Driving Technique Mmt?

[PerLan]

Hi guys,

This is my very first post in this forum, being from Sweden I hope You guys will excuse my bad english.

I'm about to pick up my new Aygo from the local Toyota dealer in a couple of weeks, I'm quite excited about it .

When I visited the T-dealer a week ago for a testdrive, I had'nt really decided wether I should go for a used or a brand new Aygo, but after 30 min testdrive in horrible winterconditions I decided I'd go for a brand new one.

I had to buy an Aygo with mmt, that was'nt an option since I will use the car to commute to work where I live in Stockholm.

When i made the testdrive at the T-dealer I did off course try the one with mmt. I'm used to drive my other car with regular automatic gearbox (Toyota Land Cruiser 120 HG) but was quite happy that the Aygo's mmt-box did the job quite well.

Q: Is there any special technique You guys recommend driving the Aygo with mmt-box?

Q: How to increase mpg when using the mmt-box, wich rev is most economical for gear change?

Q: I've read some where that the mmt-box is supposed to be adaptive to the driver's drivingstyle, if so, how does that work?

Look forward to some answers!

[Unklian]

Firstly: Welcome to the Forums.

Your English: Don't worry, I'm from Yorkshire.

My language is far worse!

On 3/24/2010 at 7:31 AM, PerLan said:

Q: Is there any special technique You guys recommend driving the Aygo with mmt-box?

Q: How to increase mpg when using the mmt-box, wich rev is most economical for gear change?

Q: I've read some where that the mmt-box is supposed to be adaptive to the driver's drivingstyle, if so, how does that work?

Hi PerLan.

Special Technique. Some suggestions.

Remember the gearbox is really a computer controlled manual gearbox. (It has a "normal" clutch which you can wear out faster by abusing it. Just like a normal clutch.

MMT is very clever but can't anticipate or see hills coming. If you are driving into a valley and know you will soon be climbing a steep hill, change into manual, change down a gear (or two) so that power is available. If you wait for the car to do this, you are already on the hill, losing speed.

When crawling in traffic, try to maintain at least 6mph (10kph)

This means the clutch is fully engaged, not slipping and wearing.

Use the throttle very gently in slow traffic , again, to prevent wear.

Slipping ANY car clutch in traffic is poor driving anyway.

One of the critisisms of both the manual & MMT gearbox is the huge difference in ratios between 1st & 2nd gear. You may find that you set off gently up a slight slope and when the gearbox chenges into 2nd, the engine may labour (struggle) a bit.

I find the best way to set off uphill is to start moving gently, then open the throttle quite wide (then the speed will build quickly and revs go quite high)

As the gearbox engages 2nd gear, ease your foot off the throttle a little. (Not too much or the gearbox will go into 3rd). You'll soon see what I mean.

Another subtle difference between "normal" Auto boxes and MMT. If you want to use kickdown, to change down a gear, The speed at which you press the accelerator pedal is more important than slowly pressing it to the floor. Pressing it very quickly to half-way down will result in a quicker down-shift.

To increase MPG, simply use the throttle very gently. the MMT will sort the rest out.

Adapting......If you thrash away from a couple of junctions and use large throttle openings a few times, the MMT will keep you in lower gears and alter gearchange points until you relax again.

As soon as you drive gently, it goes back to normal within a couple of gearchanges.

Hope this helps.

Ian.

[ihpj]

I concur with all the advice above, that pretty much goes into the technical details of how you should live with the box. Ultimately, you have to accept that this is not a traditional slush-matic-box. It is is a clutchless manual box and, if driven and treated like this, then the car will be an absolutely *HOOT* to drive.

You must adapt your driving style to take into account this type of box - if you can do that, then it is will be easy to live with and you will wonder why you never chose one before.

Our MMT is an absolute delight; all the benefits of a manual without the complexities of a clutch ;)

[PerLan]

Thank's for sharing Your experiences Ian and ihpj, I really appreciate that!

Very usefull information.

[miss_d_bus]

I will add that you can roll back easily on slopes in slow moving traffic so use the handbrake and put into neutral. Also, the gear changes are much smoother if you can take your foot off the accelerator when the car changes gear. This has proved to be quite hard for me as I cannot drive a manual car so I am not always sure when it is going to change and get the timing right. By doing that, I don't feel like I am being thrown forward! In manual mode, I tend to change gear and take my foot off the accelerator pedal for a moment.

[Teemu]

MMT is really easy to drive, have had mine just over a year. You get used to it very quickly, when the gear is changing lifting up the gas makes the change smoother. I drive almost all the time with the automatic mode, only going to manual when climbing icy hills. In Sweden all Aygo models comes with VSC and traction control so you will get an excellent winter car also! I got mine with VSC and traction control and I have been very happy, both have been very useful with this snowy and icy winter!

Which color did you pick?

Good luck with you Aygo!

[PerLan]

Hi Teemu, the colour is olivegreen wich came with an option pack called "Colour Line"

Sounds great that Aygo is a good wintercar, especially for me since I bought it as a wintercar (ride a motorcycle when the conditions admits). Hope the damn snow has the time to melt before next winter.... :)

Thank's for the tip Teemu!

What's the colour of Your Aygo?

MMT is really easy to drive, have had mine just over a year. You get used to it very quickly, when the gear is changing lifting up the gas makes the change smoother. I drive almost all the time with the automatic mode, only going to manual when climbing icy hills. In Sweden all Aygo models comes with VSC and traction control so you will get an excellent winter car also! I got mine with VSC and traction control and I have been very happy, both have been very useful with this snowy and icy winter!

Which color did you pick?

Good luck with you Aygo!

[ihpj]

Shame MMT cars in the UK do not get the option of adding ESP (yet). Its one very useful function IMHO and surprised that Toyota offer it in other markets but not here for what is essentially the same vehicle. Maybe it has to do with the LHD/RHD issue?

[Teemu]

Olive green looks really good, I have red Aygo, colour options were more limited here. This winter has been really cold and snowy and Aygo has been great. Warms up quickly and moves really well on snowy roads. And the fuel consumption has been surprisingly good, between 5,2 and 5,9 l/100 km about 48-53 mpg in UK gallons. In the summer expect to go under 5 l/100 km

What extras you get with the car? Haven't made much modifications myself. Fitted scuff plates I ordered from Parts-King here on the forum, looks really nice, mudflaps and arm rest from eBay and led light to the boot and glove box. Glove box lid was bought with the car. Now getting wind deflectors from eBay to help keep the windows cleaner...

No problems so far, excellent car! If only this winter would end, poor Aygo needs a good washing and polishing...

[PerLan]

I actually ordered an option pack called "+" wich came with AC, remote central locking, electric windows, revv counter, 6 Speakers etc etc. And an extra option pack

called "colour line" wich incl alu wheels, some plastic along the side of the car, some "colour tuning" in the interior and the metallic olive green colour.

And off course the best winter tyres there is Nokian HAKKA

Since the car won't be delivered until wednesday the 31 0f march I have'nt (obviously) had the oppurtunity to make many mod's yet , but I've ordered a arm rest from a Danish company

and will get pick up a subwoofer soon. I must take look at Parts-King!

Olive green looks really good, I have red Aygo, colour options were more limited here. This winter has been really cold and snowy and Aygo has been great. Warms up quickly and moves really well on snowy roads. And the fuel consumption has been surprisingly good, between 5,2 and 5,9 l/100 km about 48-53 mpg in UK gallons. In the summer expect to go under 5 l/100 km

What extras you get with the car? Haven't made much modifications myself. Fitted scuff plates I ordered from Parts-King here on the forum, looks really nice, mudflaps and arm rest from eBay and led light to the boot and glove box. Glove box lid was bought with the car. Now getting wind deflectors from eBay to help keep the windows cleaner...

No problems so far, excellent car! If only this winter would end, poor Aygo needs a good washing and polishing...

[ihpj]

I actually ordered an option pack called "+" wich came with AC, remote central locking, electric windows, revv counter, 6 speakers etc etc. And an extra option pack

called "colour line" wich incl alu wheels, some plastic along the side of the car, some "colour tuning" in the interior and the metallic olive green colour.

I am surprised with the variance in models of these cars across Europe. For once, I think UK buyers get a very good deal no matter which Aygo they buy.

[Teemu]

I have similar Aygo+ model with the same specs. And also got the same excellent Nokian tyres, great choice, good grip and they are silent. My summer tyres are also Nokian, I had a good seller who agreed to swap the original tyres to Nokian summer tyres, they are size 165/65 (I have original steel wheels).

My next tuning is TomTom car kit for iPhone!

I actually ordered an option pack called "+" wich came with AC, remote central locking, electric windows, revv counter, 6 speakers etc etc. And an extra option pack

called "colour line" wich incl alu wheels, some plastic along the side of the car, some "colour tuning" in the interior and the metallic olive green colour.

And off course the best winter tyres there is Nokian HAKKA

Since the car won't be delivered until wednesday the 31 0f march I have'nt (obviously) had the oppurtunity to make many mod's yet , but I've ordered a arm rest from a Danish company

and will get pick up a subwoofer soon. I must take look at Parts-King!

[LincolnVu]

Digging up a really old topic here yet I'd like to have detailed advice on how to drive an MMT (mine is an Aygo 2010) in slow traffic (almost jam). Back to office after Covid pandemic and traffic is a nightmare, especially with the MMT. My clutch, usually after an hour or so in slow traffic, refuses to change gear, the red light goes on, and the car sits at neutral. Very embarrassing to me as I worsen the traffic jam.

Tips on driving MMT in very slow traffic are greatly appreciated (I tried drive in manual which did not help much).

[Cyker]

It's probably the clutch overheating; The MMT system is very learner-esque with its clutch control.

The best thing you can do is not hang onto the back of the car in front, but let a car-length or two build up before you start moving.

This way, you have a buffer for the car to go fast enough for the clutch to fully engage, instead of being constantly slipped - The car needs to be doing 5-6mph before it allows the clutch to fully engage IIRC.

It's hard to do, esp. in certain countries where if you leave a gap someone will immediately try to dive into it, but this is the only thing you can really do. Leaving that buffer will help reduce clutch usage, reducing clutch wear and also improving mpg - I deliberately leave a buffer so I can continuously roll on idle as the car in front shoots off then brakes the shoots off again, so don't have to waste loads of fuel stopping and starting, just rolling.

One of the things I miss about not driving a manual any more is I can't use low-speed clutch tricks in traffic any more, but that's just the downside of an autobox you have to live with.

 

[PetrolDave]

I always drop the gear selector into N whenever it looks like the traffic is going to be stationary for more than a few seconds, and as Cyker said try to keep rolling even if it means letting the gap in front of you stretch and compress.