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Sydney Golf colours; sports pack, and should I avoid DSG?

I've started to look at Golf VI, and think the 118 is the best option. I like the leather seats, and although I have a manual Golf at the moment, I've test driven the DSG, and think it is the way to go.

In Sydney the price I got quoted for the nearest available fit, 118 + DSG + Leather Sports Pack was 38K, which is about 5K off, but a bit of a premium to pay for the sports pack which does little for me.

- are the changes in suspension available with the sports pack useful?

I was originally looking at Black. Black looks great, but the more I think about it Black car + Black leather in summer seems a bold decision.

I think the next best alternative is the blue, but part of me keeps seeing it as an undercoat. I've only been to one dealer and they didn't appear to have any to see in person.

- what colours are selling (and would resell well) in Sydney-type climates? Of the very few VI I've seen on the road, they have been black, grey or that champagne colour.

- should I be overly concerned about this thread, and other comments about the DSG:

http://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1779

I didn't notice this on the car I drove. It's not clear to me if this is describing the way all 118 DSG work, or just some particular cars. I actually thought the DSG was good - but I'd hate to spend the extra for it and then find it annoying.
 

Ozram

Passed Driver's Ed
Hi & welcome,

The price you got offered is about par I reckon. I paid an extra 3k on top of that but had sat nav too.

I guess colour is a purely personal thing. I ordered mine in black with black leather. I can only see Sydney summers being a problem if the car is going to be parked outside in the heat, and don't think it would really make too much difference what colour the paint was.

Nearly everyone that I've heard from has ordered the sports pack. It's only 2k more and you get far more than just a suspension change.
You get....

Alloy wheels (Seattle) 17 x 7” with 225/45 R17 tyres (4)
Dark tinted rear side windows and rear window, 65% light absorbing
Front fog lights with static cornering light function, mounted in lower bumper
Front sports seats with sports cloth trim
Low tyre pressure indicator
Sports suspension

Maybe you could spec it without leather and save 3k?

I'm interested in the DSG issues too. I didn't notice it on my test drive either so I hope it is a limited problem. I am getting out of an Astra AH and the auto annoys the heck out of me. It changes too fast from 1st to 2nd on take off. I hope the new Golf is different.

May I suggest that you arrange another test drive, even at another dealer if needed.

Let us know what you decide.
 

Purie

Passed Driver's Ed
I had a Audi A3 DSG and haven't had any problems like mentioned but my car was quite different.

I just read a long-term test update in Motor Trend (June) on the 09 Jetta TDI that said:

"The DSG transmission doesn't quite know what to do from a stop. It takes as much time to engage as a traditional manual would. Left foot braking can be necessary when starting uphill."

Not sure if that helps or not but I would bring this up with the salesman and try to pay more attention to it on another test drive and also you could use this as a bargaining tool, maybe get extended warranty or something.

Hope this helps

Josh
 

petersydney

New member
Hi, I have had my Golf 1.4 TSI 118 DSG for 6 weeks or so now, it's been faultless.

I think the colour, gearbox, leather and sports pack are personal choices, I went for the red DSG with neither leather nor sports pack. I think the standard suspension is just right for the pot-holed Aussie roads.

As for the DSG? In short, I love the it, especially in "S" mode. I think it's the first acceptable automatic I've ever driven, but a manual will always put you in more control and the DSG is definitely not a manual.

The thread - here - does give a good description of the DSG behaviour at slow speeds in "D" mode.

My opinion is that "D" mode perhaps should be called "E" for economy as it attempts to use the low down torque to keep the engine in low revs - ~1200-~2000 RPM. Fantastic for economy, not fantastic for quick getaways, and there is a definite hesitation to kick down. I find the "S" mode does not have this behaviour, and keeps the rev level more in the ~2500-~4000 RPM range, much more responsive, more fun.

The comment : "The DSG transmission doesn't quite know what to do from a stop. It takes as much time to engage as a traditional manual would." No, this seems fine, although it does hesitate to take off if you're already moving slowly.

But "Left foot braking can be necessary when starting uphill." - this is not true of the golf, the hill start assist works perfectly for me.


Hope this helps, P
 
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Blaze182

Ready to race!
If your worried about colour, go white, opposite to black! ;) And doesnt show dirt as much either, haha.

On another note, the price seems fair. I dont think you could drop much more, if any.

Now, with the DSG, the old system on the MK V's and the MK VI GTI is a wet clutch set up using something like 24 litres of oil fluid with the clutch.

A big fat wet robotic dual clutch system, and it works flawlessly.
However, to save on costs and weight, for the standard golfs they switched to a robotic dry clutch setup. Essentially the same system minus the reliance on oil. Because it doesnt have the oil, you get flawlessly consistent gear changes from the moment you start the car at the cost of aggressive gear shifts and quick off the line punches which put stress on the clutch.

The difference is if you drive hard. A wet clutch system typically needs to 'warm up' a little to become flwalessly smooth, but once its there, theres little it cant take, thus why it is included on the performance MK VI's. The new system on the standard MK VI's is dry and as such has a tighter tourqe limit from start up, which is why there COULD be a delay.
I never test driven a new MK VI, but I have test driven many MK V's, GTI's and Pirellis, cause I'm still tossing up on waiting for the MK VI or getting a pirelli :p.
That aside, I have never experienced any issues with the wet clutch.

Simply due to the smaller power of the engines VW probably saw fit that if people wanted performance, they'd take a performance golf with a wet clutch setup and a bigger engine capacity.
The standard golfs arent performance spec'd and as such from factory dont typically require a wet clutch setup which is more costly. (For VW, I think its the same for consumer, LOL)

So yeah, its a dry clutch, gets hotter quicker, needs to have a form of restriction on it to stop people cooking it at take off.

Thats my knowledge of the new clutch vs the old anyway.

Hope it helps =]

Snoopy should be able to help on this one.
 
Thanks a lot. Some interesting comments. I will try the DSG again, for sure, and if it doesn't bother me again, it's probably just the way I drive (slowly).
White as a colour is looking good. I saw one the other day and it was pretty smart.

One question, what does
Front fog lights with static cornering light function
mean? I think having fog lights means cool, although probably they originate from countries that have fog, but I have no idea what static cornering light function might do for my coolness.
 

Ozram

Passed Driver's Ed
One question, what does
Front fog lights with static cornering light function
mean? I think having fog lights means cool, although probably they originate from countries that have fog, but I have no idea what static cornering light function might do for my coolness.

Hi,

I think the static cornering light function is when you put your indicators on at slow speed and start to go around a corner the fog light glows and illuminates the area of the corner that the headlights don't normally light up. I presume they can be used as ordinary fog lights too.
 

DonkeyKong

New member
I too experienced the lag while test drive the Golf last weekend. I believe it is due to the small 1.4 engine that need to rev up from standing for the clutch to engaged. Once it is moving, there is no lag.
 
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