Practical and ergonomic. Why the gear selector is being repositioned

Automatic transmissions are becoming more popular in cars, and that brings with it changes to the interior layout. The new generation of Superb and Kodiaq models have the automatic transmission selector on the steering column. It’s easier for drivers and frees up the centre console for practical use.

13. 8. 2024 Škoda World

A gear lever or automatic transmission selector on the centre console is what most of us are used to. The fourth-generation Superb and second-generation Kodiaq SUV break from this tradition, however. The automatic transmission selector, which is the only choice for these cars, has moved behind the steering wheel.

On the new generations of the Kodiaq and Superb models, the automatic transmission selector is below the steering wheel.

The reason is simple: better use of interior space. “By moving the selector behind the steering wheel, we are improving ergonomics for the driver while making the centre console space more practical for all the car’s occupants. This is in line with the very DNA of the Škoda brand,” says Radoslav Horák, who is in charge of conceptual interior design at the Czech carmaker.

Technical evolution

“Something like this has been technically complicated for a long time. It’s only technical changes in recent years that have made it possible to move the comfortable, modern gear selector closer to the driver’s hands. An automatic transmission is actually a prerequisite for this change. Automatic gearboxes are becoming more and more popular and more common, and they have advantages in terms of emissions in cars with internal combustion engines, so this technology will win out in the end. But it will take time. That’s why we’re starting with our top models like the Kodiaq and Superb, which already have exclusively automatic transmissions,” explains Horák.

With no automatic transmission selector, the centre console is freed up for more practical use by all the car’s occupants.

In addition to the automatic gearbox itself, the selector’s new position also requires shift-by-wire technology, i.e. fully electronic gear selection. Until recently, even cars with automatic transmissions had mechanical mode and gear selection. It was only electronic control that removed all the constraints when thinking about where to position this selector.

The Škoda Octavia’s downsized automatic transmission selector

“The Octavia, for example, came with a smaller automatic gear selector on the centre console,” says Darkoudis. This smaller selector is actually an evolution of sorts, foreshadowing the repositioning. Similarly, the Enyaq electric car was given a smaller selector on the centre console. “It’s also about getting car users accustomed to the change gradually,” says Horak.

Moving the transmission selector away from the centre console facilitated the ergonomic arrangement of other new elements, such as Smart Dials.

Freeing up the centre console also allows for a better ergonomic arrangement of a whole array of other new features, such as Smart Dials, or a dual charging box for mobile phones. Moving the gear selector to the steering wheel is a good idea for practical reasons, but it’s also advantageous from the driver’s point of view. Consequently, this solution may appear in other car models in the future. Electric cars, of course, but also other ICE cars. “It’s possible to design two solutions for the centre console for cars with manual gearshift and automatic gearshift,” reflects Horák, saying that some models will need to have a combination of locations, in case the cars continue to have a manual gearbox version.

How the selector on the steering column works

The selector on the steering column behind the steering wheel is used to select the driving modes in the same way as with the existing designs: P for park, N for neutral, D (or S) for forward and R for reverse. P is selected by pressing the button on the right-hand side of the selector lever; the other positions are selected by turning the selector lever forward or backward. From the neutral position (N), forward rotation selects the D or S (sport shift) forward modes, reverse rotation selects the R reverse mode. The selector returns to its neutral position after each rotation. You can turn the selector “through two positions”, so that D mode can be selected from R mode in a single movement, and vice versa.

Unexpected possibilities

Moving the transmission selector behind the steering wheel won’t be the end of gear control. “In the same way that we’re retaining mechanical controls for the most important functions, we want to retain the transmission control. But in these days of extensive use of electronics, there is also the option to move the gear selection to the user interface of the car’s infotainment system,” Darkoudis points out. That said, Škoda has no plans to do anything like this at the moment, “as we believe that our customers still value haptics and familiar controls in their car, but it will be important to monitor trends and user demands in this respect. At the end of the day, user requirements are always paramount,” adds Darkoudis.

Horák believes that as automatic transmissions become more prevalent in cars, other possibilities for automating “gear shifting” will open up, and that the driver will only control the choice himself in a minimum of cases. “Logically, a car that’s parked with its front facing a wall can put itself in reverse when it starts,” Horák says.