driven many cars with them including a Merc) but it may just turn out to be  necessary.

[mint]

Coops, that's just what I used to say as I actually quite enjoy DRIVING.

But, to my own amazement, once I'd gone automatic, I no longer wanted to go back to manual.  Especially here in France where I don't know the roads and I'm never sure what the French drivers are going to do NEXT!

Good Luck!

[Benjamin]

[quote user="cooperlola"]

It's not clear to me whether the quickshift is actually French or Japanese, as so much of the Renault parts bin is now that they are 50% Nissan.  I'm guessing French developed as the Note does not have a robotic clutch option whereas it's brother Modus does but I don't know.  There's no way I'd chose an automatic normally (although I've driven many cars with them including a Merc) but it may just turn out to be  necessary.

[/quote]

We went to an automatic two years ago when Mrs Benjamin was eventually unable to depress the clutch. Neither of us would change back now.

[cooperlola]

[quote user="Benjamin"][quote user="cooperlola"]

It's not clear to me whether the quickshift is actually French or Japanese, as so much of the Renault parts bin is now that they are 50% Nissan.  I'm guessing French developed as the Note does not have a robotic clutch option whereas its brother Modus does but I don't know.  There's no way I'd chose an automatic normally (although I've driven many cars with them including a Merc) but it may just turn out to be  necessary.

[/quote]


We went to an automatic two years ago when Mrs Benjamin was eventually unable to depress the clutch. Neither of us would change back now.






[/quote]

[cooperlola]

Most conventional automatics are out for me because most of the cars in my price range only offer autos in the petrol version.  But Renault do offer this option with little or no detrement to fuel consumption or performance and they also offer it in the turbo-diesel versions of their smaller cars (ie Clio and Modus)both of which have a chassis in common with my previous car (RIP).  It is likely thus to solve my problem and leave me in charge of which gear I am in.  Hence my question.

[Jonzjob]

[quote user="DerekJ"]John. We have the Citröen Grand C4 Picasso as potential replacement for SWMBO's car but have some reservations about getting the semi-auto version. I think that's what Citröen call EGS isn't it?
Our reservations are mainly potential reliability as we've heard a few "war stories" about French auto electrics. We have a preference to go for a standard manual gearbox but they don't seem that available in the secondhand market.[/quote]

We have had no problems with the EGS (Electronic Gear Selector) setup. It is realy easy to use and a pleasure to drive. As far as deciding which gear you want to be in then either in Auto or Manual, flick a leaver, you have control over the gears. That is unless you try to select a gear when you are too fast or too slow. Even in Manual it will change down as you slow as to be going too slow for the gear. To pass quickly you just flick the leaver into Manual, tap the down paddle, boot it and tap the up paddle to keep on accelerating. It is a quicker change in Manual.

As far as the economy is concerned the EGS system is an electro/mechanical clutch and not a fluid fly wheel system so has non of the power loss of a true auto system. Just the same, or similar, as the Porsche Tectronics system I believe.

[IMG]http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f180/Jonzjob/MGTC2A.jpg[/IMG]

Thompson Road sprint, Singapore 1968. No auto on that lovely machine!!

I too used to be into motor sport in a very small way and I love driving and I still use the 'box' as a brake. It's just a lot easier to tap the up or down paddles that's all. Something else that ours has is a 'speed limiter'. Just dial in the max speed that you want to keep as your MAX and unless you put your foot down to the override switch on the floor that is all you will do, even on a high speed take off from the lights...

[DerekJ]

Hi John.  Thanks for your feedback.   I haven't driven one yet so I guess from an actual driving perspective I need to do that and see if I like it. I've never been very keen on "standard" automatics but that experience has been mainly based on driving American cars plus the odd Volvo. Clearly the Citroen EGS system is a lot more sophisticated.

Apart from the actual driving experience I have some reservations regarding reliability. This isn't based on any actual reports that I've read regarding the Picasso, more a general feeling that more complex electro/mechnical systems can result in less reliability and more expensive repair bills. eg. I ride a BMW R1150GS motorbike which is pretty reliable but the later model R1200GS has had a lot of reliability problems which seem related to the increased complexity that BMW has implemented.

Have you had the Picasso long?

[Jonzjob]

13 months and apart from some French clown driving into the side no problems. I don't think I can blame Citröen for that incident?

We have only done one long trip back to Blighty. It's got about 16,000+K on the clock and as I say it's been very reliable.

As far as your gearbox is concerned Coops, this may well fit the bill? It is available on the C2 & 3. http://www.citroen.com/CWW/en-US/TECHNOLOGIES/COMFORT/SENSODRIVE/PRESENTATION/PRESENTATION.htm

I don't work for Citröen, in fact I don't work for anyone 'cause I'm retired [:D]. Just very satisfied with Citröen!

[krusty]

I had a Citroen C3 with what is called sensodrive ...same thing as quickshift ....a manual box with electrics to do the gear shifting.

I liked it most of the time but it was annoying at round abouts , it hesitated did not get in the correct gear. Also it had a fault after it changed down going up hill it would drop out of drive completely and I was left going nowhere, had to pull over switch off and wait for it to decide to let me start again. Lots of other people have had problems with them , if I can find the links I will post.

I got rid and would never have one again.

[cheminot]

I second what John has said about the Citroen C4 Picasso.

My previous car was a Renault Scenic diesel automatic which I thought was an excellent car but I have to say that this Citroen knocks spots off it.

 I have had it for nearly two years now and cannot fault it.

cheminot

[cooperlola]

Cheminot, did your Scenic have a Quickshift box or was it a previous generation?  I'd really be interested in feedback on this box as I'd like, if at all possible, to continue to drive a car based on the  ultra-responsive and delightful Micra chassis.  No insult intended to Citroen or their fans (my BX 16 valve was a real little rocket!)

[cheminot]

Sorry Coops, I havent got a clue what the gearbox was except it was fully automatic, it had no manual option. It was a 2003 model. One of the last Mk2 versions before the present model was introduced.

cheminot

[Department71]

Been following this one with interest as I have been toying with the idea of changing my C5 Auto. I have read on various forums that some "Friday" cars can have reliability problems with the EPG box. ( maybe its the way they are driven) What are they like backing into parking places etc, does it creep as a normal auto? which is very useful, and there have been comments of  jerky changes in auto mode.

As I understand it lorries and buses have had  similar type of gearbox for a few years now and they are reliable,or so it seems. I am sure someone will correct me if untrue.

To change tack a bit what have been the experiences of the aircon and heating on these cars, my C5 is marvelous in heating the cabin up on cold mornings, and keeping the cabin cool when we have our 1 day of summer, As the Picasso has a vast area of glass I would be concerned that the suns heat could over-power the aircon.

Getting back to the auto box, I suppose there are some problems on nearly every model sold so if you are happy after a test drive and its what you want, go for it.  I would not want to go back to a normal manual box again.

Steve

[Jonzjob]

Reference to the vast glass on our Grand C4 Pikky. We don't have the fixed sunroof so I can't comment on that, but we do have the windscreen that reaches to above my head. That is not a problem and in some ways it is better than a 'normal' screen.

The sunvisor is a 2 fold operation, the first being that you slide the visor down the screen and if you need more the second part then hinges down as per the normal setup. It means that you can have a lot of light in the car when you want it and still 'hide' from the sun when you need to. 30 deg on a blinding sunny day, no problems and we get more than several of those here!

As far as auto changes are concerned then if you pull away and just keep your foot down then there is a bit of surging, not jerky, when it changes, but I learned very quickly that when it changes gear you just ease yer lead boot off a fraction and the change is really smooth.

The clutch is a centrifugal device and there is no creep at idle. The parking brake is electrical and automatically releases when you start to move, so creeping would definate no no!

I have also tried long flat drives with the aircon both on and off and I can't see any difference in the fuel consumption on the trip computer. I was quite surprised...

I wouldn't go back to a manual box now. My arthritis would complain too much! Nice to feel a bit like an F1 driver and flick up and down through the box anyway!!!