[aviral2122]

Over the past many years among the cars I have driven I have found one thing of surprise. The car pull is different in different gears (obvious reasons), but all the cars I have driven had a substantial pull in 3rd gear.

My driven cars include the First gen Honda City 1.5, the erstwhile Lancer petrol, Fabia petrol, Laura TDI DSG, C220D W204, I20 Diesel Elite, Civic, XF 2.0 GTDI

Is there a specific technical reason behind this or is it just my perception? The cars listed above are 5, 6 & 8 gear cars but still I always felt the car leaped ahead in 3rd gear far better than what could be managed in any other gear.

Is it because gear 1 and 2 are more torque oriented and 4 - 5 are overdrive gears so # 3 hits sweet spot?

I am eager to learn what other think about it and for this I will add a poll to listen to others on what is their say of which gear gives them maximum pull (or pushback).

[vishy76]

Voted for 4th gear.

My Volkswagen Jetta TDI has a 6 speed manual. The first 3 ratios are short and fairly well spaced as well. However, the other 3, particularly 5th and 6th are very tall. (All 3 are overdrive IIRC)

On state highways and open roads, the 4th and 5th are more than enough. The TDI ticks over at around 2K rpm in 5th @ 100 Kmhr. Makes it easy for overtaking as the engine is just entering the turbo zone.

Anything below and 4th comes into play. It's perfectly sized and easily gets me upto 100, while also allowing to perform quick overtakes at typical speeds of 60-80 Km/hr.

6th gear is a bit too tall for my liking. (The Germans obviously had Autobahns in mind while designing this gearbox). I only find it worthwile above 100 km/hr. The engine ticks over at about 1650 RPM at 100 and 120 km/hr sees around 1800 RPM. My car did 21 Km/L (MID indicated) on a Mumbai-Vadodara run with speeds ranging from 70-120 Km/hr and judicious use of the 5th and 6th gears. (5th majorly). So yes, they do help FE, although the car is virtually dead below 100 in 6th especially.

3rd gear coupled with the tractability of the TDI easily helps in lifting off from speeds as low as 30 Km/hr and pulling into triple digits. Can be put to good use if you are lazy within the city.

I would still say that 4th is the most versatile gear ratio on my Jetta followed by 3rd and then 5th.

[a4anurag]

4th gear gets my vote

Chugging along traffic at ~35 kmph, the RPM is ~1200. No lugging/judder or any kind of protest. From 1500rpm onwards it becomes an animal. I had told this in my review too:

4th gear is the best for relaxed city cruising, be it as low as 35 kmph too, no strain/lugging, it pulls cleanly and 1500 RPM onwards, the car becomes a sprinter with that 'push-into-the-seat' effect.

But I don't like the overall ratios spread in the Creta. Too short for my liking actually but makes life easier in bumper-to-bumper traffic but on the highway feels stained. After the remap, the pull is excellent and addictive.

[thoma]

Slot into second and floor the pedal. Vroooooom... There she flies, almost any car, except for a few with ultra short second gear.

First is usually too short on most cars and third almost into overdrive territory. Agree that third has a very versatile ratio mostly, but reaches high speeds fast which can't be afforded too long even on my kind of state highways.

Hence 2nd it will be, especially if it's turbo charged

[BlackPearl]

Every gear has a purpose, I love all of them I just pray that I get to drive manual cars as long as I live.

[OSH]

Originally Posted by aviral2122

Is it because gear 1 and 2 are more torque oriented and 4 - 5 are overdrive gears so # 3 hits sweet spot ?

Originally Posted by vishy76

My Volkswagen Jetta TDI has a 6 speed manual. The first 3 ratios are short and fairly well spaced as well. However, the other 3, particularly 5th and 6th are very tall. (All 3 are overdrive IIRC)

Both; 4th-5th gear or 5th-6th gear of the same car cannot be overdrive gears, AFAIK there can only be one overdrive gear and that is the last gear. So if the the car has 5 forward gears, the 5th gear is overdrive and if the car has 6 forward gears, 6th gear is overdrive.

The gear just before the overdrive gear will be the direct drive; 4th gear in case of cars having 5 forward gears and 5th gear in cars having 6 forward gears.

There can be some cars which may not be following the above pattern, but then I don't thing those cars will be everyday cars that are running in India. Experts please correct me if I'm wrong.

[VKumar]

The gear that works all the way from 20 to 150 kph in free revving petrols (100-110 in diesels). The super useable and fit-for-nearly-all-situations; the third gear.

Fourth gear normally end up being on a slower side for quick overtakes and second gear normally is too short for overtaking fast moving buses and trucks even if they are doing 70-75 kph. Third cog is something which will pull you slowly out of 20 kph to strongly all the way to 140 kph at redline, you choose what you need out of it and it will supply.

[knrn]

Originally Posted by OSH

Both; 4th-5th gear or 5th-6th gear of the same car cannot be overdrive gears, AFAIK there can only be one overdrive gear and that is the last gear. So if the the car has 5 forward gears, the 5th gear is overdrive and if the car has 6 forward gears, 6th gear is overdrive.

The gear just before the overdrive gear will be the direct drive; 4th gear in case of cars having 5 forward gears and 5th gear in cars having 6 forward gears.

There can be some cars which may not be following the above pattern, but then I don't thing those cars will be everyday cars that are running in India. Experts please correct me if I'm wrong.

Very rightly explained.
As I have driven mostly cars with 5 gears, it's the 3rd that hits the sweet spot with 4 th providing the final punch. My vote is for the 3rd.

[AYP]

Since I drive a turbo diesel, my favourite gear is the 2nd gear due to the oodles of torque which is delivered in this gear. Though from a practical point of view, the 3rd gear is the more useful of the two and hits the sweet spot between the higher and the lower gears. It has the required torque as well as the required range of speed for all practical purpose.

Voted for the 2nd gear.

[swissknife]

Originally Posted by OSH

Both; 4th-5th gear or 5th-6th gear of the same car cannot be overdrive gears, AFAIK there can only be one overdrive gear and that is the last gear. So if the the car has 5 forward gears, the 5th gear is overdrive and if the car has 6 forward gears, 6th gear is overdrive.

Gears that are lesser than a 1:1 ratio are overdrive and not necessarily the last one.

[Mad Max]

Hello from Bangalore. What is this 3rd, 4th and 5th gear you guys talk about? We thought all cars came with a two-speed. Interesting.


In the Figo diesel, it's the second and third.

In the Vento 1.6 diesel, it's the third and fourth.

[KiloAlpha]

Voted for 2nd gear.
I drive a S-Cross 1.6. Its a torque monster. I absolutely love 2nd gear because, in the city, I can leave it in 2nd and simply stomp on the A-pedal to get past slow moving traffic. Acceleration from 30 to 60 kmph in 2nd gear is near-instantaneous.

[ashis89]

3rd gear. I look for the 3rd in the following situations and IMO, this gear brings out the best performance, within city as well as the highway under moderate conditions.

2->3
4->3
5->3

Most cars (and even bikes) that I driven, the 3rd gear works as an automatic and covers ~20-80 kmph range with relative ease if I don't look for outright accelaration.

[Acharya]

The sheer acceleration that one experiences in 3rd gear of XUV is certainly addictive.
If you are in right power band, you might experience a bit of torque steer as well.

In XUV, 3rd gear is without a doubt the best gear. If you wish for automatic experience it can provide it in the speed range of 25-90 kmph, on the other hand it can satiate a quick adrenalin rush.

[kozhissery]

I have found 3rd gear to be the most versatile gear. It can be used to amble around in the city and when you need power just dab the accelerator and you can just zip past.



All the cars which I've driven has 6 or lesser gears.