GTI owners that would have choice again: buy manual or DSG?

[Jackie Treehorn]

+1

DSG is good for 95% of my driving. However, I miss the manual for control when overtaking. Paddles are ok, but I have to say it, 'just not as engaging!'

My wife has ACC on her A3 with S-tronic. Really good for her commute.

Here is something to consider - on paper DSG is faster 0-60. However, that is using launch control. Not a feature that is practical to use every day. In gear acceleration should be the same, but my DSG has a mind of it's own sometimes.

In my opinion - it is very much a case of horses for courses. For short journeys on B roads - I think manual. For long journeys and lots of traffic - I think auto would be easier to live with.

Here is an interesting question - can you consider yourself a driving enthusiast with an automatic car?

... lights touch paper... stands back 

Yes I think so, I wouldn't turn down a PDK GT3 on the basis it would not meet my requirement for a manual, or that it wasn't an enthusiasts car (although some Porsche aficionado think its heresy to have a GT3 only available in PDK). 

On very long journeys 1000 + miles across Europe, I never wish I had an auto as you are mostly sitting in 6th anyway, I never wish I have an auto on B roads where I live either.  But that doesn't mean I can't fully understand why people want DSG.  Sitting last year on the Brussel ring road in heavy traffic I did have a moment where I thought this would be my last manual, but for me it quickly fades, perhaps on the next gen...

[Watts]

You can be a driving enthusiast in any car with any gearbox! Just because some people have a manual, red, 3 door gti doesn't make them any more an enthusiast than anyone else. It's a personal choice but neither is right or wrong.

I've not really considered myself a driving enthusiast before! I just like cars.

I've mostly had autos during my driving life and was looking for a DSG Golf but as soon as I drove mine I knew it was right. I don't think an auto would've suited it's character but I can fully appreciate why others would go for it. Even though they are clearly wrong

[Exonian]

The DSG box is an amazing piece of kit but I know many folks don't 'get on with it'.

When my work habits change I'll go back to manual but until then it's DSG all the way!! Don't know how I'd cope without it driving in hellish commuter traffic going into Manchester 

I was up in Manchester for a bit last summer, every morning I saw a really shiny white 5 door GTI go past in Ancoats. Manchester is the one place I saw quite a few more mk7 GTIs than R's.

[Talk-torque]

Quite a sensible considered set of arguements on here, compared to the slanging match on the "other" forum.  Have to say that, if I'd grown up in a country full of gas guzzlers with slush pumps, I'd probably be violently anti anything like an automatic gearbox, too.

But the DSG isn't just an auto box - it's far cleverer than that. It's also far more efficient in terms of power delivery and fuel consumption, as well as giving a direct feeling to the transmission, rather than the "wait for it" torque converter delay.

My 2 years with the GTD showed me that auto hold and ACC had been designed around the DSG 'box, so I felt somewhat short changed and had to try a DSG. So far, I have not been disappointed. The cars systems work seamlessly and the 'box itself is a technical triumph. As above somewher, I was amazed by it's smoothness. Not involving is the put down, well I don't have to prove I can drive stick. Overall, I don't miss the clutch in my Golf.

[LRWmotorsport]

I've been testing in a DSG equipped MK5 in the wet at Rockingham.
Controller was un-fettled at that stage.

Could get away with changing gear in stupid places with it, awesome bit of kit. As soon as the wheels started to spin pull another gear grip and go even mid corner.

It won both races the next day in the hands of the regular pilot.

One guy running DSG converted to manual halfway through the season as he wasn't getting on with it. His pace was about the same all year long.

My only gripe is the upshift/downshift is the wrong way around on the gear stick after driving "proper" sequential boxes.

[p3asa]

I toyed with a DSG on my present GTD. Will I won't I? A bit like how some of us struggle with what colour.

I set off for work just before the main rush hour kicks in, although I do get caught up in the start stop traffic at times but because that is only for a couple of miles I've never once thought I need an auto.

It's more of an itch that I need to scratch. It's a bit like getting a VW Up as a courtesy car and thinking you could go one of them but could you actually live with it?  I've had a couple of S-Tronic courtesy cars when we had the Audi and must admit I was suitably impressed and I think that's where I've got the itch.

What I did like was although its an auto you can put the gearstick to the side and change gears by moving the stick back and forth as well as using the paddles. So if the box was getting confused you can easily take over.

I reckon its an itch I'll need to scratch with the next car. Like someone else said, autos will probably be the norm in a few years time.

[mike.]

The way I see it is that both are manual gearboxes.

Instead of moving your left leg in and out to disengage and re-engage the clutch the DSG has an automated clutch and can change in milliseconds with no loss of drive or upsetting the balance of the car.

It also has perfect down changes with perfectly matched revs, could never heel and toe myself and it is pointless these days as as when you put your foot on the brake the accelerator is inactive.

I had DSG in my MK5 GTI and my MK6 GTI and will be getting it in my next car, absolutely love it.

The D and S modes are a bit pointless although D is good if stuck in traffic.

[kalimon]

The way I see it is that both are manual gearboxes.

Instead of moving your left leg in and out to disengage and re-engage the clutch the DSG has an automated clutch and can change in milliseconds with no loss of drive or upsetting the balance of the car.

It also has perfect down changes with perfectly matched revs, could never heel and toe myself and it is pointless these days as as when you put your foot on the brake the accelerator is inactive.

I had DSG in my MK5 GTI and my MK6 GTI and will be getting it in my next car, absolutely love it.

The D and S modes are a bit pointless although D is good if stuck in traffic.

You make a good point to be honest. I find when it's in auto mode, it's very jerky at low speeds.

[Watts]

The way I see it is that both are manual gearboxes.

Instead of moving your left leg in and out to disengage and re-engage the clutch the DSG has an automated clutch and can change in milliseconds with no loss of drive or upsetting the balance of the car.

It also has perfect down changes with perfectly matched revs, could never heel and toe myself and it is pointless these days as as when you put your foot on the brake the accelerator is inactive.

I had DSG in my MK5 GTI and my MK6 GTI and will be getting it in my next car, absolutely love it.

The D and S modes are a bit pointless although D is good if stuck in traffic.

You make a good point to be honest. I find when it's in auto mode, it's very jerky at low speeds.

I love an auto but I'm really enjoying driving a manual now, you are more involved as it's a more mechanical experience. As for the point (which in fairness I can't disagree with) about faster changes and no loss of drive with a DSG etc, does that really matter in real world driving? It's a rare moment these days when I can give my car a bit of poke and I certainly don't go around racing people. On a track, probably yes but not on the road.

[JB GTI]

I have had a manual and then a DSG Scirocco and thought I would never go back but when I tried a DSG GTI when the Mk 7's first appeared I hated it and thought how slow and dim witted it was and decided instantly to go back to a manual. When it went in for some warranty work my dealer lent me a DSG Golf R and I was expecting the worst but there must have been a reworking of the gearbox map as all the lethargy had disappeared and I loved it. Bloody salesman had done me up like a kipper and within a month or so my current DSG R was on order