Semi automatic

[McNoodle]

What does this actually mean? I was looking at a Clio for my wife and it appeared to have a normal a manual gearstick with the usual 1-5 gears illustrated on the knob, with no clutch pedal. I was also looking at an Audi A4 for myself which appears to have the classic auto shift stick - these are all pictures off Autotrader, so haven't seen them up close...

[dot.hawkes]

you still get the gears but it also has the D, P and R, like in my fully automatic, i have a 3rd 2nd and 1st gear too if i am going down or up hill but never use them, i've driven autos since 1973 .

[bednobs]

i have semi automatic gearbox, or "tiptronic" you have to move the gearstick to change gear but on mine you just move it up to go up through the gears and down for down (not like the "H" in normal gears)
you dont have to depress a clutch to do this, and when you slow down you dont have to go down through the gears either, although you can. I also have flappy paddles on the steering wheel to change gear although i dont know if thats standard with semis

[Toureman]

It,s just what it says "semi"

Normal gear change but no clutch.

When your stationery you put it in 1st gear and just gently push down on the accelerator to move the car.

[McNoodle]

Thanks all. I'm assuming my wife's auto licence wouldn't cover a semi-auto then?