Hey folks, thanks for your comments. First of all, I have only used this car to check my properties, so no need to drive it like a maniac :grin:. And I could always take the V8 M3 or Cobra for a fast drive, so no need for a turbo (and don't like FI). Oh, and I used it for a short 200-mile trip, and other than the Buick-like steering (not confidence inspiring at all), it did great powerwise, even at the ton. Well, it didn't have much power left (as expected), but returned pretty good mileage even at that speed, which will remain my top speed on this car; not fun to drive fast.
Maybe I wasn't very clear on my comment. My problem with this transmission is the few seconds it takes for the motor to get on the powerband since the tranny doesn't downshift to a low enough gear to get on the powerband right away. Once past about 4,500rpm, progress is perfectly adequate. And as I said, it'd be pretty stupid not to 'override' the adaptive nature of the transmission when in WOT, like all other cars. The adaptive feature usually downshifts more readily at partial throttle openings, but shouldn't affect WOT. If that's the case, at least the good news is can change. That's why all automatic cars should have a 'power' button, to summon more aggressive downshifting when required. Otherwise you have to drive the car like you stole it all the time to have a responsive transmission; that's crap, and not good for fuel economy, which is not that good in the city to begin with.
By the way, I like to drive fast on the highway (when alone on secondary highways I like to use), but rarely drive fast on the streets, even wihen on my potent cars. You don't have to drive fast to enjoy driving folks. But on my manual cars I'm usually at the right gear, so when I need to go, the car goes instantly. With the Sonata, it takes a second to respond, then another second or two until the engine finally has some balls and starts going. I'll try swinging the lever to manual mode next time, and see if it drops another gear, like it usually does automatically when driving leisurely. Thanks again for your replies folks.