Slow shifting in D (auto)

I test drove an X3 28i. It appears that the transmission shifts kind of slow when left in D, kind of unenthusiastic. The downshifts are responsive, but I mean the gears take longer time to engage when upshifting and when there are 8 speeds, I feel more pauses in between the shifts. Do you the new owners feel the same?

This is normal, as the transmission is trying to smooth shifts as much as possible. When I drove the 35i, it felt the same way, as the X3 glides from gear-to-gear. Nice for day-to-day driving.

The transmission is adaptive. If you start accelerating hard, braking hard, and cornering faster, the transmission will hold gears longer and shift crisper/faster. Sport mode (bumping the shift lever left) accomplishes the same, except even moreso. At a certain point, it will maximise performance by holding gears to redline even if you let off the throttle, downshifting under braking in anticipation of a speedy corner exit, and shifting extremely quickly.

See my earlier post for an acceleration example.