One of the main complaints leveled against old-school, slushbox automatics is that they’re more adapted to driving comfortably than quickly. To prove that its experimental Direct Automatic Transmission (DAT) is ready for the likes of the GR Yaris, Toyota is testing it on track.
In fact, Akio Toyoda, the company’s chairman, and avid racecar driver, calls the technology a “game-changer.” In his own experience in the Super Taikyu racing series, he saw the benefits of the DAT for drivers who are learning.
“One thing I learned in Super Taikyu is the difference in shifting between myself and the pro drivers. When changing gears [manually] on a straight, I lose 0.2 seconds. With two changes, I fall nearly half a second behind,” said Toyoda, speaking to the Toyota Times. “With DAT, there’s no time lost when shifting, so the gap between myself and the pros was smaller than usual. I can just concentrate on braking and accelerating.”
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Such was the speed advantage of the DAT that it put him on par with some of the professionals. It’s not just skilled amateurs that the technology is impressing. Pro driver Hiroaki Ishiura explained how the DAT improves on standard automatics.
“On a racetrack, a regular AT feels slippery (due to the mechanics), giving you little sense of a direct connection (with the gears),” said Ishiura. “That’s where the D in DAT comes in: Direct. It locks in from the moment you set off, responding linearly to gas pedal input and allowing you to shave time off your laps without any loss.”
He complains that normal automatics tend not to know that you want a lower gear until you hit the throttle. It then takes a moment to gear down before giving the driver the power they want, losing them time in the process. The DAT is ready with the gear you want when you want it.
Toyota doesn’t provide a lot of specifics about the inner workings of the technology behind the DAT, which it also refers to as an eight-speed sport automatic transmission. Back in 2016, Toyota talked about an eight-speed “direct-shift” automatic transmission that uses a torque converter with a hydraulic circuit for smoothness, as well as a lock-up clutch that transfers engine power directly to the gears for improved feel and efficiency. We’re not 100 percent sure if or how the two transmission units relate at this point.
Toyota says they will develop the technology to allow more people to experience the thrill of driving. National statistics suggest that 70 percent of Japanese drivers who got their license in 2022 could only drive a vehicle with an automatic transmission.
And driving a manual vehicle on track is even harder than driving it on the road. Skills like heeling-and-toeing are not easily learned, and getting it wrong can damage a vehicle, scaring many people out of even trying. The goal of the DAT, then, is to “spread the joy of driving,” according to Toyoda.
The automaker currently has no plans to put the transmission into production. It says that there’s still a lot of development to do before consumers can buy a GR Yaris with it. However, people like Ishiura say that the company is already receiving positive feedback about it.
“When I posted on social media that I would be racing with DAT this time, many people shared their excitement in the comments,” said Ishiura. “From the number who asked, ‘Does this mean I could just drive on the track?’ I realized that gear shifting was a reason why many people lack the courage to tackle a circuit.”
