I cannot shift smooth from 1st to 2nd no matter how careful I am but every gear after that is as smooth as glass. Somebody wrote in and said to not use first gear because it's too low anyway. So I tried starting in 2nd and it did fine. Thank you to whoever said that. If you are starting up a hill I would use 1st. I’m considering buying a Convertible and I think I will order the Auto stick.