What The 'S' On Your Gear Shift Means (And When You Should Be Using It)

By now we really all should know our way around the ABCs, but do you know your way around the PRNDLS? The letters on your car's gear selector are all important in their own special way, but there's one setting on your shifter that you might not have used all too much. So, what does the "S" on your gear shift actually mean?

The first few letters on the gear selector are pretty self explanatory, with "P" meaning "Park," "R" meaning "Reverse," "N" meaning "Neutral" and "D" meaning "Drive." They're all pretty handy for when you want to park, reverse or drive, obviously.

"S" is a little different, though. It stands for "Sport," and is best used when you're hankering for a little fun behind the wheel. That's because it's meant for sportier, more performance-minded driving, as you might expect.

With this setting selected, the transmission will usually upshift at higher RPMs and, in some cases, will even give the engine more power to play with, explained Mazda in a recent blog post. The "S" setting isn't found on every automatic transmission, and is often reserved for models that you might be more likely to try and have a little fun with, such as cars from the likes of BMW, Mercedes and, you guessed it, Mazda.

With "S" selected on your shifter, you might feel like a race car driver as you carve up the competition on your commute, but what does the setting actually do to your gearbox? In this mode, your gearbox holds the lower gears for longer, which Toyota says should give you a little more power. That's particularly useful when navigating a twisty race track or overtaking slower cars.

All in all, the setting is likely to make your car accelerate faster and offer up sharper, quicker shifts between gears. Thanks to this, you might find that your drive is a little more fun and exciting, while also allowing you to unlock a little more of your car's potential.

The longer, lower gearing increases power in some instances, but it will also hit your car's fuel economy. This means that the setting isn't ideal when you're hypermiling across the country.

If you're not selecting "S" while covering long distances, when are you opting for the sportier mode? Unlike Park and Reverse, choosing when to select Sport over Drive is a little less clear cut.

As a rule of thumb, it's best to use Sport when you're on a nice, clear stretch of road that's free of other vehicles. It's good for congestion-free, clear roads that are found outside the city limits. You know, the kind of roads that you might just go for a Sunday drive along.

Sure, you could use it on highways, but the hit to fuel efficiency that you might encounter means the negatives may outweigh any positives you get from quickly passing an extra SUV or two. If you decide that it's not actually the right time to hit Sport, then it is, thankfully, pretty easy to switch back with just a flick of the shifter.