Wooooow woow wow!!
Hang on there people!! I have often said that dsg suits certain peoples needs more than others, that will always be the case, and its because of these varying needs that not everyone is driving around in a golf.
All I wish to do is to highlight the certain points about dsg that lots of dsg drivers fail to mention. I find that this is usually because they are more than happy to toodle around in auto mode 99% of the time. Now before the usual suspects jump on my back, there are a few more commited drivers out there who do use dsg to its full potential and when used in this manor its a great tool.
The problem I found (now i did around 3000miles in the period I had the dsg) was that its almost like its all or nothing. Now the points below are meant to HIGHLIGHT THE PROBLEMS THAT
I HAD WITH DSG!!
1. In auto mode the car doesnt allow you to push on without going almost flat out. (without use of paddles)
2. When you do kick down the car drops to the optimum gear even if their is only another 20revs to be had out of that gear.
3. Takes a little longer than a manual would to drop down more than a couple of cogs.
4. Very jerky when reversing. esp when your on a slight incline.
5. Very indecisive at round abouts i.e. Not sure if its getting ready to stop or start.
6. paddles are not at correct positions when going around round abouts.
7. If you want to 0-60 (not full kick down but quicker than some foolio in a saxo) without going over 60, you will then have to take it out of sport mode when you get to 60 or be prepared to sit in 3rd at 5k revs.
8. i found on quite a few occasions on kick down the revs increased alot where as the car didnt go as well as it should have. Now this sounds like a probably fault, most likely clutch slip. Obviously doesnt apply to all cars but a
possible future cause for concern.
9. In auto mode it also wants to climb gears very quickly. This can mean your in 6th by 30mph... great for economy, not so great for that v6 sound!!
10. This selction of the highest possible gear means than when going round a corner the car feels like is moving like a free weight as opposed to being connected to the engine. Applying slight throttle means that the car doesnt accelerate with the control and feel of a manual.
Now I know that some of the points listed can be overcome by using the paddles or the gear stick. Of the 2 methods, the use of the stick was my prefered. The only issue I had with this was that its a very strange springy type function of the stick. Almost artificial in some respects but gets the job done.
The paddles on the other hand are not often in the right place at the right time, which for me caused a few issues. I know that because of this reason a number of people on the MK5 board have changed their paddles to the extended ones to make gear changes more accessable... a good idea I would say.
Now there is no doubt about the dsg on a performance level will be better than a manual (although VW's revised 0-60 figures dont suggest so on the mk6). I found that when flat out the dsg doesn t make any mistakes, and always changes up at the optimum level and is great in this respect. A similar story if you often find yourself in slow moving stead traffic where you can do nothing but move 'with the flow', its an ideal companion.
My conclusion is that many would have selected dsg when they heard the motoring world and journalists stressing how good it is in comparisson to regular autos. What you will find it that many have compared it to regular autos as opposed to a manual and usually for a very short period... just see the Evo long term mk5 R32 test for a prime example.
DSG would also be great for a track but I have no doubt in my mind that an experienced driver would match the pace. Unfortunately not many of us are experienced track drivers and therefore probably not use it to its full potential. I just found myself unable to adapt to the paddles or the stick properly (manuals hardwired into my brain i think!) but often found myself using the accelerator to get my self in the optimum gear... not an easy task!
Chances are you will either love it or hate it... learn anything new???
nope didnt think so!!
