Vehicle control apparatus

A control apparatus for a vehicle provided with a drive power source, drive wheels, and a step-variable transmission which constitutes a part of a power transmitting path between the drive power source and the drive wheels and which has a plurality of coupling devices which are selectively engaged to establish a selected one of a plurality of gear positions, the control apparatus comprising:

• a shift control portion configured to temporarily increase an input torque of the step-variable transmission beyond a required value, in the process of a coasting shift-down action of the step-variable transmission, to thereby raise an input speed of the step-variable transmission toward a synchronization value in the gear position to be established after the coasting shift-down action, the shift control portion commanding an engaging-side coupling device which is the coupling device placed in a released state before the coasting shift-down action, to be brought into an engaged state, when the input speed has been raised to a predetermined value;
• and
• a torque increasing amount setting portion configured to set an amount of increase of the input torque of the step-variable transmission beyond the required value in the process of the coasting shift-down action, such that the amount of increase is smaller when a rate of change of a running speed of the vehicle is relatively low than when the rate of change is relatively high, the rate of change of the running speed having a negative value in a decelerating state of the vehicle,
• wherein the shift control portion reduces the temporarily increased input torque of the step-variable transmission when the input speed of the step-variable transmission has been raised to a second predetermined value lower than said predetermined value, in the process of the coasting shift-down action.