Land Rover Discovery Sport manual

You can still knock an auto down a gear if you want to. Modern autos often have flappy paddles or a manual mode of sorts on them to limit the highest gear available to the gearbox. Though they're often clever enough these days to knock down a gear themselves ..... automatically 😉

So what are you trying to say

Have tried that one mm but it’s sports  mode on mine. I can’t get the hang of it. Plus I don’t think you can change modes  on the move, if so not had the bottle to try in case I break something. 

Course you can change modes on the move .... electrickery won't let you break it. My previous car had the transmission as a stalk on the column (as does the current) .... previous to that, the wipers were on the column in the same place .... fortunately when you attempt to wash the screen using the 'Park' button at 50 mph the car didn't take any notice! 🤣

My ML has both, a 'Sports' setting (gearbox & suspension) and flappy paddles, I occasionally use the paddles & rarely the sports setting as the ride then becomes too firm/'jiggly' 

Give it another month or so & you wonder how you ever put up with up/down/up/down with your left leg in traffic. 

Next is left foot braking! 🙄😀

Have to say I do love the easy twisty lanes caravan in tow no messing about with gear changes every few mins. 

Too many people drive their mate's auto around the block, get themselves tied up .... try to dip a none existent clutch pedal but hit the big brake pedal instead and virtually nutting the windscreen and then say .... I hate autos! .... and then try to convince everyone else that manuals are for some reason better

You certainly can change modes whilst on the move however you do not have to shift into sport mode, just use the paddles. Have driven auto's for some years now and have very rarely found the need to change down manually when descending hill, modern brakes are very efficient.

PS, have you thought of reading the manual.

Steering wheel paddle shifts: Allow manual gear selection while the selector is in either the D or S positions. Lightly pull the left-side paddle shift for down-shifts. Lightly pull the right-side paddle shift for up-shifts.
NOTES
The paddle shifts can be configured to be active in both D and S, or active in S only. Use the Vehicle settings instrument panel menu. See INSTRUMENT PANEL MENU.

Bit like you trying to convince everyone else that autos are best

Perhaps the ashtrays were full.

They are .... 👍😉 

But that's based on actually having driven both 🙄

How many times have you read, just on this forum, that when people have driven their new auto for a reasonable period of time they would never consider another manual tow car?