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Auto Gear Shift – Convenience of an Automatic, Performance and Fuel Economy of a Manual!
AGS Education
Auto Gear Shift – Convenience of an Automatic, Performance and Fuel Economy of a Manual!
With the increase in population of vehicles at a lightening pace, driving in a metropolis anywhere around the world became a hassle for millions of drivers around the world. This fast paced the transition from manual transmissions to automatic transmission systems. The automotive manufacturers presented many solutions to provide convenience to the customers including conventional AT, CVT based AT and Semi automatic systems with each system claiming its respective merits.
Talking about market trends, the Pakistani market lately started shifting towards Automatic transmission systems with the influx of used JDM vehicles in late 2000’s. Auto Gear Shift or AGS as we simply know it was introduced in Pakistan by Suzuki in 2017 with new Suzuki Cultus. AGS is basically an automated manual transmission system that eliminates the need to perform clutch operation and gear shifting manually by the driver, hence providing the convenience of Automatic Transmission.
An important question arises here that why should a customer opt for AGS rather than going for a conventional AT/CVT system? What are the advantages AGS offers? And why did Suzuki introduce AGS in Pakistani market rather than conventional AT?
The answer to the first question resides in the fact that the Automated manual transmission systems not only provide convenience by eliminating the clutch and gear shift operations but also are fairly very fuel economical, a factor which is an Achilles heel for AT systems due to presence of torque converter and the resulting loss of efficiency. Since AGS system relies primarily on a Manual Transmission the losses are kept minimal and fuel economy is maximized.
No one can underestimate the performance and instantaneous power delivery provided by Manual transmission systems. This is an area where AT’s falter due to presence of lag in shifting and torque converters. AGS shines bright in power delivery as well due to its ability to instantaneously kick down and provide instantaneous acceleration to the driver on demand. A feature admired by people frequently travelling on highways and dual carriageways due to the necessity of frequent overtaking and necessity of smooth power delivery.
Eyeing all these benefits Suzuki Pakistan decided to opt for a contemporary approach i.e. adapt AGS rather than opting for conventional AT systems. As we all know being contemporary is not an easy task, there are always critics even when you go with the flow. AGS has received its fair bit of criticism from many who have tried it.
One popular critique regarding AGS is that the transmission system lags during gear shifts. As a matter of fact, just like any other system in order to use AGS, there is a preset condition and recommended methodology and those who adapt to that face minimal or no lag at all. It all is dependent on the throttle application and unlike conventional AT systems the way throttle application is required is definitely different with AGS systems. Those who face such problems should visit the following link to understand the throttle application procedure required to operate AGS systems in a proper fashion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb0nQUtAZaY
As far as driving experience is concerned, my personal opinion regarding conventional AT is that it is very functional but keeps the driver guessing regarding gear shifts which means that every up/downshift is a surprise even for the driver which translates into an unpleasurable driving experience. Whereas in CVT systems the transmission adjusts to the best efficiency w.r.t throttle application and then the engine speed stays stagnant, giving a feel of a motor driving the vehicle rather than an engine & transmission coupling that punches torquey acceleration in short bursts. In this regard, AGS transmission system provides all the positive bells and whistles with ample bursts of acceleration and engine braking. Also the driver can configure the AGS transmission into Manual mode to take more control of his gear shifts when necessity arises.
Talking about engine braking, it is something that proves to be a major weakness of the AT systems due to inherent presence of torque converters. Meanwhile AGS shines in this arena as well by providing plenty of engine braking in Manual mode to the driver, a feature admired by those driving frequently in hilly areas.
All in all we Pakistanis always complain about the unavailability of a variety of modern technologies to choose from in the domestic market. AGS is a technology that Suzuki has introduced as a contemporary tech for its consumers eyeing their priority of performance and economy. It is now up to the consumer to adapt. Cheers!
