6spd manual vs DSG Comments

By now any of you have driven both the DSG and the manual transmissio as I have. My present car and last two were all manuals but I plan on the DSG next (traffic, age and arthritis are compelling factors.)

I drove the manual yesterday and have this to share:

Selecting gears was a very smooth process, like a hot knife through butter. And the clutch engagement was smooth and easy. The only thing that spoiled it for me was the rather long throws of the shift lever for gear selection. Maybe a short shift kit will be available soon.

Because the engine was so smooth and quiet, I found myself remaining in a lower gear than I probably should be in. I had to check the gear position indicator to prompt an upshift- it's that smooth and quiet.

Additionally, I wish the steering was weighted more. Way too light at slower speed, though it tightens up a bit at higher speeds.

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I thought the steering was just fine. Shifter is a little tighter & notchier versus the Mk 5 which is a great thing IMHO. I agree the clutch is a no-brainer, it didn't feel as long-traveled as the Mk 5 which is also a good thing. When I drove the DSG equipped Mk 5, it bored me to death. I've got a partial torn medial meniscus (old lacrosse injury) and early osteoarthritis in my left knee as well but the stick is still a no-brainer IMHO. Going to enjoy this one when my Mk 6 gets here and then maybe I'll have to go the geezer route (I'm 44) on the next ride. I test drove the Mk 6 lugging around in some rush hour traffic on route 50 (very clogged main artery between Annapolis & DC) so I feel pretty good I can stand it in traffic. The motor is amazingly flexible and you can putz around in 2nd over a wide speed range before you've got to shift and/or stop completely.

Good observations and (obviously from the above) I agree with a lot of them. I've said the new GTI isn't the fastest or most razor sharp hatch out there but it's a heckuva lot of fun, very nicely done on the interior and probably represents the most practial car for me. You can go tear up backroads and have a blast doing it, commute daily with decent mileage, flip down the back seats and schlep home a huge Costco shopping spree or cruise in 6th down the interstate, crank up the Dynaudio and have an excellent road trip machine.

I wouldnt say I have ever been "bored to death" with my DSG. Its a semi auto after all. Its not the same as driving a manual but you can still have an absolute blast driving down some fast B roads lol!

SilverDSG said:

I wouldnt say I have ever been "bored to death" with my DSG. Its a semi auto after all. Its not the same as driving a manual but you can still have an absolute blast driving down some fast B roads lol!

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Yeah, "semi auto."

I test drove the 2010 dsg today, having driven a 335i auto, a 2006 M3 SMG, a 528i auto and my current civic si 6spd all in the same weekend. (The 528i and my Si back to back on some mountain roads while the others were all on urban / freeway dealer test routes)

I have to say, in my opinion DSG is the best gearbox out there, and I would not pick a manual over it (even though the civic has one of the best manuals I've used). Very fast, and smooth at the same time, with the paddles letting you override at any time, or the full manual mode if you want more control. I would expect it to work very well on a track too.

The only drawback I see vs a full manual is a slight lack of control of launch speed, although I think this might be overcome with some practice using left foot braking, and maybe some slight less control for very low speed maneuvering.

I haven't driven the manual gti here, but I did drive a manual mk6 rental in Europe recently, and the one thing I didn't like was the way the long clutch travel made it hard to get the perfect seating position (again the civic si is very good here). Sitting in the US gti, it has the same feel of overly long clutch travel so if I move the seat back to stretch out my legs, I can't reach the end of the clutch travel.

Having said that, I can see that the very flexible engine in the gti would work well with a manual too. The Si on the other hand would really benefit from one of these as it would make that 6-8k rush much more accessible.

I totally get the pick a manual not an auto, but that was back in the days of torque converters. I can't stand torque converters, although I have to say the one in the 335i did a very good job convincing me otherwise. I maybe get the boredom thing a little bit, but I think there's endless fun to be had with those paddles, and the dynaudio system makes up for the rest of it.

I call DSG an "auto" only because you can put it in "D" and not have to shift. No, there's not a torque converter and yes, it shifts a million times better than I ever could but for me, that's not the point. To each their own and that's why they offer the option. Personally I'm glad they do. Definitely gives the GTI two distinct personalities IMO.