GTi DSG or not?

[obtc101]

Hi Guys,

Would appreciate recommendations on buying a GTi with a DSG gearbox or not.

I've seen people posting problems with them, on the other hand people saying they are great.

I'm soon going to be replacing my 3dr Audi S3, with a 5dr hatchback. There seem to be quite a few DSG's about.

Obviously the cost of replacing one may be high, but if it's unliklely to fail then I'm willing to take risk

Thanks

Ollie

[mmvw]

I've been driving DSG since 2004, 45000 miles in first car, 26,000 in current. Both Golf 2.0 diesel 140's.
99.9% satisfaction. The only fault I've found is when coming up to a roundabout fairly slowly and suddenly deciding to go, rather than stop - there can be a bit of a clunk as it seems to go into a gear that it wasn't expecting. Must say this has only happened four times in over 60,000 miles, so its more likely my driving that is at fault.
Otherwise totally satisfied, a real easy drive.
Has anyone had a DSG for over 70,000 miles? I'm thinking of keeping my current car forlonger than I usually do.

[audiyoudo]

Hi
Not sure what age your s3 is but i replaced my 2002 S3 with a 2005 gti DSG because i needed a 5 door. I had to retrofit paddles to the steering wheel as i hated the dsg box at first. Had the car well over a year and still can't make up my mind which i prefer. I suppose the DSG is better for day to day use especially traffic but the manual is more fun if you enjoy real driving.

[05FSI]

I'll personally would get the manual because I'll have absolute control of the car. So whenever I feel like doing some economical driving, i'll shift the gears with the clutch and when I feel some pulling power is needed, I will put that pedal to the metal.

DSG is very good and really clever. It's better than your box standard auto transmission. At times it can be better than a manual car in terms of economy and performance, and that is according to VW's official site. It is capable of picking up your driving style, so if you are a little heavy footed, it will recognise that over time and react to your driving style. Flick it to sports mode and it will red-line shift for you.

But my only criticism is the repair cost, because it is a very expensive technology and if it fails one day, then the max your looking at is repairing two clutch in oppose to a manual one clutch.

[Teflon]

This topic comes up fairly regularly and the opinions are always fairly equally split.

There's a consistent thread of people who prefer manual because "I want to be in control". Without wishing to insult people, I suspect most of this tosh is from people who have only ever had a DSG test drive and haven't enjoyed the full luxury of an auto box (of any sort) when stuck in stop-go traffic. When I was a lot younger and I thought I was the best driver on the road I too held such narrow minded views.

I've had multi-year experience of both the DSG and the Audi multitronic and would never have a manual car again. I also wouldn't be too excited about the prospect of an old-fashioned slush box auto like Ford, Merc, Honda are putting on cars still.

Anyhoo, back to the real question. If you buy a post-2006 GTI it will have the flappy paddle steering wheel which is quite useful but only when you are in banzai mode or wanting to be an out and out miser. All the rest of the time, you just drive.

I've got the GTI DSG and it is outstanding, even in normal drive mode. Sport mode has only been used a handful of times in the last three years and you have to been a bit of a hoon to be a regular addict.

The bad news is that yes, they are expensve to repair and originally didn't have a good reliability record. I've just had a new mechatronic unit in the Passat under warranty. But the record is much better now and the chances of problems are much reduced. Look on the UK Golf forum http://uk-mkivs.net/ and you will find a thread about DSG problems started by the Audi TT community when there used to be all sorts of issues. There's also http://www.dsgproblems.co.uk

My advice - if buying new, get a DSG but be prepared to never want a manual again. If buying used, be very careful about a car that has been thrashed within an inch of its life. It's a GTI after all. The DSG might be dodgy, but so might the engine, the brakes, the suspension and all the other stuff that costs a small fortune to fix.

[05FSI]

This topic comes up fairly regularly and the opinions are always fairly equally split.

There's a consistent thread of people who prefer manual because "I want to be in control". Without wishing to insult people, I suspect most of this tosh is from people who have only ever had a DSG test drive and haven't enjoyed the full luxury of an auto box (of any sort) when stuck in stop-go traffic. When I was a lot younger and I thought I was the best driver on the road I too held such narrow minded views.

I've had multi-year experience of both the DSG and the Audi multitronic and would never have a manual car again. I also wouldn't be too excited about the prospect of an old-fashioned slush box auto like Ford, Merc, Honda are putting on cars.

Well i have only been passed for one year so yes i will be mor in favour of a manual 'box which i hav in my current mk5. I've driven dsg's and to me currently they are the nx best to a manual. But i knw in years to come i will get fed up of down shifting when some douche will keep cuttin me in stupidly without indicating. That's when I will retire and get myself a direct shift gearbox.