Intelligent Manual Transmission or iMT Explained

With the innovation in the field of automobiles, technology has come a long way. Well, one such recent innovation is the iMT. Don’t confuse this iMT technology with the one we have seen on the Toyota Fortuner.

What is this iMT?

iMT stands for intelligent manual transmission. Well if you ask me to explain it in layman terms I would state it as ‘a clutchless Manual Transmission’.

So it's an AMT gearbox like we see on Celerio and Kwid? No! Let me explain it to you.

Vision:

The iMT transmission is not really a new transmission. Its been in the auto industry since 80’s or 90’s in cars like Ferrari Mondial The vision for iMT was first-time shown to the Indian Automobile market in early 2020 during the AutoExpo by Korean company ‘KIA Motors’. The company which made its presence felt in the Indian market with their product ‘KIA Seltos’. KIA Motors is part of the Hyundai group so one does expect a lot of commonality among the sibling companies. Surprisingly Hyundai India drops in the iMT transmission in their Urban SUV: Hyundai Venue. Hyundai made the iMT available to the Venue in its Sports, SX trim.

Back to iMT transmission: The Mechanics

The new innovation is not really new. It is a manual transmission where one shifts the gears manually but the clutch is electronically actuated. This technology is ideally very helpful for city folks who feel that clutch is cumbersome to operate & have to deal with bumper to bumper traffic but want manual control over the selection of gears, this is the perfect option for them. Making drive through traffic a tad-bit easy.

The technology features a traditional looking transmission shift lever which has an intention sensor. The intention sensor is a type of brain that reads your driving style and prepares to play the clutch when you are about to shift gears. AI I tell you.

The intention sensor is connected to the ‘hydraulic actuator’ which upon receiving the signal from the Transmission Control Unit engages or disengages the clutch accordingly. Thus leaving the left foot for idle on the foot-rest. While you shift the gears in the traditional way. This lets you lock-on to a set of gear manually without relying on any computer.

How to drive in Bumper-to-Bumper traffic?

There’s a ‘creep’ function where the car crawls at slow speeds after releasing the brake so you can inch in traffic without having to press the accelerator. This makes inching forward in jam-packed traffic a breeze. The mechanicals of the iMT are similar to those of a regular manual transmission, except that the clutch is now operated automatically.

What are the negatives?

The biggest flaw (not really) being It does not shift as quickly as a regular manual gearbox when driven enthusiastically, but in regular driving conditions, the shifts are seamless. In fact, it is at par with the shifting skills of a very good driver. There are no jerks and the transitions are smooth and jerk-free. Something that we miss out in the AMT (Automated Manual Transmission).

Although the set-up for AMT and iMT are similar, an AMT shifts the gears too for you while you can keep both your hands on the steering wheel. On the reliability factor, one can’t really have an opinion for it but surely the three-pedal setup will have a better life than the 2-pedal clutchless iMT (subjected to driving skills). On my personal point-of-view, the transmission may face premature clutch wear.

Can you stall an iMT?

Oh, you loose on the option to stall in traffic thus you don’t have to panic or worry about the impatient drivers who start to honk once you stall. After bringing the car to a halt in the first gear, the system automatically disengages the drive and depresses the clutch for you. When on the move just lift your foot off the brakes and the vehicle pulls away seamlessly.

Can I skip gears like in Manual?

Well since you can select the gears manually you can now skip gears for upshifts and so for downshifts. One can also start moving in 2nd gear if they forget to downshift into 1st. Well, I suggest you be careful about it for the longevity of the gear teeth thus improving the life on transmission making your wallet happy during service. But any more than 2nd gear the system sends out a warning to shift for lower gears. In such scenarios even if one locks on to 3rd and expects the vehicle to start crawling, the system is clever enough and it will stay at neutral.

If someone needs a quick overtake on the highways one can shift all the way from 5th gear to 2nd or 3rd as per preference and the system is clever to rev-match by increasing the revs for you automatically with the blip of the throttle. You see why it's intelligent?

How do I start on an inclined?

The iMT units are generally expected to be provided with a hill-hold assist as it takes the system to mesh the kiss-points and engage into drive thus preventing it from a roll-back. Of course, if your vehicle is not provided with this feature, fear not, just engage the handbrakes and accelerate.

Does this drink like the true automatics

Next up on the cost of ownership front is the fuel economy. Given that most of the gearbox components of the iMT and the regular manual are the same, the fuel economy will also be the same. Under regular driving conditions, there’s no reason for the iMT to consume more fuel. Many buyers prefer manual transmissions because they are slightly more fuel-efficient than their automatic counterparts. Sure this is not a true automatic but it does the job of any automatic transmission without breaking the bank balance. This setup is way cheaper than the Torque Converter, DSG, DSG, CVT.

Well if you are someone who is an enthusiastic driver and wants an auto-gearbox then look for DCT/DSG transmission. Well if you want to experience the raw feel and understand your

machine to core look no further go ahead and choose the raw-traditional Manual transmission. #SaveManuals.

Source: Theracemonkey, Google

Gaurav Chakraborty

R19ME015

Mechanical 3-A

r19me015@me.reva.edu.in

gauravc0905@gmail.com