The automatic transmission gear-shift on my Toyota Prius is a bad design. For most of my life I drove manual transmission cars, although I originally learned on an automatic.

On standard transmissions, to get started forward, you push the lever forward. To go backwards, you slide the lever to the side and then pull back. Forward direction--push lever forward. Backwards direction--push lever backwards. Makes sense.

On the Prius, though, to go forward I slide the lever to the side and then pull it backwards. To make the car go forward, I slide the lever to the side and then push backwards. Counter-intuitive and a big change from what I was used to. It is also not like the automatic I learned on or any I have rented.

I've had this car for more than a year and occasionally still slip it into the wrong gear. So far, fortunately, I have never pressed the accelerator with the car in the wrong gear, perhaps because there is an auditory cue. In reverse, there is a beeping sound which is silent when in drive.