Other benefits of the system include an 11 percent reduction in the use of the brakes, while merging on a highway will see the driving mode switch to Sport for optimal acceleration, before returning to the previous driving mode when the merge is complete. While it all sounds quite complex, it also makes a lot of sense.

Truly efficient driving only comes about when we're constantly evaluating changing conditions ahead of us, but doing this for even more than a few minutes takes a lot of commitment. Hyundai and Kia's new gearbox, in theory, does the work for us.

While we don't yet know when the system will debut, or on which of the brands' respective models, Hyundai's demonstrative images feature the latest Sonata, so perhaps this is a likely early candidate for the advanced transmission.