Let’s only focus on the reverse gear position, I believe there are as follow:

1. all the way to the right and down.

2. all the way to the right and up.

3. all the way to the left and up.

4. knob pull then shift to left and up.

For me, if I drive an old 5 speed then 1).

For modern cars with 6 speed, I prefer 4). It makes me feel confident that I am definitely in reverse.

A 6 speed with 3) imo is just terrible. I know many BMWs have this pattern. The idea is to really push to the left so you engage reverse and not 1st. Tried it on a friend’s car and I was quite nervous: what happen if I yank too hard and damage the shifter?