DSG or Manual ????

[simonp]

Which answer is correct then? The transmission will only ready 3rd gear if you're accelerating in 2nd, won't it?

[Dan.b]

Edit: I now understand what Simon means!!

I really wanted a DSG but I've got a manual now and do not regret it at all. I love having a clutch and being able to blast through the gears or chuck it in 6th at any speed.

[simonp]

Just realised I missed a bit out. I meant to say I can accelerate from a standstill in 2nd gear and go from 2nd to 6th...
 

So the other half of my question is can you pull away in 2nd gear?

[Daffy]

I can accelerate from standstill to almost 60mph and then slot my car straight into 6th gear. Can you do that with a DSG car?

I can see why people like them, but flappy paddle 'boxes just seem really soulless to me...

Well.... No. But you know that.

You'd have to accelerate to 60 and then go through the gears 3456 to get to 6th.

Stupid thread leads to stupid arguments... ;-)

I seem to recall that if you hold the up paddle in it automatically goes from whatever gear you are in straight to 6th. I am sure someone will correct me though as it has been a couple of years since I drove DSG

[rich83]

^^^doesnt work like that. It's a sequential box, you cannot skip gears

[rich83]

Just realised I missed a bit out. I meant to say I can accelerate from a standstill in 2nd gear and go from 2nd to 6th...
 

So the other half of my question is can you pull away in 2nd gear?

No... You know that ;-)

Why would you want to anyway... Extra clutch wear... Probably not advisable

[RedRobin]

After all the fun and playing around with flappy paddles for a week, you're still going to end up sticking it in D and driving it like an auto. I personally think the manual mode is just a gimmick. You'll never get a proper manual mode with an auto box. Plus you can't engine brake, slip the clutch etc. These are the main reasons why I sold my DSG R32 and got a manual GTI. And they're expensive to fix!

....Anyone who only drives their DSG in D-mode all the time isn't what I call a 'driver' and it's very doubtful they are an enthusiast or even enjoy driving. It's stupid not to use all the options which are available to enjoy and suit all kinds of driving circumstances.

It's as sub39h says, you can engine brake. Slipping a clutch will cause excessive wear and damage. Do you like traffic light grand prix? On approved dragstrips you can use DSG's Launch Control if it helps you.

Again, I'm not saying that one system is better than the other - It's personal preference. But DSG and similar systems are far from being a gimmick.

As for expensive to fix, 100k miles on mine with no DSG costs so far - How many clutches would you go through in 100k miles of slipping it regularly? A car is built out of thousands of parts - Anything can fail and they all cost money.

[RedRobin]

Just realised I missed a bit out. I meant to say I can accelerate from a standstill in 2nd gear and go from 2nd to 6th...
 

So the other half of my question is can you pull away in 2nd gear?

....Why would you want to?

Using torque by doing such things and also skipping cogs straight into 6th uses lots of torque and isn't good for your car. It's also a very lazy and unsafe way of driving - I was taught to always be in the optimal gear in all circumstances so that you can instantly either accelerate faster or have engine braking as well as the brakes. That was a whole day course by a Police instructor in my DSG car on public roads.

The only downside of driving like that is that you use more fuel but it's my natural habit now and I prefer it from a road safety point of view.

[RedRobin]

Stupid thread leads to stupid arguments... ;-)

....The DSG vs Manual subject always goes that way 

And the original poster only wanted some advice about a DSG car he was thinking of buying!

[mad_pete]

Holding the up paddle will return the car to D if you have used the paddles to change gear without flicking to manual. Normally it goes to 5 or 6 as the dsg goes for high gears in D

DSGs aren't a weak point from a failure point of view. I can see why people prefer the manaul, but I prefer the DSG.

If you spend a lot of time in traffic get the Dsg else drive both and then toss a coin. A super heavy clutch would drive me insane.

So the original question dsg is fine buy it

[TurboTrev]

I have manual and wife has DSG, but I drive her car more than mine.  My prefence is manual, although dsg is a close 2nd.  Our Dsg box was replaced last year and the car was only 3 months old.  I would say try both, but I would never buy a dsg car unless it had a warranty that covererd it.

[RedRobin]

I have manual and wife has DSG, but I drive her car more than mine.  My prefence is manual, although dsg is a close 2nd.  Our Dsg box was replaced last year and the car was only 3 months old.  I would say try both, but I would never buy a dsg car unless it had a warranty that covererd it.

....DSG failures get more publicity than Manual gear box problems and clutch failures etc. I wonder how the actual number of failures compare and what percentages of those manufactured.

[Tortaruga]

I've never heard of a manual giving problems - it seems to be bulletproof.

I have heard of dsg giving problems, but how many millions of vw/Audi/Seat/Skodas are churned out with dsg boxes and I haven't seen Matthew Amroliwala or George Alagiah reporting any sort of global dsg meltdown.

Although if Mishal Husain told me that VW would cease production of the GTI tomorrow I wouldn't care less...you beautiful creature...

 

[RedRobin]

.
The DSG was first tested very rigorously indeed on the Audi quattro's in the 1980's(?).

Excuse my ignorance but, lovely as she is, who is Mishal Husain?

[Kregiel]

I think if you consider manual failure when clutch slips and needs changing I would say the number of DSG failures will be around the same as manual! But for manual it's considered to be normal wear and tear!

My gti is manual but my wife has DSG and both are lovely in their own way!

Paul