I agree with the 'sentiment' regarding that shifter.
But to be honest: I give it a shit. It's one of the things which have to work, and I'm convinced it will. It may take an afternoon to get used of it, but then you'll likely not want to miss it any more. It has been developed a long time ago, and has had a dozen or more iterations. And so I trust in it to do what it's supposed to do, and to support the driver as good as it can get.
In my Mercedes W203 I have some gadgets which I doubted to makes sense. One of them is the automatic dimming of the back mirrors, WTF?
Today, I find it one of the best accessories I've ever had in a car. It shines in that you don't notice it. It's just there and relieves me from too bright light behind me, a perfect 'silent' assistant - which you get only aware of in the moment that it's not there.
If the shifter turns out to be a 'silent' assistant as well and it works similarly helpful, it will be perfect.
But for the ones which don't feel well without mud at their shoes - like me ;-) - I suggest a covering of
flecktarn camouflage. Or maybe just a Parisian for the pimps among us? And for the grandmas just a knitted sock, maybe ... ?
I suggest a 'Pimp Your Shifter' thread. Not only that it might yield interesting variations of that shifter, it will as well be a source of entertainment for all of us.