Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) Gear shift patterns

The "Shopping trolley" is a VW Polo and has a gear shift pattern that I absolutely detest.


Maybe I am a bit heavy handed but having a reverse that is push-down and up, next to the first gear, I find bordering on dangerous. If one is a bit pushed for a difficult situation it is all too easy to engage reverse instead of first. Accelerating backwards into the car behind you is not generally considered good form. Not that I have ever done it but I have come close.
I have recently discovered that the Mini has the same shift pattern so perhaps it is a German thing.

The shift pattern in the Morgan Plus 4 is a, to me at least, more conventional: 5 speed, reverse right down. Reverse can not be engaged directly from 5th as you need to have the stick in neutral before moving right and down. In any case one would not accidentally engage reverse whilst try to get into 4th.


I have also driven 6 speed boxes that require a grip under the gear knob to be raised before reverse can be engaged. In both cases it would be near impossible to accidentally engage reverse.

When so many critical controls in many machines are standardised throughout the world I often wonder why shift patterns are not standardised. One can hardly imagine a vehicle that has the accelerator pedal next to the clutch, for example. Whatever the case it won't be long before manual gear shift cars will go the way of the dinosaurs so I suppose the necessity for standardised shift patterns will disappear of its own accord.

When talking about standardisation I have often wondered why 30% of the world still insists on driving on the left hand side of the road. This is an example of an issue that should have been resolved at least 100 years ago before nearly everyone had some form of motorised transport. Rules to avoid collision at sea have long since been standardised so why not rules to avoid collision on the roads?

And don't even get me started on appliance and portable device batteries that are not standardised. 🤬

The Ford Type 9 gearbox in my 4/4 is the same as your Polo

The ZF 6 manual in the Aero S2 is the same as the Polo but you have to push down hard so I have never been able to incorrectly select it.

I do remember almost parping myself in a Lancia which had reverse in the location most would called first (top left) and first (bottom left) where second ought to be. Embarrassingly I may have done it more than once. Should not have been allowed out on the roads.

I agree re non-standard approaches.

Windscreen wipers on opposite sides between makes
When your auto has a manual selection stick and forwards is either up or down a cog.

I hated the Citroen shift on my T24 at first, but now find it so logical. Pull out for First; in for reverse - so sensible for parking. And the same for second and third, which with the not quite perfect gear ratios takes care of 15-60mph. It is very smooth too.

Our old Series III Landy had reverse next to first with an incredibly weak spring as the only barrier between the two. Nearly got things expensively wrong on more than one occasion.

The Lampredi engined +4 is kind of worst case pattern for today.
R sits right down in 6th position without any kind of hurdle.

So every novice driver has to try it once...

Absolutely right. Diabolical reverse selector. Kindof adds to the fun though. In honesty all the gears are entertaining, getting from 5th to 4th is an acquired skill and trying to go from 5th to 3rd nigh on impossible.

Not sure about my memory here but I seem to recall a porsche 912 or 911 that had first where second should be?

Dogleg 911 box

Yes that was the perfect arrangment for a five speed box IMO with all the main driving gears within the H pattern. Never had any issues with false reverse selection which was opposite first.