DSG
Author
Discussion

mawallace

Original Poster:

184 posts

103 months

Thursday 14th March 2019
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I'm thinking of changing my 2.0Tdi Gt and getting a GTD.

One thing that is putting me off is that the UK versions (new) seem to be DSG, rather than manual gearbox.

How good is the DSG? Is it easy to adapt, change up and down a couple of gears if you need extrax torque. Can you stop it from changing up automatically

xx99xx

3,056 posts

103 months

Thursday 14th March 2019
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Some will say DSG is amazing. Some will say it's terrible. Personally I think it's amazing but then I'm not car mad like some. I certainly didn't miss having a clutch pedal when i got my first auto.

You can put it in manual mode and change up and down yourself with the paddles or gear shift. Or leave it in auto and let it kick down when you floor it. There is maybe a 1 second delay from flooring it to the car changing down and accelerating but when you learn to anticipate the need to accelerate it's not a problem.

Automatics are the way forward for your daily commute.

acme

3,034 posts

228 months

Thursday 14th March 2019
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I’ve just come out of 4.5 years/86k miles in a DSG Golf. I suspect there’s a difference between the dry clutch 7 speed I had & the wet clutch 6 speed most diesels have.

My advice is to try it, a lot, particularly at low speed. In my eyes it’s a poor substitute for a torque converter. Yes in heavy traffic it’s easier than a manual. I’ve gone back to a manual mainly for the interaction.

Slushbox

1,484 posts

135 months

Friday 15th March 2019
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As above: try one first. Think mine is probably a 7 speed 'dry clutch' in a 2016 2.0 TDi 110 PS BlueMotion.

Pros are whip-crack fast changes when you're rolling, no clutch fatigue, relaxing to drive. Cons: are mildly jerky at slow speeds (dry clutch version?) in town traffic: when inching forwards behind cars at a T junction the clutches disengage when your foot is firmly on the brake and the car is stopped.

Compensated for by leaving a larger gap in traffic, and waiting a second for car to roll on idle before pressing Go pedal.

Top gear (7th) is a bit over-drivey on the eco-BlueMotion TDi, makes for a quiet motorway trip, car will kick-down into sixth before you've noticed for fast motorway traverses into Lane 3 then click back up into 7th silently.

Sports mode adds more revs/noise/briskyness before changing up, so occasionally useful when standard auto mode feels a bit lethargic, like on back roads or multiple-roundabout dual carriageways for a nippy exit. Limits top gear to 6th.

Tiptronic of not much interest so far, as robot DSG is so slick. No paddle shifters on my eco-box. :-)

Prefer DSG to previous manual GTD, but there's a slight change in 'inching' technique needed for stop/start traffic. Otherwise, think it's terrific.


Edited by Slushbox on Friday 15th March 17:16

Tall_Blk

377 posts

221 months

Friday 15th March 2019
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I have the 6 speed version in a VW CC R- Line and I love it. Considering I never thought i’ll buy an auto but now, I wouldn’t think of anything else. Gear change is response and if you feel you want the change quicker, you just use the flappy paddles and after you’ve finish, it goes back into auto mode.

I even prefer it to the auto box on my W204 facelift C63.

Trailhead

2,628 posts

177 months

Monday 25th March 2019
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I love the DSG in my A4 2.0 TDI (190). It makes commuting so easy and I can pop it into sport mode or use the paddles if I’d like to go a bit faster.

va1o

16,117 posts

237 months

Monday 25th March 2019
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It suits the GTD nicely, smooth for commuting and makes all the power easily accessible when needed.