So, Mrs STR wants to finish learning to drive in an automatic. I’m dead against it, but the rights and wrongs of it aside……

If a DSG is classed as an automatic, I could find this a little more bearable – so, is it?

I would think so, some DSGs don’t come with flappy paddles so work just as an auto (with manual override like any other auto). Also no clutch of course.

Yes. Anything lacking a clutch pedal is considered an automatic for licensing purposes, even things like the old Fiat Selecta system that required you to change gear manually but not use a clutch.

Yes. They are fantastic, too. Really loving mine.

Rachel

If a DSG is classed as an automatic, I could find this a little more bearable – so, is it?

IME If you think auto’s aren’t bearable, its just that you’ve not driven decent auto’s – what have you tried?

Good, ‘cos when she eventually passes, I’ll make her have a 180bhp Fabia VRs – eh Rachel? 😉

Seems reasonable 😉

IME If you think auto’s aren’t bearable, its just that you’ve not driven decent auto’s – what have you tried?

I’ve driven a few – those with a decent power output are fine. A 1 litre Micra however, is not!

I’ve driven a few – those with a decent power output are fine. A 1 litre Micra however, is not!

Good point, well made!

Autos are great but imo their place is bigger heavier cars or where the engine has decent bottom end pull. Wish I had an auto in my big heavy estate about half the time i am in it. Even the Rover 75 diesel auto I had on hire years ago was good (car as a whole less so).

Persoally I would keep pushing on the manual licence though. Then you always have the option and I cannot imagine driving a small fizzy petrol as an auto with its light clutch and shifting there is no point inan auto box

I used to drive my father’s big Rover 800 V8 automatic (I was a spoilt child!) and it was fantastic, and went like the proverbial muck of a shovel. However I also once drove my friend’s 1L Fiesta auto, and honestly thought that I would die from old age before I got to the top of the hill I was driving up.

Given the DSG is not like a traditional auto and won’t have quite so much loos of power through the transmission, smaller engines are more acceptable. I’ve driven the 1.2 Fabia DSG and it was really quite good.

Yes. Anything lacking a clutch pedal is considered an automatic for licensing purposes

My A class had an automatic clutch but a gear lever and was classed as a manual.

my work motor is a skoda octavia scout DSG/auto.

I never bother with the flappy nonsense, find “sport” overly revvy and “drive” is a bit slow to pick up when decelerating and accelerating fast (Hitting roundabouts for example). nice lazy motoring though

allthegear – Member
Yes. They are fantastic, too. Really loving mine.
Rachel
POSTED 57 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

All the gear but no gears. 🙂

broadly two main types of auto box. torque convertor with epicyclic gears, and the twin clutch dsg type. older torque convertor auto’s especially in lower power cars are quite terrible really. modern ones in late jags, mercedes and bmw etc. are beautiful things and can be a joy to drive.

i’m not sold on the flappy paddle dsg type gearbox, but i know people who have them and love them.

there are other types which are auto clutch manuals and they are all rubbish ime.

Later torque converter autos use a clutch above a certain rpm anyway, so you can either waft, or nail it in manual mode

Best of both worlds for sure 🙂

Good, ‘cos when she eventually passes, I’ll make her have a 180bhp Fabia VRs – eh Rachel?

Oh, I was think of something with a bigger engine. My last car was a 535i, and a V8 at that – effortless and bloody quick.

I used to drive my father’s big Rover 800 V8 automatic (I was a spoilt child!) and it was fantastic, and went like the proverbial muck of a shovel.

If it was an 800, it’ll be a V6.

If it was an 800, it’ll be a V6.

Honda at that.

Worked in car rental when they first came out. Oh what fun we had.

I stand corrected. However, it was a whole shedload of fun! (Although the later model that he had, which was built under BMW ownership, was a total dog)

In fairness, at age 18 – 20, the number that came after the “V” didn’t mean much to me, however the phrase “******* fast and I’m not paying for the petrol” did. 😀

Go for auto gear if you have not driven one. I have! It’s brilliant!

Anyone familiar with VAG DSGs?
Looking at a golf as my next company car, the DSG is around £40/month extra on tax due to poorer co2.
My colleagues have gone and got c220 AMG sports, which would cost me an extra £150/month!!!
Sod that!

Some dual clutch autos give better economy and CO2 than their manual equivalents, and at least one TC auto too these days (BMWs)

Looking at a golf as my next company car, the DSG is around £40/month extra on tax due to poorer co2.

I found that it was cheaper overall to get a petrol auto than a diesel auto with my last company car – since its just a combination of RRP and co2 %. I had a fuel card so wasn’t bothered about actual MPG.

Hard to argue against DSG/PDK or whatever each manufacturer calls their version. It’s not an auto box with a torque converter, its effectively a manual box with an hydraulic/electronic clutch so no human intervention in the gear change process. Modern autos are very good, but not quite there compared to DSG

Look at any car and compare the manual vs DSG versions. The DSG will be faster 0-60, have better fuel consumption and lower CO2 emissions.

Unless you are a total petrolhead and don’t do any driving in traffic, the only arguement against them vs mnual would be the extra cost.

I would say to anyone thinking of getting one to make any test drive a long one. Preferably a whole day. The experience gets better as your own pedal actions adjust a little to best give the DSG an idea of your intentions. Also, it learns from your driving style apparently.

Mine thinks I’m an idiot…

Rachel

TuckerUK – Member

If it was an 800, it’ll be a V6.

Honda at that.

Worked in car rental when they first came out. Oh what fun we had.

not all Honda’s – mine was the “Powertrain Ltd (aka Rover)” V6 in the Sterling – bloody lovely car that was, my first Uber luxury banger – pitty the thing was falling apart. Though the auto’s on them were supposed ot be quite special, something about dual ECU’s inthe gearboxes alone..?

Took my in-laws V6 (3.2L) TT for a spin – my my my, the DSG shifting is awesome! Totally different beast to our 1.8T

Launch control is fun too..

Also, it learns from your driving style apparently.

Mine thinks I’m an idiot…

Rachel
Lol’d at that! 😆

Look at any car and compare the manual vs DSG versions. The DSG will be faster 0-60, have better fuel consumption and lower CO2 emissions.

Not golf diesels. Worse economy and co2.

Even if you have a small engined petrol auto, there’s still an advantage. You don’t have to change gear.. obviously. Especially nice in traffic jams.

Re DSGs – SOME have better CO2 than the manuals, some do not. The better ones are the 7 speed dry-clutch ones which afaik you only get on smaller engined petrol cars. Having 7 gears means it stays in the most efficient power band more often, and the dry clutch means there’s mechanically no difference between it and a manual.

Btw, even if they do have flappy paddles they still have an auto mode which you would use almost all the time probably, unless you are a boy racer and pin it everywhere. And conversely, even without flappy paddles you still have a manual mode operated via the normal shift lever.

wrecker – Member

Look at any car and compare the manual vs DSG versions. The DSG will be faster 0-60, have better fuel consumption and lower CO2 emissions.

Not golf diesels. Worse economy and co2.

Interesting. Hadn’t seen that. Marginal but true, but probably not enough difference to notice in real life. ON the petrol engines its the other way round – ~DSG better than manual for both

You would notice it overall in real life. The 6 speed version uses a wet clutch, which I presume means that the clutch is spinning in fluid which would cause a bit of drag.

I still get over 60mpg from my Passat non-bluemotion though, on motorway runs.

Daft question – do DSG cars creep forwards like old automatics when stationary? I’d hate to think I actually had to get the servant to press the brake with his forehead to stop moving – or do those fancy new electronic handbrakes/stop-start engines do something clever too?

It will creep forward when you release the brake pedal – it’s expected behaviour by most people coming from automatics.

Edit – but you would either have your foot on the brake or the accelerator, anyway, surely? Anything other than that is not really controlling the vehicle…

Going back to the A class it never crept forward till you pressed the accelerator again. Even on a hill it would just sit their and not roll back or creep.

Pre-baby we had mkv Golf gti with DSG – I loved it, but the Mrs hated driving it. To be fair she didn’t drive it enough to acquire the sensitivity needed with her right foot. Used to make it kangaroo and the poor car didn’t know what gear it needed to be in.

and yes it does crawl (albeit very slowly) in gear. I loved the auto downchanges and throttle blips under heavy braking.

or do those fancy new electronic handbrakes/stop-start engines do something clever too?

Not sure if it’s an option or standard, but I have an auto-hold function that does what Kuco says. It means that once stopped, the car stays where it is until you hit the accelerator again. It’s not the same as the handbrake since it uses the ABS mechanism whereas the handbrake is a mechanical screw mechanism on the rear brake pads.

For some reason though it defaults to off though and has to be re-engaged every time you start. I use it unless I’m parking, because it means I don’t have to shift to P to avoid dazzling the car behind in a queue.

Interesting. Hadn’t seen that. Marginal but true, but probably not enough difference to notice in real life. ON the petrol engines its the other way round – ~DSG better than manual for both

Probably not, but it makes a difference to company car tax to the tune of £40/month. Obviously the higher vehicle cost contributes to that as well. Diesel manual 2.0 is 106g/km DSG 2.0 diesel is114g/km.

I have the DSG on my 3.2TT roadster and I have to say in all the time I’ve owned it ( from new ) I have never used the launch control. I’ve only used the flappy paddles about 20 times and only for very short blasts, the sports mode for occasional ( very ) lane burning stuff.. And that’s it. It’s a very smooth gearbox I have to say, way better than my old Beeemers..
It’s classified as an auto by DVLA ( I’ve just looked cos I was curious )

HTH