Some automatics don't really give you much control over what gear you're in. I have a 2012 Honda Odyssey with a PRNDL button. With L, you can drive in first gear up to red line (not sure of the speed). There is a D3 button that will downshift to 3rd gear if the shifter is in the D position. You can downshift to 2nd if you move the shifter to the L position when going less than 60 mph, but that's not obvious. The car will also downshift to 1st if your speed drops below 30 mph and won't upshift to 2nd even if the speed goes above 30 mph (meaning I have to shift it back to D and then back to L if I want to keep it in 2nd). 3rd gear doesn't really provide much in terms of engine braking when going less than 50 mph
