[prmoustache]

The whole point of these is to be able to do engine braking to save up on brake pads, contamination and avoid brake fade.

[tpmoney]

Automatics had shift positions for lower gears for engine braking when going down steep hills long before the manual gates were common. It might be a convenient design that allows them to accomplish the goal in a slightly smaller package, but it's certainly not required for that functionality.

[prmoustache]

Sure it is packaging it in a nicer way but switching to manual is really the only decent reason to do that.