I'm a Mazda6 noob and was wondering about manual mode I have not tried it yet and I have never driven a stick can I damage the car if I don't know what I am doing? Should I use MM in the snow? Or will Auto be okay?

Thanks!

 

"Manual Mode" is a misnomer if I've ever heard one. Long story short, there is no such a thing as "Manual Mode", however, there is a "Semi-Automatic Mode". Any automatic transmission with a "Manual Mode" is actually just an automatic transmission that allows you to dumb it down to the point where most shifts occur when the driver requests said shifts. That said, if you request a shift that is ill advised (i.e. a downshift at too high of a speed), the transmission will not comply.

Long story short, driving a car with an Automatic transmission with a "Manual Mode" is really just like driving a car with an Automatic, it's just that it allows you a Semi-Automatic option if you're feeling Semi-Sporty (you'll need a real manual transmission to go Full-Sporty).