Manual GTI opinions

[MA1694]

Hi all

I’m in the market for a 2013/14 GTI with a budget of £11.5-12k. At that price point most are manual. I do around 6000 miles a year with mostly city driving. My current car is an A3 1.4 also manual but due to the low torque I have to change gear a lot say compared to a diesel. Am I correct in saying a manual GTI would be perhaps less tiresome around town? Also what’s the gearshift like? My A3 has a bit of a long throw which I’m not a fan of.

Cheers in advance!

[Watts]

Love my manual, great fun! Having said that I could see it being a bit of a pain if you were in constant stop start traffic but if it flows, even slowly, no problem. The shift is very slick but I've added an Audi short shift which I prefer. There's plenty of torque so you don't have to constantly change gears. If you have a mind towards remapping though beware as it seems the clutch on many manuals doesn't cope so you'd probably need to upgrade it.

[Ryan90GTI]

Totally depends on the driver. I wanted a manual but ended up getting a DSG . I found the manual far better from an enthusiasts POV, the gearbox is lovely too.

[Jason b]

I have a 2014 manual . lovely and positive box ,engine has plenty of toque I don't really live higher up in the rev range with it very often  . great car

[Will2018]

I really like my manual. Nice feel to the shift. As others have said, you don’t have to change gear constantly as it pulls really well from low revs.

[MA1694]

Thanks folks. While a DSG would be good and perhaps better suited to my driving style, I think I’d end up becoming a lazy driver.

I know I won’t get much for my budget in terms of spec but I’d absolutely prefer leather seats than the standard cloth but unfortunately seems like a rare option. But it’s a compromise I’d take over DSG.

What kind of MPG are people getting around town in a manual?

[dubber36]

A lazy driver? There are still plenty of other things to do and be aware of, not just pointlessly manually changing gear. 

[Watts]

Thanks folks. While a DSG would be good and perhaps better suited to my driving style, I think I’d end up becoming a lazy driver.

I know I won’t get much for my budget in terms of spec but I’d absolutely prefer leather seats than the standard cloth but unfortunately seems like a rare option. But it’s a compromise I’d take over DSG.

What kind of MPG are people getting around town in a manual?

MPG is very personal with driving style and traffic so unlikely to help much. I get 30-35 on my 5 mile commute but that's with little traffic and not much stopping. So you could get 20 if short stop start upwards. But it's all relative, the GTI is a very economical car for the performance.

A lazy driver? There are still plenty of other things to do and be aware of, not just pointlessly manually changing gear. 

 

[Paul70]

I love the manual too but they do vary. My first GTI on a 63 was not as precise as my current car, changing smoothly between first and second was not consistent but this did improve when I fitted a dogbone insert.

Pedal box is a must with a manual car especially driving in town with low to medium revs and partial throttle, it really emphasises the torque. 

[Yusee]

I love the manual too but they do vary. My first GTI on a 63 was not as precise as my current car, changing smoothly between first and second was not consistent but this did improve when I fitted a dogbone insert.

Pedal box is a must with a manual car especially driving in town with low to medium revs and partial throttle, it really emphasises the torque. 

I would have thought pedal box more beneficial in the dsg. With the manual you can have the throttle half way down, and revs above 3000 when you need the response ( and the box won’t change up when you don’t want it to)
The box is excellent and there’s plenty of torque low down for town use.

That said, I would only go for the manual if you enjoy the pointless act of changing gear. If you spend a lot of time in crawling traffic, wait for a dsg.