DSG Review - GT, 2.0TDI - update 2 nd drive

[dubber36]

I use 'D' (Drive) most if the time. However I do override it useing paddles for going down a steep hill and want to employ engine breaking.

If you slow the car enough using the brakes going down hill, it will change down to an appropriate gear to engine brake, if you come off the brakes, it will hold that gear until you press the throttle again.

I read that if driving hard, the auto drives as if it were a petrol model ie taking it into high revs instead of the optimum torque / turbo range.

They do that because if your foot is planted, it thinks you may want maximum revs. People would also complain if it changed up at 4000rpm, without using the rest of the available revs (even tho' there's no point.) You just need a flick of the right hand paddle to upshift when you want to. Easy peasy.

[Sootchucker]

To have to remember as well that the DSG mechatronics unit learns your driving style and adapts accordingly (I.e. is semi intelligent). That's great if you are the only driver, but if you are driving a demo car and a number of people have driven it before you, then it won't have "learned" an optimum style.

The DSG box can be set back to factory mode by performing a DSG basic settings flash using VAG-COM (or get your dealer to do it if buying second hand)

[Jules Winfield]

Got onto the M8, 40mph stamped on the accelerator to WOT. Revs climb, but the box takes a while to decide its best gear but when it did it went like a stabbed rat, and that is where i didn't like it.

The Mark 6 box is the same.  It can be a bit dopey if you push the accelerator too much and it takes a while to get going.  I notice this most when pulling out on to roundabouts and the like.

Other than that, it's a fantastic gearbox.

[Hobojim]

Got onto the M8, 40mph stamped on the accelerator to WOT. Revs climb, but the box takes a while to decide its best gear but when it did it went like a stabbed rat, and that is where i didn't like it.

The Mark 6 box is the same.  It can be a bit dopey if you push the accelerator too much and it takes a while to get going.  I notice this most when pulling out on to roundabouts and the like.

Other than that, it's a fantastic gearbox.

Yes that is exactly it. Going out of a junction there is just that slight delay you don't get with a 'stick'.

[the other me]

This is quite an interesting read, covering some of the specific little nuances of the box (particularly if using eco mode)

Taking delivery of a 2.0 tdi 150 gt  dsg in 2 wks (well it is actually called "sport" where I am, but it is the same spec ) & looking forward to learning to get the best out the high-tech box.


http://www.greenmotor.co.uk/2013/03/vw-golf-7-review-2-litre-gt-tdi-dsg.html

[skippy]

I dont have experience of the 6 speed DSG, but I do of the 7 speed on our Polo GTI. If I do place an order for a Mk7 Golf, I think it will be a DSG.

My current car (Scirocco) is a manual but after driving a DSG it can feel laborious to change gear!  As others have said, it does have its qwirks though.

In normal 'D', it changes up, far faster than you would in a manual, you will be in 6th before you know it. On climbing hills I find it changes down one more gear than I would manually, forcing me to override it, otherwise the engine is revving harder than is necessary.

Another thing I have noticed (on the 7 speed). Having just been up hill, the box then seems slow to select 2nd, again prompting for an override otherwise the engine revs too much.

These are minor negatives though, and the positives are still enough for me to decide that a DSG is what I want next. Using the paddles is great and gives you a real 'F1' sense of driving.


I

[Valenni]

As much s I enjoy driving automatic, it can hit trouble when you want to push in in a hurry! (Sticky situations)

My Merc CDI 220 sometimes let me down that way and left me looking like a real d@#k! 

[master_hayabusa]

As much s I enjoy driving automatic, it can hit trouble when you want to push in in a hurry! (Sticky situations)

My Merc CDI 220 sometimes let me down that way and left me looking like a real d@#k! 

I really don't think this applies to the DSG box. In fact a manual box can be cumbersome sometimes.

Btw, I drove a CDI 220 auto couple of weeks back. Didn't expect it to be so punchy. Was nice

[dubber36]

What people fail to appreciate when talking about the DSG box being slow to respond, is that both manual and DSG boxes need thinking time.

For example, if you are lining up a car to overtake, in a manual car you would select the appropriate gear to put you right in the middle of the torque band, so as soon as you could see it was safe to go, you press the throttle and you're off. In the DSG, if you've left it in D and stamp on the throttle, that's the first it knows about what you want to do, so has to work out which gear to give you. In the manual, you have done the thinking before beginning to overtake. The DSG doesn't know you are thinking about overtaking unless you have manually pre-selected a gear as you would in the manual.

[monkeyhanger]

What people fail to appreciate when talking about the DSG box being slow to respond, is that both manual and DSG boxes need thinking time.

For example, if you are lining up a car to overtake, in a manual car you would select the appropriate gear to put you right in the middle of the torque band, so as soon as you could see it was safe to go, you press the throttle and you're off. In the DSG, if you've left it in D and stamp on the throttle, that's the first it knows about what you want to do, so has to work out which gear to give you. In the manual, you have done the thinking before beginning to overtake. The DSG doesn't know you are thinking about overtaking unless you have manually pre-selected a gear as you would in the manual.

So the question is "can you think quicker than a DSG box for your overtaking selection?". I can, I have experienced first-hand my dad's current car trip itself up more than a few times whilst making it's mind up. I suppose it comes down to how well you know your own car, whether to drop 1 gear or 2, and where in the rev range that gear change is going to take you.