# VW DSG gearbox feedback



## mt8 (Jan 7, 2011)

looking to change car this year and will stick with vw but thinking of having a dsg gearbox this time, always had manual before but fancy a change.

The 2ltr engined cars seem to have 6 speed boxes but the 1.4 have 7 spd, in terms of day to day driving how would this feel? Not the engine but how the box reacts to revs.

i have not driven with either of these style gearboxes before in vw and am interested in any feedback of people who have either good or bad.

Next step is a test drive but your feedback will be a good starting point.

Cheers.


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## howie parks (Jun 5, 2006)

Ever driven a normal auto? The same but the changes feel seamless


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## mt8 (Jan 7, 2011)

howie parks said:


> Ever driven a normal auto? The same but the changes feel seamless


Yes driven a discovery with an auto box, but am keen to know particularly the characteristics of the vw dsg boxes, in particular does the 7 spd box on the 1.4 change gear all the time i.e. not go up high into the rev range if that makes sense?


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## G.P (Dec 13, 2011)

mt8 said:


> Yes driven a discovery with an auto box, but am keen to know particularly the characteristics of the vw dsg boxes, in particular does the 7 spd box on the 1.4 change gear all the time i.e. not go up high into the rev range if that makes sense?


I've been driving a 1.2Tsi petrol linked to 7 speed dsg today, in traffic you do not notice which gear it is in and have to look, it'll rev up the range all depending on how far down your right foot goes...


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## quattrogmbh (May 15, 2007)

Direct Sequential boxes are the best gearboxes available today. In terms of fuel economy, performance and pleasure to drive.
Thats why you'll find them across Porsche's, AMG's, BMW M cars and of course VAG.

There are basically three modes. "D" where the strategy is to change into the highest gear as soon as possible and minimize fuel consumption
"S" where the strategy is to hold the gear till the optimum shift rpm. this is an aggressive change strategy and feels sporty and a Manual mode where the gear will be held to the redline unless you change it.


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## JJ_ROCGT (Dec 11, 2012)

I tried a DSG before ordering my Scirocco and it wasn't for me. I much prefer the manual box and there's less to go wrong on the manual also... stick to manual and 'proper' driving imo.


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## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

I don't currently have a DSG box, but I'll be ordering a Mk.7 Golf with one in June for October delivery.

I have considerable experience of driving a Mk.5 Golf with 6-speed DSG, and recently an Audi A-1 1.4TFSi Sport DSG both belonging to my Mother. I find the DSG to be seamless and incredibly quick and quiet in operation. The latest incarnation of DSG as offered on the Mk.7 Golf is in my opinion the best yet.

The beauty of the latest DSG boxes on the Mk.7 Golf is that there is an option of three set modes: Normal, Sport and Economy, plus there is a Custom mode where you can set your own parameters and thus your own mode. These modes can be selected on the move by pressing a button to the left hand side of the DSG level and then selecting the desired option on the car's main screen.

There's no doubt that autos of any kind are rather _Marmite_, but IMO DSG is by far the best form of auto gearbox, if it's actually correct to call it an auto - IMO it's really an automated manual or semi-auto as it can also be operated manually via the select lever or paddles.

Me - I love DSG.


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## Jace (Oct 26, 2005)

Test drove a mk5 R32 with one, awesome to drive, & would have had one in the Rocco if I could have found one in the right spec car with the rest of the spec I wanted.


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## Franzpan (Mar 2, 2009)

I have a 3.2 TT with S tronic, same as DSG. I was the same as you, always drove manual but fancied a change. The fact that the road tax on the V6 S tronic is £190 less than the manual sealed the deal.

Really happy with it. So much more relaxing than manual and when you flick it into sport mode its an altogether different beast! Its always right on the power and makes for a great drive. I won't be rushing back to manual.


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## slimjim (Mar 22, 2007)

I've got it on my CC and like it, probably part of the reason is I do 25,000 a year and its relaxing to use. I do flick between drive & sport a bit but never use the manual gear changes and just don't enjoy it. 
If I had a sporty car I would prefer a manual box just for the driver experience .


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## xJay1337 (Jul 20, 2012)

I've lived with DSG boxes for a while in a 1.4 TSI 170 Mk5 Golf which was a 6 speed and a 7 speed 1.2 TSI in a Fabia and both were great, could not fault them..

If you are in D it will keep the revs down for economy but never will it cause a problem in driving, EG it won't start chugging around in 7th at 20mph, and if you want to keep the revs a bit higher you can use S.

Manual vs DSG? Well yes overall I would prefer a manual but I mod my cars, my next car is either going to be a TT-RS, 3 8P2,or Golf R and if you have a manual and start to tune the engine to the point where the clutch slips, you have to fork out around £1000 for an uprated clutch. Where as the DSG can take a lot more power and it will provide much better performance figures. A guy on our O.C has his Golf R doing 0-60 in something like 3.8 seconds and 0-100 in under 9 seconds.

Just an FYI, DW58 the difference between an automatic and a semi-automatic is nothing to do with being able to use padles or set a certain gear, you could do that since wayy back on the old J-Gate Jaguars.

The difference between an automatic gearbox and a semi-automatic gearbox is that a semi-automatic is a manual gearbox with an automatically actuated clutch.

For example in a BMW you have a ZF gearbox which is a regular automatic, with a torque converter. You can still use the manual over-ride to control gears in a "semi-automatic" mode but it's still a fully automatic vehicle.

Then you have a VW DSG which is a MANUAL gearbox with computer controlled (whether it be hydraulic or electrically operated) clutche(s), same for the old Alfa Selespeed, BMW SMG gearboxes, etc etc. But it's only the DSG (which is also the PDK gearbox in the Porsche) that has been able to be both fast and smooth.

(not trying to pick you out as being wrong just trying to share knowledge )


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## mt8 (Jan 7, 2011)

Thanks guys some really good feedback there, I suppose the next step is to book a test drive with the same model car in both manual and dsg to get a good comparison, looking forward to it already:thumb:


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## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

Best idea - you might stand more chance of getting to drive DSG/Manual on similar models now. When I had my test drive on the launch weekend (Fri 11th Jan), the options were manual SE 1.4TSi and DSG SE 2.0TDi. Until then I had been 100% certain my next Golf was going to be the DSG 1.4TSi, but I have to admit I was most impressed with the 2.0TDi, the extra 28 horses under the bonnet were quite significant to the point that I haven't yet made up my mind which of the two I'm going to order. What also impressed me was the DSG 2 litre car also had "flappy paddles" as Jezzer insists on calling them, something I've long fancied and had already experienced on my Mother's Audi A-1 1.4TFSi S-Tronic, however on the Golf they're little more than paddle-sized textured buttons on the rear of the steering wheel, the visible paddles are no more.


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## Teddy (Dec 15, 2007)

For people doing big miles on motorways is there any point in the extra expense of a DSG?
You'll rarely change gear and I can't see fuel economy being any different either.


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## should_do_more (Apr 30, 2008)

When I got my mkv the dsg was jerking all over the place, had it changed and it has been great since. That was under warranty. I haven't seen many new car issues so good news ad no problems since.

Personally I find it a little too slick, you really hardly notice the changes and it is a race to the top. It isn't as thick as some autos I have owned and quick easy to manage changes with your foot. You do have to keep an eye on the display but that's no disaster in reality. Only thing that is annoying is it rarely changes to first unless you are at a stop so no pulling out quickly unless you override that or boot it....it labours otherwise.

You can kick down or hit the floor and it drops one or two gears. I like it.

Ordering on a new car though I probably would have to think about it. Around town in London it is good, if mainly motorway miles I wouldn't bother.

So in summary a good bit of kit, I think I suffer more from turbo lag than slow changes. Would I buy that or acc and a sunroof or even leather, no. Plus second hand value it doesn't seem to add much so it's a bit like satnav in that respect.

Car is a 2008 GT Sport 1.4 140 TSI


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## uruk hai (Apr 5, 2009)

If I was buying new then I would be quite happy to have the direct shift gearbox. But they do seem to have more chance of developing faults than the normal 6 speed manual boxes and potentially expensive faults at that. I'm helping my brother look for a Golf GTI and IMO it appears the risks that comes with the DSG boxes are being reflected in the used prices.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

I'll go against what has been said and say I hated mine, a proper auto it isn't it's crap in the snow too. Mpg is far worse, forget what the books tell you although this months VW driver has it right. In real life identical passat 2.0 estates, manual 69.9, dsg 52, ok I was trying hard in the manual but normal driving saw 60+

That was backed up with my own experience 37 in dsg and 44 in manual again tdi 2.0.

Try and get a long test drive, 2 weeks in and I hated mine


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

I found it very good, it can change gears with less jerkiness than you could ever manage, mine was fine in all weathers and no issues in the snow, the only downside is if it goes wrong, just make sure you have warranty and your fine.


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## heavyd (Jun 11, 2006)

I prefer dsgs, don't think I could go back to a manual again. I had my dsg box remapped, which changes the shift points, also lets you hold onto a gear in manual mode, also gear changes are a lot smoother since, also ups the torque limiters in the box. Just put winter tyres on, have had no problems in the snow since.


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## mt8 (Jan 7, 2011)

I mainly drive around town and B roads so sounds ideal for me, only doing about 7k per year so don't want or need a diesel.

Looked at the polo blue gt yesterday - really tidy and well specced up but only marginally cheaper than the polo gti. That said really good mpg on paper at least! Cheap tax bracket and 140 bhp? Need to drive one now.

Also looking at the golf gt with the same engine and really like the beetle as well, but not out with this engine yet, possibly later on in the year.


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## should_do_more (Apr 30, 2008)

heavyd said:


> I prefer dsgs, don't think I could go back to a manual again. I had my dsg box remapped, which changes the shift points, also lets you hold onto a gear in manual mode, also gear changes are a lot smoother since, also ups the torque limiters in the box. Just put winter tyres on, have had no problems in the snow since.


That's interesting, where? Mine changes too early.


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## minimadgriff (Jul 8, 2007)

We offer it, normally £300 but £200 to you sir. Check out the news story on our home page.:thumb:


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## should_do_more (Apr 30, 2008)

Didn't think to ask! Will do 😊


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## fat dog (Sep 6, 2011)

The 7 speed DSG's really are tremendous. My missus has one in her Polo and I think it really suits the car. It's not at all revvy and the gearchanges are pretty much imperceptible. What impresses me most is that it gets itself into 7th gear at around just 35 mph and so is very relaxed, but as soon as you put your foot down it changes down so quickly that it never labours or is slow to respond. If you put your foot down hard, the car realises you want even greater performance and so can jump from 7th gear to say 4th gear almost instantaneously.

My own car is a BM 5 series with their very latest 8-speed auto and without doubt the DSG/Polo is the better combination.

The only slight downside that I have noticed is that low speed manoeuvrability suffers a little bit in the smoothness department, i.e. very slow 1st gear or reverse gear movements.

If you are buying new, then going for the DSG makes even more sense, as they carry such a huge premium on the used market.


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