Moving from manual to automatic

[Exonian]

Without wanting to completely hijack the thread, what are thoughts on the Polo GTi and the lack of independent rear suspension? Does the car suffer unduly for it, or have torsion beams moved on somewhat in recent years?

Neil Birkitt said in his roadtest of the Polo GTI (in VW Driver mag) that you’d have to be a racing driver to notice the difference in chassis and there would be less moving parts to get out of alignment.

Driving my son’s MQB chassis Ibiza FR after my Ed40 doesn’t immediately feel like there are any chassis shortcomings other than the Ibiza feels very comfortable after the jiggly Clubsport with 35 profile tyres.
The Clubsport has stiffer suspension and less sidewall roll so can be positioned more precisely but it feels no more or less stable, no difference in how it tracks or grips (within tyre limitations).
I’m sure the tighter suspension settings of a Polo GTI would even the game up.
Despite kerb weights not being a million miles apart the Ibiza feels much lighter.
I’m really looking forward to the (likely) release of the S1.

[monkeyhanger]

Monkeyhanger.... I wonder if the DSG tuning software makes any difference to your frustrations?

I've still to hear anyone say that they have done it...

If VW made the car respect your paddle input for the gear you want to be in, irrespective of throttle position (within reason - ignore that request to be in 2nd at 60mph), then slotting over to manual mode would be an unnecessary extra step to think about with what should be an instinctively easy thing to do - driving along in D at 45mph in 6th, that doddery old Fiat 500 driver moves out of the way and press, press, press with the throttle buried and you're giving it all in 3rd.

While throttle input overrides paddle input for gearing, how will a DSG tune solve that? Paddle input should dictate what gear you're in, for maybe 10 seconds after the press before reverting back to D or S. Such an easy fix for VW to do, then only need to slot to manual for stick shifts up and down. Not a bother if you are in manual all the time, but you do get lazy, so you won't be in manual all the time.

[Jim_mk7.5]

Monkeyhanger.... I wonder if the DSG tuning software makes any difference to your frustrations?

I've still to hear anyone say that they have done it...

If VW made the car respect your paddle input for the gear you want to be in, irrespective of throttle position (within reason - ignore that request to be in 2nd at 60mph), then slotting over to manual mode would be an unnecessary extra step to think about with what should be an instinctively easy thing to do - driving along in D at 45mph in 6th, that doddery old Fiat 500 driver moves out of the way and press, press, press with the throttle buried and you're giving it all in 3rd.

While throttle input overrides paddle input for gearing, how will a DSG tune solve that? Paddle input should dictate what gear you're in, for maybe 10 seconds after the press before reverting back to D or S. Such an easy fix for VW to do, then only need to slot to manual for stick shifts up and down. Not a bother if you are in manual all the time, but you do get lazy, so you won't be in manual all the time.

The 7S DSG in the new GTI P is certainly better than the 6S I had in the FL 230 version. It must have the ability to switch several gears at once as I've noticed if I'm in say D6 and pull lever back for S then it might say S4 straight away without touching accelerator.

[dubber36]

Monkeyhanger, Revo DSG software does away with kickdown in manual mode https://www.onlyrevo.com/product-details/software/volkswagen/golf-vi/116/dsg-stage-1

Jim, Normally putting the lever in S will select 1 lower gear, putting you closer to the engine speed for peak torque. I think if you have the car setting in Sport, you will get the gear which is ready to give you maximum acceleration should you ask for it.

[fredgroves]

That revo software looks like a winner!

If I end up with a gti pp dsg, I'll have some of that!)

[monkeyhanger]

^ It's a bit early to bin my warranty yet, but something worth looking at later.

As for how it drives, it drives brilliantly, the lack of fully independent rear suspension doesn't hamper it's handling at all. It's handling is sharp, like a Golf GTI (The R is fast but doesn't feel sharp). The Polo GTI+ is comparable on standard equipment with the Golf GTI. When you can get a GTI+ with 18" Brescias for £20900 at broker rates vs a standard Golf GTI 5dr performance DSG for £26930 - that £6k extra doesn't buy you much more car.

The only non chrome switch in the car is the lighting dial switch, both come with 18" alloys in my comparison,

Only obvious scrimping is lack of rubberised plastic on top 3" of door cards vs Golf and interior rear door window assembly where it comes to a point is a large painted area that's begging for a piece of triangular trim to cover it.

The minimal weight differences demonstrate that the Polo is just as solid. Both have active info display (Polo has newer gen), Polo gets newer/bigger/higher resolution  media screen type. Both get auto lights/rear dimming mirror/auto wipers/LED headlights/ambient lighting/armrest/rear tinted glass/red calipers/ front and rear parking sensors/ACC. Polo gets keyless and basic DCC system in lieu of satnav and climate control. Not a lot between them - I do miss the "never need to touch it" e-handbrake on the Golf. There's a few other bits on either car I'll have forgotten. The polo engine retains MPI and the inlet end has the Audi valve lift tech for (slightly) better mpg. The Polo is 95% the size of a Golf inside.

Residuals (based on published GFV) anticipated to be slightly better than Golf GTI (50% at 3 years GFV).

Such a good car for the money, I'm buying one for the missus too (due to be built this week).

[Vwjap]

Dunno about dsg Golf's but my manual 7.5 GTD has the auto restart function when stop-start is active and i agree it's highly annoying.

but you can program that out 😉

[Guzzle]

^ It's a bit early to bin my warranty yet, but something worth looking at later.

As for how it drives, it drives brilliantly, the lack of fully independent rear suspension doesn't hamper it's handling at all. It's handling is sharp, like a Golf GTI (The R is fast but doesn't feel sharp). The Polo GTI+ is comparable on standard equipment with the Golf GTI. When you can get a GTI+ with 18" Brescias for £20900 at broker rates vs a standard Golf GTI 5dr performance DSG for £26930 - that £6k extra doesn't buy you much more car.

The only non chrome switch in the car is the lighting dial switch, both come with 18" alloys in my comparison,

Only obvious scrimping is lack of rubberised plastic on top 3" of door cards vs Golf and interior rear door window assembly where it comes to a point is a large painted area that's begging for a piece of triangular trim to cover it.

The minimal weight differences demonstrate that the Polo is just as solid. Both have active info display (Polo has newer gen), Polo gets newer/bigger/higher resolution  media screen type. Both get auto lights/rear dimming mirror/auto wipers/LED headlights/ambient lighting/armrest/rear tinted glass/red calipers/ front and rear parking sensors/ACC. Polo gets keyless and basic DCC system in lieu of satnav and climate control. Not a lot between them - I do miss the "never need to touch it" e-handbrake on the Golf. There's a few other bits on either car I'll have forgotten. The polo engine retains MPI and the inlet end has the Audi valve lift tech for (slightly) better mpg. The Polo is 95% the size of a Golf inside.

Residuals (based on published GFV) anticipated to be slightly better than Golf GTI (50% at 3 years GFV).

Such a good car for the money, I'm buying one for the missus too (due to be built this week).

Thanks for that, good to know. My concerns were more about refinement and ride quality than outright handling sharpness. It's been a while since I drove a car without independent rear suspension. My mk5 Fiesta had torsion suspension years ago, and although I had no complaints about the handling on good surfaces it did have a tendency to become slightly unsettled by mid-corner and mid-bend bumps and potholes as the weight transferred sideways. I've also read a few comments over on Briskoda from Octavia owners complaining that the torsion beam on lower powered models makes the ride a bit choppy when paired with 18 inch wheels. Hopefully the Polo isn't afflicted by anything like that.

Thanks also for your reply Exonian.

 

[Guzzle]

Dunno about dsg Golf's but my manual 7.5 GTD has the auto restart function when stop-start is active and i agree it's highly annoying.

but you can program that out 😉

Yeah I know, but I don't have vagcom or obd11 and as mine's a lease car i'm not planning to invest in it either (for now anyway)! It's just a shame VW doesn't allow you to turn it off through the menus without losing Front Assist. But thanks all the same. 

[Jim_mk7.5]

^ It's a bit early to bin my warranty yet, but something worth looking at later.

As for how it drives, it drives brilliantly, the lack of fully independent rear suspension doesn't hamper it's handling at all. It's handling is sharp, like a Golf GTI (The R is fast but doesn't feel sharp). The Polo GTI+ is comparable on standard equipment with the Golf GTI. When you can get a GTI+ with 18" Brescias for £20900 at broker rates vs a standard Golf GTI 5dr performance DSG for £26930 - that £6k extra doesn't buy you much more car.

The only non chrome switch in the car is the lighting dial switch, both come with 18" alloys in my comparison,

Only obvious scrimping is lack of rubberised plastic on top 3" of door cards vs Golf and interior rear door window assembly where it comes to a point is a large painted area that's begging for a piece of triangular trim to cover it.

The minimal weight differences demonstrate that the Polo is just as solid. Both have active info display (Polo has newer gen), Polo gets newer/bigger/higher resolution  media screen type. Both get auto lights/rear dimming mirror/auto wipers/LED headlights/ambient lighting/armrest/rear tinted glass/red calipers/ front and rear parking sensors/ACC. Polo gets keyless and basic DCC system in lieu of satnav and climate control. Not a lot between them - I do miss the "never need to touch it" e-handbrake on the Golf. There's a few other bits on either car I'll have forgotten. The polo engine retains MPI and the inlet end has the Audi valve lift tech for (slightly) better mpg. The Polo is 95% the size of a Golf inside.

Residuals (based on published GFV) anticipated to be slightly better than Golf GTI (50% at 3 years GFV).

Such a good car for the money, I'm buying one for the missus too (due to be built this week).

Polo got whipped by the GTI P though in the Carwow race!