Question on Commandshift and transmission health

A friend of mine drives his Evoque constantly using Commandshift and S mode for the transmission. His claim is that he can shift the car earlier than it does in D, hence improving fuel economy.

While I would like to do that as well (plus its a bit more fun to have control over shifting), I am concerned for the longevity of the transmission.

The owner's manual doesn't give much information at all, other than saying that Commandshift can be used at times when you need to overtake, etc.

Given the known transmission woes, does using Commandshift constantly cause undue stress on the transmission?

The Auto box will pretty much protect your transmission, as it will just reject any bad command shifts you generate. If you shift up earlier you might put a bit more strain on the engine, but if you're not accelerating hard, which you wont be if your fuel saving, then this will be negligable.

Doubt upshifting early will have any negative effect on the transmission.

Thanks for the replies.

I'll try to downshift only when necessary, and let the transmission handle it when coming to a stop.
Also, I've noticed that the 2nd to 3rd shift under load when using Commandshift can be quite harsh. I've been easing off the gas a bit (as you'd do in a proper manual) to help this.

Commandshift will not allow you to either up or downshift if the revs will fall below or go above the pre-programmed limits after the shift is done, to avoid gearbox/engine damage. If you manually downshift and the revs would be too high after completing the command the gearbox will not carry out the shift until you have reduced rpm. Nany state will intervene to protect your car!