DSG - anyone have experience of these?

[SpokeyDokey]

New car time and we (but especially Mrs SD) are fancying an 'automatic'.

We have had traditional auto boxes on some autobahn storming beasts years back but have no experience of DSG.

One reason for shifting () away from manual is that a lot of our retirement-days travel involves stop-start town travel which can be a pain.

Plus VW have a Traffic Jam Assist feature on cars equipped with Adaptive Cruise Control & DSG - in traffic jams the car simply mimics the car in front without any driver input to throttle and brake. Potentially bliss on M6 jams.

So, if you have, or have used, DSG and care to share your experience it would be very much appreciated.

 

[Animo]

Great until your mechatronic box fails leaving you with a £3k repair bill. I speak from experience.

 

[potsy]

Love mine, would never go back to manual.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Great until your mechatronic box fails leaving you with a £3k repair bill. I speak from experience.

Won't affect us as we only keep our cars for the manufacturer warranty period.

 

[Sea of vapours]

I've had a DSG-equipped car since February 2006. I'd absolutely not want a 'normal' automatic, but I'd not be keen on a 'normal' manual either. The DSG is, to me, very much the best of both worlds. I tend to drive it manually a lot (using the paddles, not the gear stick), but for the sort of thing you're talking about the automatic mode is remarkably smooth and unsurprisingly very rapid at getting itself into the correct gear. Very highly recommended.

 

[wafter]

My mum has a pretty new Polo with a DSG box.

In terms of user interface, on paper it's pretty nice - it'll shift for you like an auto but you can also shift manually by bashing the gearlever sideways.. although truth be told I've not driven it sufficiently to pass judgement on how it really feels in use.

On top of that if you're looking to lose the clutch pedal DSG is better than a traditional auto in a number of ways - including better fuel economy due to less viscous drag and much more control since the drivetrain is all rigidly coupled so you should get engine braking / generally a better feeling of "connection" with the road.

I don't recall it being particularly pleasant when shifting for you (i.e. it still feels ponderous / shifts as the "wrong" times) but then if you're forsaking the job of shifting yourself that's to be expected.

One thing that was previously off my radar that I learned about recently was the existance of boxes with either wet or dry clutches - the consensus being that wet clutches are far superior as they're subject to less wear, amongst other things.. so this may be a factor you want to consider.

Personally it'd take a hell of a lot to pull me from a proper manual, but then my needs and preferences are likely different to yours

 

[SpokeyDokey]

My mum has a pretty new Polo with a DSG box.

In terms of user interface, on paper it's pretty nice - it'll shift for you like an auto but you can also shift manually by bashing the gearlever sideways.. although truth be told I've not driven it sufficiently to pass judgement on how it really feels in use.

On top of that if you're looking to lose the clutch pedal DSG is better than a traditional auto in a number of ways - including better fuel economy due to less viscous drag and much more control since the drivetrain is all rigidly coupled so you should get engine braking / generally a better feeling of "connection" with the road.

I don't recall it being particularly pleasant when shifting for you (i.e. it still feels ponderous / shifts as the "wrong" times) but then if you're forsaking the job of shifting yourself that's to be expected.

One thing that was previously off my radar that I learned about recently was the existance of boxes with either wet or dry clutches - the consensus being that wet clutches are far superior as they're subject to less wear, amongst other things.. so this may be a factor you want to consider.

Personally it'd take a hell of a lot to pull me from a proper manual, but then my needs and preferences are likely different to yours

Spooky! We are ordering a high-spec Polo with extras. Nice size, well built and safe car - just right for us.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I've had a DSG-equipped car since February 2006. I'd absolutely not want a 'normal' automatic, but I'd not be keen on a 'normal' manual either. The DSG is, to me, very much the best of both worlds. I tend to drive it manually a lot (using the paddles, not the gear stick), but for the sort of thing you're talking about the automatic mode is remarkably smooth and unsurprisingly very rapid at getting itself into the correct gear. Very highly recommended.

Thank you.

 

[grldtnr]

Depends which kind of DSG It is , the wet type is better than the dry type, but the sealed for life gearbox could be dubious, how long is life?
I've had 2 DSG gearboxes, in mk 2 and mk 3 Octavia's, one thing to be aware of is the Dual mass flywheel, that went on the MK2, , I could have repaired it, but it already was 10 year old, apart from that a lovely comfortable car to drive.
The mk3, isn't as well built in my opinion,but is cheaper to run.
I should think any bugs with the DSG, have been ironed out by now, but it is the best 'Auto'.box i've driven ever , smooth seamless changes, which you are hard pressed to feel, one drawback is it won't ' creep', and engine braking isn't as effective as a torque converter type, which means you need to adapt slightly, as the car will not creep, you need to use the handbrake for hill starts or when driving from stationary, you do that anyway in Manuel cars, perhaps not so good in heavy stop / start traffic, I don't do that in mine anyway.
The other thing that had me going is the 'coasting' feature in eco mode,it may not apply to the more modern boxes, but it unnerved me, very strange to be driving along at higher speeds, the car will freewheel ,if you should lift off the throttle, the engine revs will drop to just about idle, but you will just drift along, that might have changed.
Someone else mentioned that you can manually change gears, this only happens going up the gears, it doesn't down shift unless it over revs, then it will hold that gear untill you manually change up,
But all in all a damn fine gearbox quite good for towing

 

[Dadam]

ZF8, best of all worlds!

I've never driven a DSG, and in my petrolhead days I always wanted one over a traditional "slushbox" torque converter auto.

However getting the 8 speed ZF auto on a 320D (then a 330D) completely changed my mind. Driving in traffic is such an effortless experience. You're barely aware of it shifting, changes are seamless in Comfort mode. But if you put it in Sport mode, the changes are still smooth, but they're quick (0.2s). Selection wise you have your choice of auto, paddle or stick selection. DSG might be faster changes on paper but who cares unless you're on a track?

There's no penalty vs a manual in either fuel economy or power transmission. Once you're moving it locks the torque converter so you have that direct feel and you don't get the energy loss from the viscous coupling. Economy and 0-60 figures were actually better with this auto than the manual versions with the same engine.

I'm spoilt now. I wouldn't want another ICE car with any other transmission, at least as a daily.

 

[Tom B]

Until recently a DSG is the only sort of Auto I have got along with. It's pretty much an automated manual. When I've used them I've tended to drive them in manual mode. Perhaps because I'm predominantly a manual driver.

In auto mode they'd occasionally feel in too low a gear or change at the wrong moment. But I think that's the nature of the beast.

The DSG knocks the socks off the powershift in Fords.

However.... for sheer ease of use and smoothness along with boring reliability if I was buying a newish car I'd be buying a Toyota Corolla with the ECVT. The drive and feels of then CVT takes a bit of getting used to but around town you cant beat it as a polite sensible car. The estate has decent space too.

I'd say give one a test drive, but you sort of need to give it a few days to get used to it.

That said I'm not a particular VAG fan.

 

[wafter]

Spooky! We are ordering a high-spec Polo with extras. Nice size, well built and safe car - just right for us.

Thanks for the reply.

No worries - glad it helped!

The old dear's is probably getting on for 7-8yrs old now though so my limited experience might not be totally relevant to that.

I'd also urge you to look into the clutch situation as I think the smaller VW cars got dry clutches which may or may not be significant..