GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: Gtddave on 03 December 2013, 04:34
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Hi guys, I'm new to the forum but I've just ordered a mk7 golf GTD in carbon steel grey, the car had already been ordered by the dealer but had an unconfirmed build week so I was allowed to alter the spec slightly, I removed the sat nav and added park assist and dynaudio. However 3 weeks after ordering I am now having second thoughts about going for the DSG, the reviews I've read seem to favour the manual then I've also read posts on this forum saying the DSG is not very good especially in drive mode. Is it really that bad? I'm starting to worry now I've made a major balls up and should have gone for manual. Are the reviews correct for example when you overtake it uncomfortably changes down and the revs go sky high? Any comments greatly appreciated. :smiley:
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DSG is perfect for TDI's as it will make the most of the narrower rev band.
Manual GTDs are fine drivers cars but the DSG is the icing on the cake.
I'm not so keen on the DSG in a petrol but that's just me.
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Oh, and welcome...
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Absolutely love my DSG GTD. Makes a perfect combo.
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I've had a DSG golf for over 2 years and would not go back to manual! It's awesome. :)
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I have just gone from manual to a DSG GTD. Love it.
The only minor niggle is when you give the car the beans when overtaking or just harsh accelerating, and then drive normally it take a few seconds to realise your done accelerating. I don't need to be in 4th at 80. Maybe it's trying to spur me on give it some more :grin:
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Why did you choose DSG? If you've had no hankering to go auto before, you might want a long test drive in one to make sure it's for you. I personally don't like the DSG, my dad loves it in his. You will mainly hear those who bought it love it (and most of those are auto drivers by preference since well before the MK7), and some of the rest of us that would rather have a manual. You need to make your mind up for yourself, especially if it's a box you ticked without really trying it out.
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I bought my first Auto/DSG this year. A Passat 140 (now 180 PS) Diesel. It's brilliant.
I chose it because 90% of the time I just want to leave it in D and let it do it's own thing whilst wafting me along. I rarely uses the paddles other than priming it for an overtake and upshifting at full throttle to save it from giving me far more revs than I need. I've used manual mode a couple of times, that's all. One of those was a 8/10ths blat round the Isle on Man. Once again it was brilliant.
Some will say that it feels slow to respond, but what you have to remember is that the first the car knows that you want to get up and go is when you mash the pedal. In the manual, from the time your brain says "go" you have to clutch down, select a gear, clutch up then throttle. From the time your brain says "go" in the DSG, even tho' it's had a little think, you will be away faster.
You really do need to be sure it is for you tho'. A test drive around the block won't do it. It took me at least 2 weeks to learn how to get the best from mine.
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I had DSG on my MK5 GTI with mixed emotions, loved it while stuck in traffic leaving football on a Saturday or pottering through Lincoln in morning traffic, also loved it when dragging away from traffic lights :grin: but it was those inbetween journey's and quick blasts when it never seemed to change gear when I wanted it to, short shifting was a thing of the past and holding that gear just a little longer never possible, unless of course you switched your £1000 DSG option off and put in to manual paddle shift :whistle: Some might say that its the perfect combination but needless to say I opted for manual this time, in a GTD however it could be a different story .............
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Remove DSG and put Nav back on. That's my opinion. But that is coming from a GTI owner, GTD's may be different.
J
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I had a DSG in my last car which was a Passat CC GT 140bhp diesel. It was the perfect gearbox for the car and I don't think the car would have the same character if it was a manual. For me, it depends what kind of driving you do.
If you're sat in traffic and do quite a bit of stop/start driving like I do with work, then the DSG (or any auto) is the perfect tool. It's effortless and I found the DSG worked well with the torque of the engine. I rarely needed to take it over 3000 rpm to make swift progress.
I have therefore ordered my GTI with a DSG because 90% of the time I will be on the mundane drive to and from work/customer appointments. If I lived in the Isle of Man, I would have a manual.
Personally I find the DSG works better with a diesel as it smooths out the power band which can sometimes feel a bit weak and thin in a diesel (I haven't driven the newer GTD engine with a manual box so I can't give an honest first hand opinion but I'm just speaking from past experiences)
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I'm a GTi owner and absolutely love the DSG box. It came highly recommended on here from various owners and I'm very pleased I spec'ed it.
If you can, get yourself out in a DSG demo and a manual demo !! Then make you choice, each to their own etc.
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I just like to change gear :)
each to their own
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I just like to change gear :)
each to their own
I've heard that so many times before from people who have not spent much, if any, time driving an auto. My wife was adamant that she would never drive one. She liked to be "in control" blah blah... It didn't stop me buying my Passat DSG tho'. After an initial strop and a couple of drives out on her own, she much prefers driving the Passat as opposed to the Golf with its unnecessary third pedal now.
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DSG puts you in complete control if you so wish it. D is just one of the available set-ups and does not suit everyone all of the time. I usually drive mine defaulting to D but selecting Sport mode for engine braking and dropping a gear with the left paddle for over-taking as required. You can go the whole way and select manual mode and this then operates like a clutch pedaless semi-auto meaning you select the gear you want to be in with the stick (flick it backwards and forwards) and/or the paddles. There are so many different ways of using DSG that to just label it 'automatic' is a gross over-simplifcation.
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I have had a DSG Scirocco for 4 years now and I don't think I will ever go back. I was always one of those people who said I wanted a manual so I was in control but after the DSG I completely changed my tune.
Generally the DSG changes up perfectly for me and I cant say I have ever though it was not in the right gear. On the down changes however I do find it changes down too late so generally when I am braking I change down with the paddles, for me this is definitely not a deal breaker, in fact I quite like the little blip it makes on the down changes.
As for the control thing, if I am giving it a bit of stick I just put it in paddleshift mode and change up and down to my hearts content.
Also remember that you cannot compare a DSG box to a regular automatic, a DSG is a automatically actuated manual.
It will be interesting to see how my new GTi DSG compares to the Scirocco.
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DSG all the way!
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Thanks for replies guys, it's made me fell loads better, when ordered the car the dealer had no gtd's to test drive either manual or DSG, I'm going to call them and arrange a thorough test drive of of maybe a GT diesel DSG just to make 100% sure, thanks again. Great forum
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As mine is a company car, I didn't have the choice of the DSG on the GTD, although I have a colleague who has a GT with DSG. His only slightly negative, in Sport mode it tends to hold the gear longer than you might always want, but other than that - he really likes it. I've driven a Passat CC with DSG for a few days a year or so ago and was really impressed with the gear box, floor it and it just seems like endless power with unbelievably smooth delivery and as always, much nicer in traffic than a manual :grin:
Given the choice (if it was my car and not company) I would seriously look at the DSG. As has been said before, make sure you have the car for a good amount of time to get used to it as well.
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I've driven a few DSG cars and for the most part I like it.
The only thing I didn't like, even in manual mode, is that if it thought it knew better it would select another gear e.g. at say 40 in 4th you want to accelerate using the torque of the engine and not change down to third, if the software thought that third was a better gear it would select it... in spite of my obviously knowing better :wink: I guess that might have changed now as it was a couple or three years ago...
My GTD is a company car and it only made sense for me if I (a) keep the lease cost below my allowance - with Dynaudio, Advanced telephone prep (which as it turns out was a mistake because I lose the MDI port) and metallic DSG was going over (b) the extra emissions on the DSG car mean more BIK and more lease cost because my company applies a greater levy to cars with greater emissions... otherwise I might have spec'd it
The only reason I'm having the Golf is so that my 911 doesn't get used for the boring work driving...
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The only thing I didn't like, even in manual mode, is that if it thought it knew better it would select another gear e.g. at say 40 in 4th you want to accelerate using the torque of the engine and not change down to third, if the software thought that third was a better gear it would select it..
It should not do that if you have pushed the gearstick across in to the manual gate (unless the revs applid by the accelerater would damage the engine then it will change up to protect the engine). Sounds more like you were in 'manual over-ride' mode where you are still in 'D' but select a different gear using the paddles. The box will hold this gear for about 30 seconds but will revert back the the gear it prefers unless you select another within that time...
His only slightly negative, in Sport mode it tends to hold the gear longer than you might always want, but other than that - he really likes it.
I agree with that - DSG is fantastic - but not perfect. In my opinion the one final thing they need to introduce to make it near perfect would be an intermediate setting between 'D' (Drive) and 'S' (Sport). In fact ideally they should re-name the current 'D' setting as 'E' (Ecconomy) and call the new intermediate ratio 'D'. The result would be: E, D and S.
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Just thought I'd throw in my tuppence worth!
I ran an 2007 Passat R32 DSG for a couple of years as a company car and imo the gearbox killed that car. In town and D if you rolled up to a roundabout say in 2nd gear, too little throttle and it would change up to 4th and leave you with nothing under your foot, too much throttle and it would bang down to 1st and rev its nuts off leaving everyone thinking you were a twit. Putting it in S just made the throttle far to sharp and jerky so it was driven in manual mode most of the time which kinda defeated the purpose.
I reckon a manual gearbox would have much that car brilliant. The engine sounded stunning, it handled great but I just ended up resenting the DSG.
I appreciate that this was the first of the DSG's appearing so the electronics are probably much more advanced now but the car also ate 2 gearboxes and a mechatronics unit, which had you been unlucky enough to buy it out of warranty would have cost ££££s.
Currently my own car is a manual and my company car an automatic and I wouldn't change either. A lot of my day to day driving is in town so the auto is perfect for that and then heading home in the manual suits that type of driving.
My advice to the OP as others have said is to try and get a test drive in both. That will either push you one way or the other.
If your still undecided then think about what the majority of your driving consists of, and finally if your still sitting on the fence there's small matter of the cost of DSG. If your not too fussed is it really worth the outlay.
I think DSG is a kind of marmite option at the end of the day, its just down to what the individual likes!
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The only thing I didn't like, even in manual mode, is that if it thought it knew better it would select another gear e.g. at say 40 in 4th you want to accelerate using the torque of the engine and not change down to third, if the software thought that third was a better gear it would select it..
It should not do that if you have pushed the gearstick across in to the manual gate (unless the revs applid by the accelerater would damage the engine then it will change up to protect the engine). Sounds more like you were in 'manual over-ride' mode where you are still in 'D' but select a different gear using the paddles. The box will hold this gear for about 30 seconds but will revert back the the gear it prefers unless you select another within that time...
The changing of gears automatically even when you are in manual mode happened to me on the extended test drive I had on my dealership's demo car. Later I wondered whether the persistent override happened because I was in ECO mode (which I was on, early on in the test drive) and my choice of gears was considered uneconomical by the car. I was definitely in manual mode, and I was in no danger of over revving the car in the way I was driving it. Left it in D after getting frustrated by the override.
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Owned two golfs previously... a Mk5 GT DSG and Mk6 GTi DSG and never had any problems. Not driven the Mk7 but I'm sure the boxes will be equally as good if not better.
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It should not do that if you have pushed the gearstick across in to the manual gate (unless the revs applid by the accelerater would damage the engine then it will change up to protect the engine). Sounds more like you were in 'manual over-ride' mode where you are still in 'D' but select a different gear using the paddles. The box will hold this gear for about 30 seconds but will revert back the the gear it prefers unless you select another within that time...
You're right it shouldn't from what I had read - and I have more mechanical sympathy than to endanger the engine with my gear selections - but it did and I had shifted the leaver across out of D...
As I said, I liked DSG apart from that... "undocumented feature" and I've never really been a big fan of automatic gearboxes.
The gearbox on my Jag was a conventional auto but with 400hp/400lbft the gearbox was more of a luxury than a necessity :wink: The conventional autos I've driven lately (all in the States) are appalling (Mustang, Camaro and some awful SUV)... DSG is so much better than these; however, no better than the 8-Speed box on my mates Jag XF...
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Reading some other forums and links - it seems interference in Manual is not uncommon... I am ou in min elater so will have a go in Manual and see what it does. Obviously, apart from stopping the engine over-revving its going to change down if you are in sixth and brake to a stop - unless you change before it does!
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I think both DSG and Manual gearboxes have their place, but more and more cars are going down the Auto/DSG route.
The manual in the GTi is a really great gearbox...... :smiley: But then so is the DSG, both for different reasons.
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The manual in the GTi is a really great gearbox
Compared to what and on what measure?
It is not a patch from a usability and accuracy perspective on the one in the Honda S2000, for example, which was wonderfully precise and relatively short throw, the 6 speed in my Caterham was fantastic on this front too...
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The manual in the GTi is a really great gearbox
Compared to what and on what measure?
It is not a patch from a usability and accuracy perspective on the one in the Honda S2000, for example, which was wonderfully precise and relatively short throw, the 6 speed in my Caterham was fantastic on this front too...
They will feel extremely positive as the stick goes straight into the box. No front wheel drive car will ever match that.
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I know that...
I would have thought adequate or reasonable would be more apt, for example, the gearbox in the Golf GTD I drove probably wasn't as accurate as the ones in my Integra Type Rs but I wouldn't have said it was poor either.
My question wasn't really about the Golf gearbox but the use of the term "great" and the measure that allows it to be referred to as "great"... Its probably a rhetorical question... my apologies :smiley:
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I tried both and settled on the manual I have had many autos and in fact still have one but for me the manual is the antidote to the boring nature of the diesel vs the petrol. The more responsive the engine or bigger the barge I find my preference is to dsg paddle. DSG doesn't tick the box for me if I find manual mode wont entice me and I therefore leave it in auto.
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We've had a DSG Mk5 gti since 2007 and it's one of those things that I'd find very hard to give up now. We hired a car for a week a few months ago which was a manual golf (not a gti) and it was a right pain. (Though to be honest, the first few times I did come to a junction and wonder why it had gone all quiet before remembering what the other pedal was for :grin: )
Even if you like the sound of DSG, it is an extra bit of machinery in the car, and it has a 40K oil change requirement which was a bit pricey. We'll need another soon!
Our car is strictly a "Fuss Free A to B" machine, so DSG works well for us, and I suspect this is the thing which determines what people prefer.