Hello all,

I finally decided it was time to move on from my first car that I've been driving since high school (~10 years): A passion red 1995 Volvo 850 Turbo . It's been a fantastic car but it's in need of some work that I can't quite justify at this point in my life. To that end, I'm going with leasing a 2014 R60 with the semi-firm plan of buying it at the end unless something changes massively with my finances.

One topic that I'm hoping you all can give me some advice on because I'm totally ignorant manual transmissions/shiftable automatics is particular situations where I should use the paddle shifters to upshift or downshift if I'm not in manual mode. Is there a good idiots guide out there somewhere? Most of my searching has lead to other forums where someone asks and gets responses of "Go get a manual transmission you scrub." I'd just like to have a general idea before I start hitting buttons when I get the car on Tuesday.

Otherwise, any other beginner tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking forward to getting involved in this forum community!