E39 Sport steptronic

 

All this means is you have a fully automated conventional automatic gearbox with the ability to manually change the gears.  You have the usual PRND then when in D you shift the stick sideways over to put it into Sport mode (fully automatic but the car stays in the lower gear for longer improving performance).  Once in Sport mode you then either push the stick forwards for up shift and backwards for down shift.   This is indicated on the consoul with a M (manual mode) and the +- symbols + being up shift - down shift. 

 

It allows you to manually change between gears as opposed to changing drive ranges. 

 

The early E39 steptronics have the up and down gear shifts in different directions from the facelifted E39 with steptronic gearboxes.  i.e. push the stick forwards will down shift etc.  The orientation of the +- symbols is different.

 

My E39 (pre facelift) which was steptronic has the +- manual shift in the different orientation from my E60.  I thought my E39 was round the wrong way and prefer the orientation of the E60 manual shift.

 

The E39 525i Sport will have a steptronic autobox.  That will be a post facelift model so the up shift will be towards the rear of the car and the down shift will be towards the dashboard, like my E60 but the other way round from pre facelift E39s.

 

HTH

 

Andrew