Hey all.....
Well, by a stoke of luck (albeit BAD for other reasons), I ended up in a DSG rental last night. I'm sorry everyone, but I definitely would prefer the manual!
I can see the appeal for sure. Great in "auto" mode and "S"...when driven normally....but it isn't (IMO) great in manual, or in some conditions in either auto mode. Really good, but not great.
In one example, I approached a junction and decelerated as usual (we're on a country lane here), nice and smooth and then as I turned up the lane, I floored it. This took the box by surprise and so it hesitated, reselected a lower gear and then off we went, so I think it's fairly easy to lull into a false sense of security....
In manual, when you are at the top of the rev range, it makes the gear change, regardless of whether you want it to or not. This makes sense, but I COULD (say, on a track day or trying hard on the road somewhere) approach a corner, hit the top of the revs in one gear and find myself exiting the corner in the wrong gear, or worse, having an up shift mid corner. Also, it means that I may have wanted the additional engine braking as i slwed slightly, but lost it as it changed up a gear.
On the whole....I thought it was excellent and all I'm saying is, that it's not for me as a permanent feature, but I do see the appeal, especially for those that have to drive in traffic a lot. 90% of the time, it will work fine for me, but there are times when it wouldn't.....I'd rather mess up my own gear selection! Lol
I'm sure that you die hard DSG fans will have something to say, but in my limited experience.....this is what I found and if I had one for a week, I think I could find other things that didn't suit my style. I liked it a lot.....but didn't love it.....the car still needs the anticipation that it can only get from the soft squishy stuff between the pedals and the seat!
In summary....the best "paddle shift" out there? Quite possibly. Better than a manual? Not yet......