14 replies to this topic

[obi604]

Hello

So im in the market for a 2010 Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI Petrol Hatchback
My drving stats :

> 7000 miles a year
> 3 mile, 25 minute run to work in start/stop traffic twice a day
> Casual driving at weekend.
> Once a month, I do a 250 mile round trip on Motorway
> I love me bit of poke when needed


I dont know wheter to get a manual or DSG
Ive never owned an automatic car before but have driven a few, the thing I noticed is when I put the foot down in the auto, the engine just sounded as if it was going to blow up : )   high revs and then change gear etc etc  I have alot more control in my manual, but maybe thats cause I was driving the automatic wrong as I wasnt used to it and maybe its cauuse teh autos I drove were not DSG and just teh old schoool auto

I know offhand that the DSG will be about £1000 more expensive to buy than the manual
Re mapping etc dosent concern me


Questions on DSG in Skoda :

1. Are they less reliable than the manual ?
2. In *real world*, are they slower than a manual ?
3. Are they more expensive to maintain ?
4. Can the car be push started ?
5. Are they harder to sell on than a manual car ?
6. In real world, is the MPG better or worse than the manual ?
7. Does the DSG in the Octy have the option to change the gears yourself ( + - )  ? And on this, is this any good at all ?
8. Any known issues with the DSG box on the 1.8 tsi engine ?
9. Any other day to day difference betweens a DSG and a manual





There are an awful lot of pedantic questions there, Sorry about that

[bluevrs2]

You need to have a back to back comparison of both cars, not for me I'm afraid but I have friends who swear by them, I just swear at them

You can change manually using the flappy paddles

[ardandy]

It's quicker at changes and if you think about it, every gear change (which you can control, semi auto) will be spot on as the car is doing the change, no crunching etc.

Just make sure you don't leave it in drive when stationary with your foot on the brake, doesn't do them any good.

Edited by ardandy, 21 March 2012 - 10:51.

[PC1212]

Great engine...
Well having driven both I personally thought the DSG was nippier from the off than the already nippy manual
Some reports of hesitancy when pulling out of junctions but the one I drove was like a bullet!
The DSG 1.8 tsi`s are quite rare and  seem to command a premuim... and I was not prepared to pay the extra!
There will always be issues around resale with DSG or "automatics"...
Seem to remember there is no scope for a remap on the DSG either

[ramonford]

I have owned a 1.4 DSG for nearly 2 years, so my answers are based on only this short period of ownership. Other more qualified users may well rightly give a different opinion.



Questions on DSG in Skoda :

1. Are they less reliable than the manual ?  - YES
2. In *real world*, are they slower than a manual ?  - No
3. Are they more expensive to maintain ?  - YES
4. Can the car be push started ?  -  NO
5. Are they harder to sell on than a manual car ?  - YES Particularly out of warranty.
6. In real world, is the MPG better or worse than the manual ?  - 50/50
7. Does the DSG in the Octy have the option to change the gears yourself ( + - )  ? And on this, is this any good at all ?  - YES & YES
8. Any known issues with the DSG box on the 1.8 tsi engine ?  - YES
9. Any other day to day difference betweens a DSG and a manual  - YES. Too many to list
   Test drive it and see
10. Would you own a DSG out of warranty  - NO

[Evening Star]

1. Are they less reliable than the manual ? - Not noticed any difference so far apart from one patch where it stuttered a bit, but that problem has disappeared.
2. In *real world*, are they slower than a manual ? - Marginally, the difference is very marginal.
3. Are they more expensive to maintain ? - I haven't noticed any difference compared to the previous manual car that I had.
4. Can the car be push started ? - Dunno, never had to, but I suspect being an auto, not.
5. Are they harder to sell on than a manual car ? - Dunno, I'm not a dealer.
6. In real world, is the MPG better or worse than the manual ? - The 1,8TSi DSG is better in economy than the manual version.
7. Does the DSG in the Octy have the option to change the gears yourself ( + - ) ? And on this, is this any good at all ? - Yes & yes as you can put it in a better gear at times (than the gearbox does) for overtaking, sometimes it doesn't quite get it right.
8. Any known issues with the DSG box on the 1.8 tsi engine ? - One or two, but you can find them by doing a search or googling it. If you're worried take out an extended warranty with a warranty company.
9. Any other day to day difference betweens a DSG and a manual - There's a nasty clutch pedal on the manual..

Personally I'd check the mileage, give the car a test drive first to see how you like it, now I've made the jump from manual to DSG I won't be going back.

[obi604]

mmmmm, thanks for all the replies

So from whats been said so far , DSG'S are rare in this 1.8 tsi engine, are more expensive to buy, dearer to maintain and seem to have more issues

The one thing I want when buying a car is reliability, I dont want to buy a DSG for the sake of it and then 6 months down the lines, it gives issues

[Evening Star]

I don't think that they are rare per sé, as with any of the models, DSG is an option. You don't have to have it. The reason I chose it was I had leg problems (sorted now), which made the use of a manual box with clutch painful.

Yes DSG is more expensive to buy, but they are far more complex than a manual gearbox, so you should expect a small premium with it.

As for worries about the DSG box & as other members here will tell you there are loads of cars with DSG gearboxes with 80k miles or even more, which haven't skipped a beat, yet others with considerably lower mileage which have been plagued by problems.

The DSG 7 box is brilliant as far as I'm concerned & from what I've been hearing it will be making its way into the more powerful engined cars such as the vRS in the not too distant future, the DSG 7 box is a dry box, unlike the DSG 6 fitted to the vRS.

If the DSG boxes were so bad they wouldn't keep making them or selling cars with them. OK the DSG is a very complex piece of kit and when it goes wrong then it will be expensive (particularly if out of warranty) & it's going to be a four figure bill too, but if you keep to the maintenance schedules you should see many thousands of fuss free motoring out it.

I've done 12½k miles now & apart from a few occasions where it has stuttered, its been superb, its never broken down or anything.

The only problem I've had with it has been the drivers side window kept retracting, seemingly without good reason & it was a couple of good folk on here who advised me to use silicone grease on the runners, which solved the problem perfectly, but that's nothing to do with the engine or transmission.

As with any car you could buy a complete lemon & it could be either type of transmission, the chances of you getting one are pretty slim.

[Very RS]

On a second hand car what's more likely to be knackered:

1) A box of gears and a clutch that has had thousands of miles of humans crashing and grinding and generally abusing them or
2) A box of gears and  2 clutches that have had a computer controlling them and only letting them mesh when the engine revs match perfectly.

And I do like my dsg

Edited by boozyfloosy, 21 March 2012 - 17:53.

[OCScene]

I have a 2010 1.8tsi extate DSG, First 15000 were a dream, the last 10000 have been a nightmare. i have an ongoing fault with the DSG causing the car to intermittantly judder (and I mean REALLY judder!!)

No one can seem to get to the bottom of it.


I have now lost my rag with the car and have a Peugeot manual diesel on a factory order.

I would not have another.

Edited by OCScene, 21 March 2012 - 19:05.

[obi604]

lots of conflicting views

interesting reading

thanks for input

[Anddenton]

OCScene, on 21 March 2012 - 19:04, said:

I have a 2010 1.8tsi extate DSG, First 15000 were a dream, the last 10000 have been a nightmare. i have an ongoing fault with the DSG causing the car to intermittantly judder (and I mean REALLY judder!!)

No one can seem to get to the bottom of it.


I have now lost my rag with the car and have a Peugeot manual diesel on a factory order.

I would not have another.

Must be really bad to consider a Peugeot ;-)

[Very RS]

Anddenton, on 21 March 2012 - 20:24, said:

Must be really bad to consider a Peugeot ;-)

And a Manual Diesel at that.  May as well get a tractor.

[OCScene]

Anddenton, on 21 March 2012 - 20:24, said:

Must be really bad to consider a Peugeot ;-)

I know, its a bit of a gamble!! Although the build of the new 508 seems up there with the best of them, certaInly i feel that and the motoring press seem to agree. In true peugeot fashion bells and whistles that Skoda can only dream of putting into there cars for the money im paying. I just hope they work!!!

Edited by OCScene, 22 March 2012 - 07:14.

[Anddenton]

OCScene, on 22 March 2012 - 07:12, said:

I know, its a bit of a gamble!! Although the build of the new 508 seems up there with the best of them, certaInly i feel that and the motoring press seem to agree. In true peugeot fashion bells and whistles that Skoda can only dream of putting into there cars for the money im paying. I just hope they work!!!

It tends to be the bells and whistles that let the french cars down from my experiences.  Mechanically great cars and very reliable, but the electronics keep packing up! oh yeah and cheap as chips break systems seem to go through discs and pads in no time.