Looking at finally sorting this out in the New Year but cannot decide between the standard 6sp manual or the DSG box.

I am a company car user and the DSG is £200 pa more in company car tax.

Anybody got any views? Is it worth paying a little more tax for the DSG???

Any help appreciated

DSG - you will love it or hate it, so make sure you take it on an EXTENDED test drive that includes roundabouts and steep hills.

I would go for the manual if I had the choice.

i m the opposite - hated auto on previous superb but i love dsg - slightly less mpg than manual but drive it in town or a queue and you will see why , i have got flappy panels so can play in manual when i want. Took it out in snow and i mean snow for 50 miles first thing on thursday and it was impeccable which really impressed me, but horses for courses and as above get a good test drive to make up your mind

I had a DSG Elegance TDi 170 for a couple of days and did about 50 miles or so in it.

I did like it - very relaxed driving. I normally get a manual but this is something different.

I just cannot decide if it is worth £200 a year for the DSG and less mpg.

.

I just cannot decide if it is worth £200 a year for the DSG and less mpg.

Unless you're a diehard manual gearbox junkie then it is worth every penny IMO! :thumbup:

You don't need the flappy paddles to use it like a manuel, I took an hour out in it with the 140 PD and I was impressed but it was 170 manual or 140 dsg and I went for more power.

not wishing to sound flipant but if you like the DSG then go for it. £200pa is not really that significant , if you enjoy the DSG then spend the extra - you cant take it with you !!!

Manual. The inconsistent take-off of the DSG will start to annoy you in the end. Once it's moving it's the best gearbox I've ever driven, but the fact that you're never sure what will happen when you put your foot down will eventually lead to dissatisfaction.

After a test drive with both versions i picked the manual... but i admit, it is very very personal... i still feel more in control when driving the manual :crown:

Manual. The inconsistent take-off of the DSG will start to annoy you in the end. Once it's moving it's the best gearbox I've ever driven, but the fact that you're never sure what will happen when you put your foot down will eventually lead to dissatisfaction.

i didnt get this feeling when test driving ? is there something wrong with your car ?

Manual. The inconsistent take-off of the DSG will start to annoy you in the end. Once it's moving it's the best gearbox I've ever driven, but the fact that you're never sure what will happen when you put your foot down will eventually lead to dissatisfaction.

JCB might think it a fault but it's exactly the same impression I got when I test drove a DSG Octy & a very strong reason why I changed brands last time round, also a regular comment amongst the trade down here in sunny (& very hilly) Brighton.

DSG, without question. I get 45mpg around town (in my current 54 plate Octy) and 55mpg on a decent run. In France I did 600 miles on a tankful. Superb II 170 CR DSG arriving in January, based on the last four years' driving experience.

The inconsistent take-off of the DSG will start to annoy you in the end.

I expect this will ruffle a few feathers, but that's pilot error (or a gearbox fault).

Ray.

I'd go DSG myself, I can't understand the fault above as a mate has an Octy and he says nothing can beat him off the line, at 62 yrs old you'd think he'd given up trading pinkies at the lights, but according to him and with a big smile as he says it....it flies.

I expect this will ruffle a few feathers' date=' but that's pilot error (or a gearbox fault).

Ray.[/quote']

Well, on the 170bhp cars (mine is a Passat), the gearbox controller limits the torque so as to protect the gearbox (note that all the DSG equipped VAG cars have the same maximum torque figure - even the R36 Passat and the 170CR TDi Superb). Depending on the road conditions, engine temperature etc., you can rocket away from the line or it can limp away. I've driven 4 other DSG equipped cars and they all did it. Once it's moving it's fine, but a torquey engine with a DSG is a bit dodgy in my opinion.I don't see how it could be pilot error as it's drive by wire computer controlled, and it's been given a clean bill of health by the UK's largest VW dealership so I'd say it's a 'characteristic' rather than a fault.I assume you have a well-used DSG 170bhp too?

Early 2.0TDI DSGs suffer from ECU programming that reduces torque from standstill so acceleration very poor initially until hits peak torque and suddenly accelerates. Very dangerous at T junctions and roundabouts.

Mine isn't quite a year old and it does it too, so it's not just the early ones.

Edited 6 December, 200817 yr by wja96

Well, on the 170bhp cars (mine is a Passat), the gearbox controller limits the torque so as to protect the gearbox (note that all the DSG equipped VAG cars have the same maximum torque figure - even the R36 Passat and the 170CR TDi Superb). Depending on the road conditions, engine temperature etc., you can rocket away from the line or it can limp away. I've driven 4 other DSG equipped cars and they all did it. Once it's moving it's fine, but a torquey engine with a DSG is a bit dodgy in my opinion.I don't see how it could be pilot error as it's drive by wire computer controlled, and it's been given a clean bill of health by the UK's largest VW dealership so I'd say it's a 'characteristic' rather than a fault.I assume you have a well-used DSG 170bhp too?

Mine isn't quite a year old and it does it too, so it's not just the early ones.

This sounds very much like the ECU programming on the early PD170 engines across the VAG range, manual or DSG, which has since been cured, summer 2008, with a 26E6 remap and exhaust gas pressure sensor upgrade. Mostly affecting the Octavia vRS for us Briskodians. Power delivery is much more controlled now.

However; I presume the Superb II had the new CR engine, also now being fitted to the Octavia vRS as well, which is not AFAIK affected in this way so should be OK, Manual or DSG.

Overall, answering the posted question; whilst I prefer Manual I would image the character of the car, Superb Elegance, dictates that it should be DGS equipped.

This sounds very much like the ECU programming on the early PD170 engines across the VAG range, manual or DSG, which has since been cured, summer 2008, with a 26E6 remap and exhaust gas pressure sensor upgrade. Mostly affecting the Octavia vRS for us Briskodians. Power delivery is much more controlled now.

From what the VW Techs in Milton Keynes have told me, the gearbox is controlled by a second ECU that gives instructions to the main engine ECU and it's the gearbox ECU that causes the hesitation off the line. If it always did it, I would know to pull away quicker, but it doesn't and sometimes you can be painting the road black with Mr Michelin's best mixture and other times you're looking straight at the flashing headlamps of the big truck you just pulled out in front of. It's not pleasant.

can you not get the ECU re-programmed. I read about something similar with the Audi tiptronic box on certain cars and i think they did a software update that cured it.

will be interesting to see how it works on my petrol as it has a lot less torque than the derv and is a different box - 7 speed not 6.

can you not get the ECU re-programmed. I read about something similar with the Audi tiptronic box on certain cars and i think they did a software update that cured it.

will be interesting to see how it works on my petrol as it has a lot less torque than the derv and is a different box - 7 speed not 6.

It's not an issue on the smaller petrols as far as I know.

Are you lot sure you give it enough gas off the line, I never until now heard anyone say it's a slug, and if the product info is to be believed it's faster all round than any human can be?

My two penneth.

I had an extended test drive of the 170 CR with DSG and after mixed driving conditions I wasn't sold (current car Honda Element is auto). I found it sluggish when I needed a quick start, say getting onto a busy roundabout (floor and it wait so to speak), also trying to pull out of junctions where you really needed to get into fast moving traffic. Though on the flip side, it makes for refined motorway cruising as it slips between gears effortlessly.

Mines a company car and having had the test drive and looked at the MPG, extra cost on the P11D and tax, plumped for the manual. Clocked up 1000 miles now and love it (only once bounced of the limiter in 1st).

Has anyone with a 170DSG noticed the effects of the 'Dynamic shift programme' or 'Kickdown function';

?koda Auto - The new ?koda Superb - Documentation

then > Using the system > Automatic Gearbox DSG > Dynamic shift programme

AND

Kickdown function

It is possible that a 'short test drive' will not be enough for the system to learn about the driving style adopted.

It is possible that a 'short test drive' will not be enough for the system to learn about the driving style adopted.

Within 6 shifts it starts to adapt. If you can feel it 'bang' or 'shunt' when it shifts then you're at the limit of the fastest shift speed. When it's shifting at maximum speed it's smoother than I could do it, but not as smooth as it is in relaxed cruising mode.

I love watching the tacho needle when it shifts down, the needle just flicks between the two readings, none of that leisurely drift down then up again. Just up and away.

It is a fantastic gearbox, they just need to get the off-the-line thing sorted out for it to be perfect.

I think the kickdown works like normal - there's a button on the floor that gets pressed down under serious accelleration and triggers a kickdown moment.

dont need kick down when you have flappy paddles - just flip the left hand paddle twice and get it to shift down two cogs in an instant

I love the DSG box, and have found it better than a conventional auto in most cases.

The CR TDI 170 was good with it, and the 2.0 TSI with flappy paddles in a Scirocco with it was brilliant!

dont need kick down when you have flappy paddles - just flip the left hand paddle twice and get it to shift down two cogs in an instant

And then wait for a disconcerting split second of nothing before power kicks in with a shove. I've had a DSG for the last 3 years and it's something you have to live with. Overall it's a great piece of engineering though