Does a Auto box ruin a hot hatch?

[dubber36]

The manual gearbox on the Golf is adequate, reasonably slick shifting and light (it is not a patch on, for example, the Honda S2000, Caterham 7 etc.).

A front wheel drive car will never have the same snickity change as the likes of the S2000 and 7, as their gear stick goes straight into the box, rather than 3 foot long rods and cables.

[corgi]

A front wheel drive car will never have the same snickity change as the likes of the S2000 and 7, as their gear stick goes straight into the box, rather than 3 foot long rods and cables.

I was reacting to some of the hyperbole on here that surrounds the Golf. 

Perhaps I should have said 911, DC-2 Honda Integra Type R, Fiesta ST... It makes not odds, the Golf manual gearbox is adequate, no more than that...

[monkeyhanger]

It's not a decision to take lightly either way. My dad has run DSGs since the MK4 and i've had plenty of opportunity to have a drive in them when he's gone on holiday from Newcastle Airport and left his car parked at mine for a few weeks. He loves them, i've tried to like them but just haven't got there, they leave me cold and bored behind the wheel. It isn't inevitable that you will grow to like the DSG in time.

It's a tricky one, a test drive (even a 24 hour one) will probably never be enough to convince you if you're not already 1/2 way to wanting one, and if you really don't learn to like it in time, it'll be an expensive mistake. On the other hand, I can't see someone in a manual wishing they'd specced DSG if they've never had it. You really do need to consider both sides of the argument if you're pretty much buying one blind because you haven't been given a fortnight with it.

I can appreciate the tech that's in there and still not like to use it in practice, in the same way I can marvel at the way ACC/DSG can bring your car to a standstill and then take off again through traffic with pretty much no human interaction left but steering the car. That would bore me silly though, I only use ACC when i'm going through an average speed camera zone, and I do like using the gears, using the torque (probably more important with the GTD), it's not a chore to me.

[Andy B]

fredgroves is right.

Drivetrains are likely to change considerably over the next few decades. If you take a look at the drivetrain innovation, electric features heavily, and if there is a combustion engine, it may not even be connected to the wheels at all!

The manual is starting to disappear from the exotic end of the market, mainly for very sensible engineering reasons, and it won't be long before this effect drifts down to the ordinary cars most of us drive.

It wouldn't surprise me to see legislation in a couple of decades which bans combustion-engine-only vehicles. I'm looking forward to being able to do long trips without anyone driving at all, and maybe even getting my car to park itself (If it can do the christmas shopping too, that'll be a bonus  )

[Booth11]

this involvement thing is just rubbish, you become involved in a different way and with dsg i actually use the box more, yes there are some aspects of dsg that aren't perfect

These manual v DSG threads come around quicker than Christmas but the above sums it up for me.

[Sootchucker]

Well my last Scirocco and my current GTD have both been DSG (my Scirocco the first auto I've ever owned).

To be fair, ours was out of necessity as my wife who does drive my car quite frequently, had an operation on her left knee a few years ago, meaning she now has limited movement and it gets easily "stressed", so we looked at DSG as a way of relieving her clutch foot pain (her own Polo Blue GT purchased at the same time as the GTD, is also a DSG).

Would I go back to a manual, not if I can afford it. Yes DSG makes you lazy, I hear all these people with DSG talking about paddles and tiptronic shift (just like a manual), but TBH, mine says in Auto 99% of the time. It's just so stress free, and for a fairly powerful diesel lump, the DSG I think suits the limited rev range of the GTD perfectly. When accelerating, 1st gear is only good for a second or so in a manual before you have to grab second then third - in the DSG, you just put your foot down and don't even notice the gear changes.

Last week, I had to go to London on a business trip and as usual my company provided a car. The car was a brand new 64 plate Ford Focus Titanium X (manual). A very nice car and a good ride (if you can get past the play station dash with a million buttons), but at the end of a 15 hour day and over 400 miles, my left leg was aching due to constantly having to use the clutch  (mainly due to M25 and M1 crawling). I know that doing the same journey in my GTD would have resulted in my getting back equally tired but without any of the aches that I had with the focus. Autos for me are the future.

[dubber36]

These manual v DSG threads come around quicker than Christmas but the above sums it up for me.

You mentioned the 'C' words. I get in trouble in our house if I use the 'C' word.

[Booth11]

These manual v DSG threads come around quicker than Christmas but the above sums it up for me.

You mentioned the 'C' words. I get in trouble in our house if I use the 'C' word.

As you know, different rules for women 

[GolfTi]

Autos have been around since the sixties.

The future they are not. Big in the U.S.A though...

[matchboy]

I've only had a day with my DSG so far, always been a manual only - I don't find it any less engaging, especially with the paddles - quite the opposite in fact.  It's very impressive and a lot of fun.