If you’ve ever driven a car with a manual transmission you know how annoying driving on a hilly road can be. That first shift for new stick drivers stopped on a steep hill usually causes the driver to peel out hard or roll back before driving away. With Chevrolet’s new hill-hold technology on the 2012 Chevy Sonic that problem will no longer plague new stick shift buyers and make life easier for experienced manual transmission drivers.

The hill-hold technology uses a pitch sensor to tell when the car is on stopped on a slope and sends signals to the wheel to brake for two seconds after the driver releases the brake. This allows the driver to focus more on the driving than the shifting when on a hill. This will enhance the safety of manual cars by reducing roll backs or rapid acceleration.

Overall though, this is a strange development as new features such as this generally start on a luxury vehicle of some sort. The 2012 Chevy Sonic however is offered at the low price of $15,255 and could be one of the best values on the market. The hill-hold technology is just another benefit to an already great car at a great price.