« Reply #9 on: 09 February 2016, 16:11 »
The DSG is a bit too digital.
For some driving conditions it's absolutely perfect and others it's just a bit pre programmed.
If you sit in traffic jams it's probably your best friend but then again if that's all you do you'd be better off with an e-golf whilst you sit there mimicking a steam train puffing on an e-cig alleviating the boredom.
If you have a GTD on a company car scheme and spend hours driving on motorways it's probably the best invention since convenience food (both of which you probably rely on to get you through the day). Fire up the ACC, relax and let the car do the work for you. Can't be all bad, just remember to steer once in a while as you sip your overpriced coffee in a designer label paper cup.
If you do trackdays then DSG is probably also a nice option to have for ultimate speed on the limit, but then again it takes away some of the car and driver connection and again it becomes a bit digital. Not that you have chance to think about how digital it feels when a bend is fast approaching and you're bouncing off the red line in Race/Sport mode.
I don't have the best co-ordination in the world and I do fluff my gear changes from time to time but I do pride myself in the fact I can look, brake, steer and select a gear for an upcoming bend far more satisfyingly than a chip hidden away under the car can.
The BMW 8 speed that uses the nav to select gears sounds a great idea in theory but 8 gears in a car that's rarely going to go above 80mph in the real world?
For me I think that with modern high torque turbo engines that reach peak torque around 1400-1500 rpm, like the M135i and GTI, then carry that torque until well over 4000 rpm don't need lots of gear changes to hustle them along quickly. They need the driver to be paying attention to the road not fiddling with settings on the car, then using a bit of anticipation you can actually avoid the other morons on the road and make good progress.
For me with a car that has that broad torque delivery I'd say the less time it's buggering about changing gear the better and a five speed manual would be best. 5th gear for cruising and just slot it into 3rd when you want a blast of acceleration; or if you're on a challenging road and want to have maximum power but top speeds can't be attained then 4th down to 2nd then back up through the box would have the gearbox decoupled whilst gears are being changed for the least amount of time.
6th to 4th can be a bit of a hit and miss change and 6th to third even worse!
Mind you there are times when I do wonder whether I'd make better progress in a DSG but not £1400 better progress - I'd rather have £1400 worth of engine and/or chassis mods!
What's nicer to use - a touch screen Sony ultra modern hi-fi or a Linn turntable?
Horses for courses.
Logged
‘25 8.5R, ‘23 8R, ‘20 8CS, ‘19 135iX, ‘19 TCR, ‘17 Ed40, ‘17 GTD, ‘15 7R, ‘13 GTI PP, ‘11 GTI, ‘09 GTI, ‘98 Ibiza Cupra, ‘05 GTI, ‘06 Polo GTI, ‘04 GT TDI, ‘05 Fabia vRS, ‘02 GTI T, ‘03 Ibiza TDI 130, ‘01 Leon 180, ‘89 mk2 16v, ‘99 Ibiza TDI, ‘96 VR6, ‘98 Ibiza TDI, ‘92 VR6, ‘88 mk2 8v, ‘92 Polo G40, ‘91 mk2 8v, ‘89 mk2 8v, 205 GTI 1.9, ‘83 mk1 GTI, ‘80 Scirocco GTI, plus some others I’ve forgotten
