Diesel DSG's

[handyandy79]

There are a few reviews of the diesel dsg's that say they can be hesitant and get generally confused now and again. I like the idea of the dsg with the traffic being what it is these days but like the control of a manual. How do the dsg's perform in the real world and has anybody noticed the problems mentioned? Does the dsg suit a particular configuration better, 150, 190, 190 4x4?

[dstev2000]

I've done around 5000 miles in my 190 DSG. I has got confused about 3 times in total. I drive in and out of London regularly which is obviously lots of stop start traffic. It handles things perfectly 99.9% of the time. 

 

If you've come from a manual, you need time to acclimatise to the DSG way of things. I noticed the box hunting around the gears more than I would like at first, but I'm now used to it. You have to accept the software knows best and let it get on with the job at hand. 

 

The changes up through the gears are seamless and near instant. It creeps in traffic just like a slush box, so no real problems in the rush hour. If it's paired up with the adaptive cruise control, you get Traffic Assist which allows the car to brake to a stop and pull away again all on its own. A very nice feature in traffic. 

 

This is my first auto and first DSG. I won't be going back to a manual box again, that's for sure! 

[Kungfugerbil]

Pretty much as above really. 190 4x4 DSG. Suits it really well I think. Easy to pootle around and very good in town. Happy enough when making progress too.

I've only put about 1.5K miles on mine so far but absolutely the right gearbox for me.

[Simon-R]

I have done 9000 miles in my 150 dsg. It is my first dsg and I think it is great. Very occasionally it seems to change down a gear too many when accelerating away from roundabouts but no big issue. Would never go back to a manual.

[DynamicT]

Haven't done many miles in our 2.0 /150 dsg but it seems pretty smart to me, rarely hesitates or holds the wrong gear. Bigger issues myself with the stop / start (there's a technique to it) and the throttle response which is a tad on the slow side.

[handyandy79]

Thanks all - very reassuring. I am not keen on stop start or electronic handbrakes but i suppose you just get ussd to them. How do you find the low speed maneuverability? Such as car park parking.

Edited 3 May, 2016 by handyandy79

[Rainmaker]

Thanks all - very reassuring. I am not keen on stop start or electronic handbrakes but i suppose you just get ussd to them. How do you find the low speed maneuverability? Such as car park parking.

 

If you turn off the auto hold and just use the brake in the same way you would the clutch in a manual (i.e. feathering on/off for fine control of the car) it's no different, really. I believe it can be trickier uphill though as you need to apply some gentle acceleration to stop the car rolling forwards down the hill, which would obviously make fine grained reversing more difficult. I've never had an issue though.

[philpix]

No mention of Park Assist with DSG.

Is it that nobody uses it?

[Simon-R]

No mention of Park Assist with DSG.

Is it that nobody uses it?

 

I have had a number of cars with park assist type functions, never used any of them. Seems to take too long to set up.

 

 

Thanks all - very reassuring. I am not keen on stop start or electronic handbrakes but i suppose you just get ussd to them. How do you find the low speed maneuverability? Such as car park parking.

 

The first thing I do when starting the car is to turn stop/start off. The auto hold works well for me, may not suit everyone.

[philpix]

Do you have to disable S/S every trip Simon?

[Prykey]

Do you have to disable S/S every trip Simon?

 

Yes, every time you turn the vehicle off the Start/Stop resets itself to on, the only way round this is to get someone with access to VCDS to change the Voltage Value that triggers the system to work permanently. I know that Gizmo68 has done this. 

[dstev2000]

There are two buttons I haven't touched once on my car: Park Assist and Stop/Start. 

 

The former is too much grief. I have been working in central London for almost 20 years and already know how to park a car, albeit a big one. 

 

The latter works fine for me, so no need to turn it off. I spend a lot of my time sitting still in hideous traffic, so why let the engine sit there idling if I don't need to? 

 

As I say, it works for ME, but might not work so well for others. I'd at least give Stop/Start a chance before disabling it. 

[Kungfugerbil]

^ Once again, exactly the same for me. No issue with stop/start whatsoever so I just leave it be. I keep meaning to try out the self parking but I'm sure it would take longer to fiddle around than just, you know, parking the thing...

[philsmith]

Tried the park assist in my very quiet road in the middle of the day when there was no traffic but in real conditions it is just quicker and easier to park manualy!

Must be good for those that cannot park though (about 90% of drivers!) as it does work very well when used.

[dstev2000]

The biggest deterrent for the Park Assist is the massive granite kerbs they use in London (other towns and cities are available) and the risk of kerbing the 19" alloys on them. 

 

I'll try it out one day I'm sure. 

[philpix]

Don't the sensors pick up the high kerbs then?

[dstev2000]

I know the sensors can see 360º around the car when i'm sitting in traffic, but I don't know how accurate they are for parking. 

[philpix]

Could be a bit of an expensive test.

[dstev2000]

Could be a bit of an expensive test.

Indeed it could. Any volunteers?  :no:

[maherto]

I use the park assist often , mainly for parallel parking so far it's being 100% and can get in to tight spots . I am no parking novice but this never makes a mess of it and cause you to start over. I don't see the point of the forward or reverse park function gave used it but only as a novelty.on a side note you can also exit a spot with the park assist

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[Gizmo]

Park assist will put the car into a gap smaller than what I would ‘normally’ try to get into, it usually goes along the line of:

press button

car picks a gap

I think... REALLY?

into reverse and in she goes, it only needs about a gap about 18” or so bigger than the car to get into.

 

As for the curbs, I have my n/s mirror set to dip when reverse is engaged so I can keep an eye on the curb, so far it has not touched it.

[FelisBengalensis]

I've had full autos and manuals with this being the first DSG I have driven. I have found it is far better to use the paddles as the box regularly - and I mean every day - fails to react to throttle properly in 'Comfort/Norm' mode. It is much better in Sport and rarely gets that wrong. Eco is IMHO a total waste of time and on my journeys makes the situation much worse then it needs to.

Most of my journeys are mixed NSL/70mph with some rural roads which require more activity from the box due to hills, sharp corners, narrow bits etc. Town driving is fine as others report, as is motorway driving.

My full auto BMW rarely gets the gears wrong but then it is I suspect running on a programme less aimed at fuel economy than the S3 190 DSG. The S3 map just seems totally determined to get in as high a gear as it can as soon as possible. This is the map, not the hardware! That can and does often leave the box floundering and the engine off the turbo and gutless. For a 170bhp (I know it's 190PS in 'metric' but......) the performance is uninspiring unless driven in Sport. Sport transforms the car and keeps it in the right gear all the time. It is not as if this is a heavy car really - even in 4x4 trim as mine is.

My advice would be for you to road test it on the type of roads you will use normally and then decide if it works for you.