Lyddo
New member
Hi, just looking for a bit of advice please!
I've just got my first car, a 2020 semi-auto lounge, having passed my test a month ago. I had my lessons in a fully automatic VW so I'm looking for some advice to adjust to my new car. My main issue is hills/inclines... the car I learnt in had hill start so I only ever used the handbrake when parking, not while actively on the roads. My 500 has hill holder (I think!) but only if the hill is severe, I haven't been able to test it fully (only had it 2 weeks) but I think the hill holder has engaged once or twice. I'm terrified of rolling back into someone if I'm on an incline and they're right close behind me and the hill holder doesn't kick in.
My question mainly is what is the proper procedure for using the handbrake in these situations. Please be kind! I know I should know this but it was never required in my lessons, I thought all automatics were the same and I don't actually know anyone else who drives auto. Should it be handbrake on > press accelerator > handbrake off or handbrake on > handbrake off > press accelerator? I've been doing the latter but sometimes there is a small roll back which I'm trying to avoid.
I was also taught to not use my left foot, only right foot between brake and accelerator, however I'm thinking I could use both feet maybe to reduce the gap between releasing the brake pedal and hitting the accelerator, thus preventing any rolling back. Is this what other people usually do? I never had any lessons in a manual so I see a lot of comments saying the semi-auto is similar to a manual clutch/transmission however this doesn't mean much to me! Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!
I've just got my first car, a 2020 semi-auto lounge, having passed my test a month ago. I had my lessons in a fully automatic VW so I'm looking for some advice to adjust to my new car. My main issue is hills/inclines... the car I learnt in had hill start so I only ever used the handbrake when parking, not while actively on the roads. My 500 has hill holder (I think!) but only if the hill is severe, I haven't been able to test it fully (only had it 2 weeks) but I think the hill holder has engaged once or twice. I'm terrified of rolling back into someone if I'm on an incline and they're right close behind me and the hill holder doesn't kick in.
My question mainly is what is the proper procedure for using the handbrake in these situations. Please be kind! I know I should know this but it was never required in my lessons, I thought all automatics were the same and I don't actually know anyone else who drives auto. Should it be handbrake on > press accelerator > handbrake off or handbrake on > handbrake off > press accelerator? I've been doing the latter but sometimes there is a small roll back which I'm trying to avoid.
I was also taught to not use my left foot, only right foot between brake and accelerator, however I'm thinking I could use both feet maybe to reduce the gap between releasing the brake pedal and hitting the accelerator, thus preventing any rolling back. Is this what other people usually do? I never had any lessons in a manual so I see a lot of comments saying the semi-auto is similar to a manual clutch/transmission however this doesn't mean much to me! Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!