No matter which way you cut it, the paddle shifters are nowhere near what a manual will feel like. It's difficult to paddle down into a curve, especially if you want to drop from 6th or 7th to 3rd or 2nd and ease off the clutch and apply gas as you are moving through the curve. It's really difficult to get the down shift to the right gear when you are worried about paying attention to the curve and can't look at the damn display. Sometimes I depress the paddle three times and it only drops two gears, sometimes more...WTF??
Since the transmission is always engaged, it revs up to the appropriate level, but it's definately not the same as a manual when you have so much more control through turns.
The one place where the paddle shifters are good is when you are at highway speed and you want to pass. Paddle down one or to gears and floor it as your passing. Instant power is ready and it feels like you've got a rocket up your a$$. This is the only time it really feels like a manual.
The paddels will let you wind out your gears further if you're accelerating from a stop, but I haven't really felt that much of a difference in performance. The engine is a lot louder, but not necessarily faster, although I haven't timed it. I can say that without using the paddles, the shift into 7th is around 120mph at around 7K RPM, so it still winds those gears out pretty good in auto mode.
-ZCarGo-
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