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Tough choice. DSG vs Manual

which transmission?

  • DSG

    Votes: 186 38.1%

  • 6 speed

    Votes: 256 52.5%

  • obligatory 3rd option - its your car pick

    Votes: 46 9.4%
  • Total voters
    488
S

subacpw

Ready to race!
Im sure this has been discussed before, but thats not gonna stop me.

Im about to trade in my 2004 WRX (with 104,000 miles) for a 2010 GTI

The wrx is manual, the GTI I have a deposit on is DSG along with autobahn, dynaudio, xenon, well pretty much everything but navi. since i dont want to wait 3-4 months to order it and a garmin is just as good if not better.

My question would be am I going to regret getting the DSG. i test drove both the 6 spd is smooth as butta great shifting but i dont like how light the clutch feels its just feels too soft, but im sure that would help in traffic.

im so torn on weather i want to stick with getting the DSG or get a manual. the quick shifting of the DSG, the ability for my GF to drive it (not that i cant teach her to drive a manual) the ease of not having a clutch in ATL (or any) traffic.

took me 6 months to pick a replacement for the WRX now im stuck on which transmission.
 
StreetSpeed2000

StreetSpeed2000

Passed Driver's Ed
Be a man, get the 6 speed. These cars are fun to drive, an automatic certainly takes away from driver involvement. Look at it this way: you see a lot more people regretting getting the DSG than you do regretting the manual.
 
Mk6golfer

Mk6golfer

Ready to race!
^ this.

GTI was made to be sporty and fun, and its almost a sin to get an automatic. Granted the DSG is not an "automatic" like most others, but there's only 2 pedals on the floor after all ;)
 
C

CarbonSteel1

New member
6-speed manual. I really like the way it shifts. As much as friends rave about the DSG (a friend in an R32 and a friend in a Cayman), I really think there's still something special about learning your car and shifting it manually.
 
M

MichaelLegaspi

Ready to race!
I drove my pops 02 330i for about a year or so when I first started driving (granted I had to pay for gas, insurance and maintenance) it as an automatic- quick, extremely responsive steering and of course RWD.

I loved it, but it wasn't stick shift and when I had to go back to the ol' 88 Honda Accord which was I had so much fun driving it I mean sure it wasn't anything in comparison to the bimmer but I loved driving stick shift and can't see myself ever going back. :thumbup:

Whenever I do drive an automatic car I feel kind of bored, and catch my left foot looking for the clutch.

If your really sick of stick, or have other people in your house that need to drive it I would get the DSG.
 
S

subacpw

Ready to race!
thats why its so tough for me.

I love driving a stick, having the control and all. but at the same time i still feel i have a lot of control over the DSG.
The manual is a great transmission and i agree that the GTI is a sporty car, but i disagree that the dsg takes away from that. i wish i could afford two.

I feel like im going to regret the decision no matter what i end up choosing.
 
C

cbhood

Passed Driver's Ed
Mk6golfer said:
^ this.

GTI was made to be sporty and fun, and its almost a sin to get an automatic. Granted the DSG is not an "automatic" like most others, but there's only 2 pedals on the floor after all ;)
Click to expand...

Could not agree more. Any shift able automatic I have ever driven ends up in full automatic most of the time. The lack of a clutch kills it for me after the initial amusement wears off.
 
StreetSpeed2000

StreetSpeed2000

Passed Driver's Ed
My wife had an 07 GLI with DSG, so I can compare both. It was cool for all of about 5 minutes, then you just put the thing in D and you're driving an automatic for the rest of your life. Yeah it's neat technology and it shifts faster than I do, but who cares? Being involved in the car is why I enjoy driving. Even though I do lots of track days, where DSG has a pretty clear advantage and is probably faster than the 6MT, I drive to have fun. I don't care about shaving tenths off a lap time, at least not at this point and certainly not at the expense of the overall fun factor.

Ooh ooh, nother' example. At Mont Tremblant my buddy brought along a friend of his who also had an MKV GTI. My buddy's was DSG and the other guy's was 6MT. They switched cars for a session, and my buddy sold his car a week later and got the manual. He said it was so much more fun than the DSG that it wasn't even worth talking about.
 
S

subacpw

Ready to race!
im so torn.

making this decision is worse than having cancer (coming from personal experience)

i get sick of driving a manual at times. but then im worried ill miss it.

but then conversely dual clutch is where alot of cars are going. I know its not entirely fair to compare but ferrari 458 no more manual. i just wish the paddles were bigger.
 
A

Alex.

Ready to race!
I have DSG, and I regret it many times. Although, I do not know if i would regret getting a manual...
 
jgs5607

jgs5607

Ready to race!
I have (and would vote for) the manual.

After 33 years with manuals, my last car was a 6 spd auto with the separate gate for shifting manually. After 3 years, I got bored enough to switch back to a manual in the GTI ( I usually do not keep a car for that short of a time, so that should tell you something).

If you live in Atlanta proper and are stuck in bumper to bumper 90% of the time, the DSG may start looking pretty good though. The traffic where I live isn't consistently bad enough where I would make that a big factor.
 
R

RiVoT1

Ready to race!
StreetSPeed: DSG <> Auto, stop calling it that.

all DSG-haters: i'm 41 and don't want to bother with stick. i'm a DSG lovin' pansy and can paddle shift like there's no tomorrow, put that in your pipe and smoke it...

that being said - subacpw: it's whatever you prefer...
 
jgs5607

jgs5607

Ready to race!
I wouldn't say that those that prefer manuals are DSG "haters", just that we prefer the manual and a clutch.

When I sold my Auto, I swore that if I ever got another one it would be a DSG type
( whether it be from VW, Mitsubishi or whoever) so I could have the control advantages of a manual.

Like I said in my post above, if I lived in Metro Atlanta, Long Island or LA, I would probably be singing a different tune.
 
J

joema2

Ready to race!
subacpw said:
...My question would be am I going to regret getting the DSG. i test drove both the 6 spd is smooth as butta great shifting but i dont like how light the clutch feels its just feels too soft, but im sure that would help in traffic...
Click to expand...
I've driven only manuals for over 30 years, and test drove both DSG and 6MT versions of the '10 GTI.

I personally got the manual, but I'd have been happy with the DSG. The only reason I got the manual was immediate availability with the other options I wanted.

In manual mode the DSG shifts very quickly on demand, not like many paddle-shifted automatics. DSG is an automated manual gearbox, like Formula One cars.

If you ever watch F1, they all use paddle-shifted dual-clutch transmissions, like the DSG. They rev to 19k rpm and pull 5G on corners and braking. Nobody ever says they aren't sporty because of using a dual clutch transmission.

I wouldn't worry about getting the DSG. If you have continuing concerns, go to the dealer and test drive both types again.
 
R

RiVoT1

Ready to race!
jgs5607 said:
I wouldn't say that those that prefer manuals are DSG "haters", just that we prefer the manual and a clutch...
Click to expand...
you're not a hater, but some others are; despite things like what joema posted regarding F1 cars and many many "dream cars" are non-manual tranny, people still gotta equate masculinity with a clutch pedal... whatever, i'm just tired of it already...
 
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