Living in a montaneous region, the shop manager at the M.B. dealer recommends to downshift manually to avoid constant braking (hence saving brake pads). The owner's manual on my cars also mention this factor.

I do manually downshift on my E 320 T, which works fine as long as the speed is correct.

On my S 500 L I am constantly amazed everyday: I leave the electronic 5-speed A/T alone at "D" and when going downhill it will AUTOMATICALLY downshift (up to 2 to 3 gears, depending on speed) to provide engine braking, saving brake pads.

Hence: why if it is inappropiate to downshift an automatic transmission due to clutch wearing, the electronic program on my 722.6 does it, and does it so remarkably well?

Any thoughts?

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A. Rosich
CL 500, 1998
S 500 L, 1998
E 320 T, 1995 [Sadly sold ]