It's not a question of continually moving it back between M and D, that's just an easy way to illustrate the 'feature'. I do think it's by design though definitely, although won't know for sure until I can drive another one.. But mine certainly does its upmost to stay in 2nd gear in 'D', even crawling slowly up a hill you can feel it slipping the clutch at times to stay in 2nd. In 'D' in drops into first a lot sooner.
However I agree with Mike I think it's a great box. I've only ever had manuals and would never have considered an 'auto' previously. And although it would be nice to have the *option* of a manual from time to time for fun, on a day to day basis (when you're tired and just want to get home for example) it just makes so much more sense. It's also just as rewarding I find, although maybe in a different way, using the stick / paddles in manual mode. I certainly don't miss having a clutch, flicking through a nice manual box, yes, sometimes.. But not having a clutch is great!
