Husband needs convincing on DSG please

[Dancebluecat]

Suggesting to OH that a Yeti 1.2 DSG is a good idea, whilst he is convinced on the 1.2 engine, he is yet to be convinced that an automatic will be worth the extra cost - how can I get him around to the idea?

 

Thanks

[LeeHarrison]

Drive it, you (he) won't be disappointed!!! 

[grr666]

Bored maybe but not disappointed...

If buying new and planning on keeping for a

good fews years then get extended warranty.

They are devilishly expensive to repair if they go wrong.  

[Paul52]

Because you are looking at a 1.2 TSi you shouldn't have any problems finding both a manual and a DSG to try back-to-back, either demonstrators or second hand on the forecourt. Despite everyone's best intentions on offering advice based on their own experience it's going to come down to personal preference and your financial situation. Before you go out, think about a suitable route of a reasonable length that is representative of the sort of driving you are most likely to do - there's no point mostly buzzing down a by-pass if most of your driving is twisty lanes or Reading's streets. My dealer arranged something similar for me when I was deliberating between the Greenline or 1.2TSi (I already knew, rightly or wrongly, I didn't want a DSG). Having driven both I decided on a 1.2TSi because it better met my requirements. I've been very happy with it so far. 

 

Hopefully after driving both you will be able to agree on  a DSG or a manual - or perhaps make a dealer very happy and buy one of each! Good luck.

[BossFox]

The DSG - 1.2tsi combo is a very good one, provided you don't want rapid acceleration at motorway speeds. (but this is the engine)

Plus you get 7 gears and fabulous gear changing for really smooth progress.

 

As long as the driver is not enthusiastic and has a thing for controlling everything, try one.

[Yearofthegoat]

Don't bother with DSG unless he has difficulty with a manual.  I tried it and it didn't respond quickly enough for me.  For example pulling out into a busy road you put your foot down and for maybe half a second nothing happens - and then it goes.  Dangerous until you're used to it, I'd say.

 

More expense, more to go wrong, steer clear in my opinion.

[BossFox]

Don't bother with DSG unless he has difficulty with a manual.  I tried it and it didn't respond quickly enough for me.  For example pulling out into a busy road you put your foot down and for maybe half a second nothing happens - and then it goes.  Dangerous until you're used to it, I'd say.

 

More expense, more to go wrong, steer clear in my opinion.

 

Ours doesn't do that, it's how you drive it.

 

There seems to be a point on the brake pedal where the power starts to come in, if you press the brake all the way down it seems to (for want of a better word) "disconnect" drive so it then has the delay pulling away.

If you start to let the brake pedal up a bit before you go then it just goes as it's ready.

[Dancebluecat]

Thanks all so far - a test drive of both sounds like a good idea

[yetifabia]

There are a number of issues which divide opinion on this board, and this is one of them.  One thing that I do notice is that the majority of the anti-DSG posters don't actually have a car with DSG, so you have to wonder about the validity of their opinions.

 

I'm an unashamed DSG enthusiast.  For decades I shunned automatics and only drove SWMBO's car under protest.  When she got the Fabia 1.2TSi DSG I had to be prised out of it!  I've now got a DSG Yeti and love it.  I absolutely agree that a test drive of DSG is the answer.  I'll be surprised if you don't both love it.  If you don't, fair enough, but don't be put off by theoretical problems.

[jonceebee]

Don't bother with DSG unless he has difficulty with a manual.  I tried it and it didn't respond quickly enough for me.  For example pulling out into a busy road you put your foot down and for maybe half a second nothing happens - and then it goes.  Dangerous until you're used to it, I'd say.

 

More expense, more to go wrong, steer clear in my opinion.

What rubbish, have you actually got one? trying out on a demo is not good enough.. I have not noticed this from mine in any form. Perhaps you like to boy race at the traffic lights, roundabouts etc. If so you may be correct to a degree, but otherwise the gearbox and drive is a dream, Looking at comments from existing owners, yes more expense initially, yes could be more to go wrong but there seems to be no evidence of this happening as yet.

[darrenm2001]

I'm sure I'm like many others who were firmly in the 'no automatic for me' camp, thinking that an auto would make driving less enjoyable. It was only after trying my brother's auto Roomster back in 2008 that I had my mind permanently changed.

 

I found driving an auto much more enjoyable as you spend more time in driving well (for instance, your positioning on the road and taking corners more neatly (or spiritedly   )) then you do fiddling with gears. You also get more time to enjoy the view and I believe more alert to spot any potential dangers.

 

My next car was an auto (an Octavia 1.4 TSI DSG), then another (a Fabia II vRS (also DSG)). Then in effort to save money I reverted back to a manual car (a Fabia Monte Carlo). This was a huge mistake. Just 12 months later and only 9000 miles on the clock the Monte was gone and was replaced by a brand new Yeti 1.2 DSG. Still only 10 months old it now has 17,000 miles on the clock. I just love driving it (hence the mileage) and would heartily recommend any DSG-equipped car.

 

Yes, having a manual car can be fun for about 5% of your time sat behind the wheel, but for the other 95% of the time it's just an unnecessary slog.

 

I would never buy a manual car again.

[Yearofthegoat]

What rubbish, have you actually got one? trying out on a demo is not good enough.. I have not noticed this from mine in any form. Perhaps you like to boy race at the traffic lights, roundabouts etc. If so you may be correct to a degree, but otherwise the gearbox and drive is a dream, Looking at comments from existing owners, yes more expense initially, yes could be more to go wrong but there seems to be no evidence of this happening as yet.

Yes I had an automatic in the past, and I tried a demo of Skoda DSG in a Superb II.

 

No, I don't like to "boy race" - those days are long in the past, and I usually have my two children in the car so I wouldn't put them at any risk - hence my dislike for DSG.

 

The OP asked for opinions on DSG, and I gave mine.

[Wiganyeti]

To see the major benefit of the Automatic you need to test drive one in bumper to bumper rush hour traffic ,I find it so much more relaxing. 

[BossFox]

Funny enough, I am not actually a fan of DSG boxes generally as I like the manual interaction and am a bit of a driving enthusiast.

 

But having said that, the 1.2-DSG combo is a good one and if you are a driving enthusiast you are unlikely to be looking at a 1300kg brick with a 1.2 engine.

[MarieK]

Living too far away from the dealership I didn't have the luxury of test driving different options, so I stuck with what I know....manual.

It could be that I'm missing out on something that I would ultimately prefer, who knows?

So yes test driving both versions if you can is your best bet to see what suits you and HWMBO.

[Yearofthegoat]

It is much easier to eat your chips with your left hand when driving an automatic.  And you don't get knee ache when in stop-start traffic.

 

But as Boss Fox says, it's horses for courses as to whether you like automatics or not overall (I would never say someone else's experience is "rubbish" just because it doesn't match theirs).  Extended test drive would seem to be the best way to find out.

[Buck]

We have 1.2 DSG both my better half and I love it this is our second dsg, would now not look at any other type.Enjoy and have fun this is the best thing since sliced bread.

[LadyVienna]

Ive got an auto at the moment and for traffic jams it is absolutely brilliant. Had it for 5 years now (previously only ever driven manuals). They are extremely expensive when they go wrong. The previous owner of mine had a new autobox put in but it cost him a lot. They are great for driving if you have sprained your left leg/ hand/ arm! However being that they cost more to start with and the potential for it to go wrong I personally have ordered a manual for my nex car. However I would have very happily had a dsg had the cost and reliability been the same!

[Brijo]

I'm another 'never have another manual' member.  Whether the drive is laid-back cruising or 'making progress', round our hairpin hills or (occasionally) on the motorway, with or without the caravan, I confidently let the DSG select the right moment for an instant shift.  95% of the time I don't give it a thought and can just enjoy the drive; once in a while I can see something that the DSG can't, so I move the stick left and briefly take over. 

 

A DSG is good for a marriage, too!  (Now there's a new angle!)  M'lady is a good driver, if a little cautious (no bad thing usually) but her judgement of the right moment to shift was not always the same as mine, particularly if there's a need to go - irritating when I'm the passenger.  Now, the DSG box does it's unobtrusive magic for her just as well as for me - bliss  ! 

 

There are pre-loved 1.2 DSGs around now.  Just try one ....

 

 

 

 

[rockhopper]

I have owned manuals and automatics. At one point I subscribed to the theory of wanting to be in control if the car.

Funnily enough I feel more in control using an automatic. Especially my Yeti, which has retro retted a flappy paddle MFSW.

My hands never need to leave the steering wheel.

I have only driven now about 90,000 miles in cars with DSG boxes. I would never by a manual again.

I can't comment on the 1.2 DSG combo, as I have never driven one, I have the DSG6 with the 2.0 Diesel engine. I have never had any problems.

They do take a little time to learn how to get the best out if them, so a test drive will never be long enough. They are semi automatic as opposed to a 'real' automatic.

The last 'real' automatic I drove I had to stand on the brake to stop it from creeping forwards. The DSG is so pleasant to drive in comparison.

I have said this before, but I would say in my experience of being driven over a few decades, that 99% of the population would give a smoother ride to their passengers if they drove an auto. I hate being driven because I hate being jerked about by people who say they want to be in control of the car when they have absolutely no clutch control.

Gets off soap box.

[Gomezz]

I don't have a Yeti, but I do have a X DAG Octavia.

After two years of driving this I can't see me and the wife wanting to drive any other kind of car without a DSG.

After reading some of the comments on this and other threads I can see where some may have had problems, we used to have a Citroen C4 Picasso with their version! of this, an EGS . It was rubbish, never in the right gear, scared to pull out at junctions, and roundabouts! Ooowww what fun.

Tested Skoda's DSG, totally different.

It works for us. :love:

Gomezz.

Edited 31 July, 2013 by Gomezz

[oldstan]

With regard to the DSG in the 1.2, relative to the other, more powerful, engine options I think I'd like to emphasize what I see as a particular characteristic of the 1.2 / DSG combination.  I admit to not having driven a manual 1.2 so disregard this if you wish, but.....it has to be said that some regard 1200cc to be quite small in the Yeti and suggest it's not for those wishing for the torque and 'out and out gusto' and flexibility of the larger engines - and maybe they have a point (although I don't have a problem with the performance of mine in any way, shape or form), however, could it be that any, actual or perceived, lack of power associated with the 1.2 may be "disguised" by the DSG by virtue of the fact that it is constantly sensing which gear it wants to be in and selects, for itself, the next gear down as soon as it decides it wants it (and does so remarkably imperceptibly and quickly).  Maybe the box is changing up and down more than a  manual driver might change change him/herself and the average driver using a 1.2 / DSG comination might not take that much notice of the, more frequent, changes which are, perhaps, compensating for the lack of power/torque which would be available to the drivers of the bigger engine versions???

 

On the other hand I could be completely wrong.......

 

What definitely is a point of consideration for me is whether to keep it beyond three years without a warranty or to buy a warranty from a VAG approved source and hope that if the worst happened, they would fix it if it went wrong.  I've said before that my dealer has intimated that as it's been dealer serviced they would contribute to the cost of 'out of warranty' repairs to the DSG / Mechatronic unit..........but  trusting to a word of mouth assurance is one hell of a gamble when the repairs to these things run into thousands rather than hundreds.

Edited 31 July, 2013 by oldstan

[jst_at_home]

We have a 140 DSG Yeti and did have 1.2 DSG Roomster. The DSG is/was superb with both engines. I have to say that while the performance delivery was different between diesel and petrol engines, neither disappointed.

I would have no difficulty recommending either. The VW DSG gearbox is a fantastic piece of kit.

John

[JCP]

Oldstan, I suspect you are on to something. The bigger the engine, and higher the torque the less gearchanging is needed. I wouldn't use the word disguised but believe that making a small engine work in a middle sized car a seven speed DSG with good electronic control will optimise the performance and do a better job than even a skilled driver.

[Sandy Blaster]

My wife has a 1.2 SE + DSG and loves it. She was first converted to automatics by driving my, then, Perodua Kelisa Auto and subsequently I persuaded her to get a Citroen Xsara Picasso 2.0 petrol auto, she had previously had two Xsara Picasso manuals. We test drove the Citroen Picasso C4 but found it distinctly unresponsive to directions to go when you pressed the accelorator. So then test drove the Xsara Picasso with the "true" torque convertor auto box. Brilliant, so she had one of those for three years. Then had a Nissan Note Tekna Auto but the seats were not as comfortable

as the Picasso. So when it was time for change went back to the Nissan dealer but parked outside the adjacent Skoda franchise, so went in to have a look. She had a test drive in a Fabia but fell in love with the Yeti. I was reticent to go for the DSG having been very happy with  full torque converter autos, but I am now also a convert.

We still have the Picasso and it is nice to have the power when you need it but I was very pleasantly suprised that the 1.2 DSG Yeti had so much go.

 

I hope this gives you some further confirmation that the 1.2 DSG Yeti is a very good and does compare favourably with the Xsara Picasso.