While images of Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2 are immediately conjured up by the idea of robots taking over the world, Renault isn’t set to release Cyberdyne on the world just yet. Instead, the automaker has designed a gearbox that comes with a robot inside. To be fitted into its Modus grocery getter, the “Quickshift5″ robotic gearshift is meant to “help you change gear without the need to bother pressing a clutch pedal.”

The details as to how this works exactly is a little sketchy, but from what I can tell, it just sounds like another manu-matic transmission that allows the driver to have a bit more control over what gear the car is in, without the complications of dealing with a clutch. The Quickshift 5 has both manual and automatic modes (sounds like Tiptronic, E-shift, etc.), and will put you back an extra £500 on top of the Modus £12,200 price tag.

But hey, when the 1.5-litre turbodiesel gives you over 60 miles on the gallon, who’s complaining?