I'm not dyed in the wool by any means. I love tech and I don't wear rose tinted specs about anything.
My other car that tends to get general use is a manual and all the work vehicles are manuals so I've always maintained doing about 5k a year in a DSG and lots of miles in manual cars I'd never get the best out of a DSG as I'd always be readjusting.
I might see if I can get a GTD DSG or something similar on a 24/48 hour loan from a local dealership.
Is quite happily have a mapped/boxed GTD over the R 99% of the time. Sad but true.
Fair enough. I wasn't implying that you are averse to change in any way.
I don't think 24 or even 48 hours is long enough to really get to grips with DSG, not unless most of those hours are spent driving it. Guess it depends how many miles (on varying roads/conditions etc), you can get under your belt but I reckon you need at least a full week to become fully au fait with it. Of course that's not a possibility loaning from a dealer (unless they are very cooperative).
It doesn't surprise me that you might prefer a GTD to the R. Sounds to me like you respect the R and its capabilities but there's not a huge affinity there. It's never a given is it that you are going to fully gel with a car. Maybe another change on the cards Mr Ex?
Before I got my R, I did wonder if I would find it less fun and engaging than the GTI's I've had, but that's proved not to be the case and I would say that the R and I suit each other very well. It feels 'right'. I was fully prepared to spend 3 years in the R and then maybe back into a GTI but I can't see that happening now. Mind you my other half is not at all enamoured by the R. He doesn't like the look of it compared to my old GTi and (though he's only driven half a dozen times) he's not that keen on the drive, much preferring the GTI. Good job it's not his car, and anyway he's in love with the BEAST (Amarok, not me!). I would not put a bet on you turning up here in a few months (weeks) time having chopped your R in for a GTD.
No, I knew where you were coming from Madamoiselle B, I was just saying I'd love to be won over to DSG. It would be a minor triumph for the engineers at VW to get this old grouch to convert. I'm a tough one to please.
I can't see me changing car anytime soon you'll be relieved to hear! I have both an 18th and a 21st birthday coming up this year in the house so my expenditure will be very limited on the car I think. Even Mrs Ex is working more than her usual six hours a week some weeks. Yes that's six and not sixty! It's a tough life for some!
I do like the idea of running a GTD with map/box purely for the low end response and punch being ideal for my type of driving but with current depreciation my R would probably require a hefty dollop of cash on top even with the massive incentives right now. I'm sure not going to actively pursue a vehicle change but as ever with me, if a deal dropped in my lap I'm all ears!!!
The mapped GTD is the one configuration of Golf I've never tried (although I had a couple Ibiza TDI's and a Fabia vRS many many years ago that were all 'experimented' with). I do like to have a little project on the go.
So, maybe a dealer would loan me one if they could sniff half a chance of a sale? I've been hoping my leasing manager friend would have one in and free for a couple days but it's been a while since they've had a GTD.
The DSG one I quickly borrowed off him a year or two ago left me with mixed emotions. In D it masked the torque too much so felt a bit lethargic, in S I found it a bit scary (especially when I tried launch control and messed it up!!) plus I kept getting the paddles mixed up. I'm definitely not a 'natural'!!
As for the R.
I can't really fault it.
I'd list just about all of its features in the "pros" column.
The only "con" for me is the fuel economy and that's only a very minor one that's snuffed out when considering the potential power on tap.
An extra 30-50 lb ft in the low to mid range would make it perfect.
If it doesn't get damaged or worse and reliability stays good I can see me keeping it a long time. It's a hard car to fault.
I can't see me ever buying anything like it again though. I'd rather have less power but more 'fun'. It's just a bit too polished.
I think VW should just learn to program their existing 6speed unit better before moving on to anything more complicated.
I agree - it does really need to be renamed so that the current Drive (D) is called Ecco, Sport can remain as sport but a ratio between the two is introduced as the normal D.
Not helped by that fact the VW are one of the few manufacturers who give you an indication of what gear you are in with an autobox.
Maybe the aftermarket should be a bit proactive here so we don't have to wait years and years for a revised factory setting on a future Golf model.
A DSG remap that did exactly that would be good and entirely possible to come up with.
Instead of the mapper concentrating just on revised rev ceilings and clamping forces at full bore acceleration maybe a perkier D setting could be devised? Would there be a market for the latter?
