176STARTING AND DRIVING
USING THE MANUAL GEARBOX
To engage the gears, press the clutch pedal fully and shift
the gear lever into the required position (the gear diagram
varies according to the different versions and is shown on
the knob or on the plate below the lever fig. 2).
To engage 6t
hgear, operate the lever by pressing it to-
wards the right in order to avoid engaging 4thgear by
mistake. The same goes for changing from 6thto 5th.
IMPORTANT The car can only be put into reverse gear
when it has stopped moving completely. With the engine
running, wait at least 2 seconds before engaging reverse
gear with the clutch pressed down to the floor in order
to avoid damaging or grinding the gears.
fig. 2L0E0073m
To engage reverse gear R from neutral, raise ring A un-
der the knob and at the same time move the gear lever
to the left and then forwards.
In 1.6 Multijet version: to engage reverse R from neutral,
lift the sliding ring A under the knob and shift the lever
to the right and back.
IMPORTANT The clutch pedal should be used only to
change gear. Do not drive with your foot resting on the
clutch pedal, however lightly. For versions/markets where
provided, the electronic clutch control could cut in, in-
terpreting the incorrect driving style as a fault.
Press the clutch pedal fully to change gears
correctly. For this reason, there must be no
obstacles on the floor under the pedals: en-
sure that rubber mats (if any) are lying flat and
do not interfere with the pedals.
Do not drive with your hand resting on the
gear lever, because this pressure, even if
light, over time can wear out the internal
gearbox components.
