Your thoughts on Multitronic?

[XM640]

Some background. I have recently ordered an B8 A4 with Multi. I initially resisted going near an A4 tester with this tranny after reading various reports on CVT's like "sounds like a slipping clutch and not really the choice for enthusiasts".

Having tried the manual, nice but can be clunky, I relented and eventually spent a weekend with a 1.8TFSI A4 with Multi. Overall what sold me on the Multi was it's ability to constantly get the best out of the motor whilst providing amazing refinement.

Except when accelerating quickly off the mark, such as when entering a busy road. After some initial hesitation, the Multi would suddenly hook up a lower gear and, with tyres scrabbling for traction, sprint from the line leaving passenger neck's snapped backwards. Not so refined.

Okay, flame me as I may have a clumsy right foot. Otherwise do others experience this and is there a technique to avoid this? Perhaps use the sports setting or the paddles (are the paddles worthwhile?).

Any thoughts on the Multi would be appreciated.

Cheers.

[Neerazan]

I droe a few Audis in order to find the right one for me and I settled for a Multitronic too. I loved the smoothness of the drive and the responsiveness when booting it. The transitions were really effortless and it never lagged or allowed the revs to drop low.

All in all, I was more impressed with it than with the autobox on the Lexus, which is supposed to be amazing.

[JohnH99]

I'm on my second Audi with multitronic. The first one I had was an 04 reg A4 2.5 tdi which was exactly as you described. Smooth and refined when on the move but sometimes a bit hesitant when pulling away from a standstill, particularly if you needed a quick getaway. I used to try and anticipate this by getting the clutch to almost bite before flooring it. Difficult to explain but its like priming it so the drive is engaged rather than waiting for the clutch to bite as the engine speeds up. I was told by Audi that there are a couple of reasons for this, one that the 2.5 engine was a bit slow to rev and two, that the multitronic uses a clutch (presuambly centrifugal) rather than a torque convertor as on a conventional auto.

The 2.7 B8 that I have now is a lot better, I was a bit hesitant to buy another diesel with multi afer this but I was assured that the gearbox has been updated and the 2.7 is a lot better than the older engine. All I can say is that I'm very happy with it (apart from the occasional clunk when selecting reverse - see seperate thread). I still occasionally feel the slight lag as it pulls away when you are in a real hurry but nowhere near as bad as it was with the older model and there is none of the slipping clutch CVT type sensation, just smooth powerful acceleration.

I remember the old DAF rubber band transmission from the 70's that did that slippy clutch thing - now I feel really old!

I think you just get used to multitronic driving and adapt as you need to.

[christopher.bro]

Overall very happy. Love the 'turbine' feel when accelerating. Had a DSG in my last car and think I still prefer that; multi seems to sap power a bit. But overall, its good.

[B6Andy101]

[quote=JohnH99;231635]

I remember the old DAF rubber band transmission from the 70's that did that slippy clutch thing - now I feel really old!

quote]

My grandad used to drive a yellow DAF, had a sound all of its own !

[christopher.bro]

on this subject, can someone explain why Sport mode on the Multi feels so different to the standard mode? In fact, its just like my old DSG.

Only other complaint with Multi is that it can over-rev going down hills (and no, I don't mean when using the cruise to hold the speed).

[Dans]

In the German forums I have read a fair few complaints about Multitronics that jerk at around 60 mph (100 kmh). This isn't yet a problem that appears to be confirmed as MT related - some suggest it is the 6 cylinder engine that is the problem. Has anyone here experienced this jerky movement at 60 mph?

[2.7 S-line]

mines been smooth as silk so far

only strangeness on mine is the amount of throttle needed to reverse - if i pressed the pedal that far in D or S i'd take off for the horizon - feels a little odd but i'm getting used to it

only other comment is that at motorway speeds of 70-80 revs seem a little high 2000 - 2200 given the torque available from the V6 (ie loads) and the way the multi works i'd thought it could be a bit lower - still can't hear the engine above the wind noise most of the time though

[jcb]

XM640- which part of the world are you in and where did you drive the 1.8TFSI Multi. thats the car i want to drive but all the dealers round here seem to have diesel manual cars.

[XM640]

XM640- which part of the world are you in and where did you drive the 1.8TFSI Multi. thats the car i want to drive but all the dealers round here seem to have diesel manual cars.

jcb - Australia mate! Diesels are slowly starting to catch on here, but Petrol is still very much king. Also with diesel fuel now increasingly becoming more expensive compared to petrol, the economics of diesel are not as good as it once was - I believe is similar in UK/Europe.

Nonetheless it seems that the 1.8lTFSI has power charistics almost like a diesel, pulling strong early over a wide rev range. And most of the media 'experts' here think it is a better option, more refined and being lighter over the front end giving better handling.

Based on the performance of the 1.8lTFSI multi, I ordered a 2.0lTFSI without driving it - surely the same only more.

Very limited manual options here however and, interestingly, I believe that the US do not get the Multi option at all. I suspect that market has some prejudice against Multis (and diesel) where all petrol A4's are specced with tiptronic as the only auto option .

[Dans]

only strangeness on mine is the amount of throttle needed to reverse - if i pressed the pedal that far in D or S i'd take off for the horizon - feels a little odd but i'm getting used to it




This now seems to be the main problem people on the German forum are having - many complaints about how the car will lurch forward or back with only a little pressure applied to the accelerator and specifically that the engine takes a second or so to react at all to the depressing on the pedal.

Question to 2.7 S-line - does this sound similar to what you have experienced and have things got any better?

[JohnH99]

I think that there may be a problem with multitronics. I spoke to my dealer about the occasional clunking and lurching when selecting reverse and was told that Audi were investigating the problem and to "watch this space". I have since spoken to the dealer again and been told that I'm not the only one with this problem and that it is still being investigated by Audi before they issue anything on it. I'll report back if I hear anything.

[2.7 S-line]

This now seems to be the main problem people on the German forum are having - many complaints about how the car will lurch forward or back with only a little pressure applied to the accelerator and specifically that the engine takes a second or so to react at all to the depressing on the pedal.

Question to 2.7 S-line - does this sound similar to what you have experienced and have things got any better?

i find in reverse there is a pause before the car starts to move also you have to push the accelerator harder to get moving than you do in drive - but its just a quirk i've quickly gotten used to , overall i'm very pleased with it

only other comment is it revs too high in sport, getting pretty much to the red line before changing up when you floor it - means you feel like you've left the top end of the power band before the gear change