Ask an expert

Hi Jack,
Our son is looking to buy a Mazda Familia SP 20, year 2000 with a tiptronic gearbox. Mileage around 150,000. Anything we should be wary about? The tiptronic gearbox is something we are not familiar with. Cheers.

Not too much to worry about, the tiptronic feature allows the driver to operate the transmission manually similar to a manual.

For most drivers it’s an option they soon forget about to be honest and they simply leave the gear selector in the ‘D’ position and let the transmission change gear when its ready.

It can come in handy when travelling downhill for additional engine braking or when overtaking.

The only downside would be if your son were to constantly ‘play’ with the transmission gear changes which may distract him from driving and could, over a reasonable time span, cause premature and unnecessary wear and tear.