13 minutes ago, SuperbTWM said:

 

You mean apart from reliability and maintenance costs. Doesn't matter much if you are the sort of person who will never own the car of course but those who keep cars a while or buy second hand it could be an issue.

 

 

Maintenance cost in oil changes yes. Same for autos. Even manual boxes need oil changes but they are cheaper. 

 

Reliability will depend. VW dry clutch DSG is of course asking for trouble. The bigger boxes generally are good. Probably more likely to get hit with other problems first.

 

I'd say if ultimate reliability is a top requirement, VW or German cars won't normally be a good choice. I'd also take a good torque converter auto over a DSG if I want take the least amount of risk. Basically buy a Toyota Camry or Lexus. Toyota's hybrid drive system is fantastic for reliability, despite the adddtion of electrical propulsion. I would happily do 20k miles per year in a hybrid Toyota Camry or ES300h. 

 

End of the day, one can decide based on the use case. For years I am wary of VAG car's reliability despite all the praise of soft touch interiors by journos. I chose to buy a 280 over a Lexus GS450h due to interior practically which I don't want to sacrifice. I only drive 5k a year, and if my car has a reasonably maintainable lifespan of 100k miles, I would still need 17years to reach that (car bought used at 15k miles). I can live with that. Time for a change after 17years lol. 

13 minutes ago, BriskodaJeff said:

I'd be interested in a fuller view on this one @SuperbTWM. I'm an owner and planning to keep mine for at least a couple more years. I did a lot of research before buying and from my reading the DSG box on mine (MY17) is pretty bullet-proof. Did I miss something?

 

I'm not saying you have anything to worry about, but like everything, the more moving parts and the more electronics you have the more likely it is to fail. I don't think anybody would ever stick their neck out and say that a DSG is more reliable than a manual.

 

Just now, KeteCantek said:

Maintenance cost in oil changes yes. Same for autos. Even manual boxes need oil changes but they are cheaper. 

 

Reliability will depend. VW dry clutch DSG is of course asking for trouble. The bigger boxes generally are good. Probably more likely to get hit with other problems first.

 

I'd say if ultimate reliability is a top requirement, VW or German cars won't normally be a good choice. I'd also take a good torque converter auto over a DSG if I want take the least amount of risk. Basically buy a Toyota Camry or Lexus. Toyota's hybrid drive system is fantastic for reliability, despite the adddtion of electrical propulsion. I would happily do 20k miles per year in a hybrid Toyota Camry or ES300h. 

 

End of the day, one can decide based on the use case. For years I am wary of VAG car's reliability despite all the praise of soft touch interiors by journos. I chose to buy a 280 over a Lexus GS450h due to interior practically which I don't want to sacrifice. I only drive 5k a year, and if my car has a reasonably maintainable lifespan of 100k miles, I would still need 17years to reach that (car bought used at 15k miles). I can live with that. Time for a change after 17years lol. 

Manual doesn't require oil change at all. In fact most people don't ever replace oil in manual transmission. Scheduled maintenance wise, Skoda does not recommend replacing oil on manual gearboxes. 
Rest I would agree 😃

3 minutes ago, KeteCantek said:

I'd also take a good torque converter auto over a DSG if I want take the least amount of risk.

 

I agree, especially for those that tow a lot as well or do any off roading, they can take the abuse and slippage that DSG clutch packs won't.

Edited 29 September, 20196 yr by SuperbTWM

Wet Clutch DSG's tow just fine the weights the cars can tow and any offroading any Skoda is doing is tracks so onroad maybe just not tar.

Now i wonder who says, i want my Amarok or Caravelle 4Motion with a manual. Or my Kodiaq vRS / Touareg with a manual.

If they were that good they wouldn't still be using an old school auto in the Touareg

Edited 29 September, 20196 yr by SuperbTWM

Braked towing capacity is from 3,500kg.

Horses for courses and sometimes a DSG will do for lighter duties, eg their limited max towing capcity,

maybe for more you need a clydesdale.

1 hour ago, JackySi said:

Manual doesn't require oil change at all. In fact most people don't ever replace oil in manual transmission. Scheduled maintenance wise, Skoda does not recommend replacing oil on manual gearboxes. 
Rest I would agree 😃

Weird. My last car, a Honda has an interval for gearbox oil changes. Can't remember what the interval is now. Not that expensive to do even at main dealers. Only took max 2litres of GB fluid. 

 

Not sure about Skoda manuals but I'd be wary. Some car manufacturers have sealed for life auto boxes and see how that turned out. 

1 hour ago, SuperbTWM said:

 

I agree, especially for those that tow a lot as well or do any off roading, they can take the abuse and slippage that DSG clutch packs won't.

For towing and off roading, definitely a TC auto is better. TC are designed to slip so perfect for those applications where you'd encounter lots of clutch slip. 

1 hour ago, KeteCantek said:

Weird. My last car, a Honda has an interval for gearbox oil changes. Can't remember what the interval is now. Not that expensive to do even at main dealers. Only took max 2litres of GB fluid. 

 

Not sure about Skoda manuals but I'd be wary. Some car manufacturers have sealed for life auto boxes and see how that turned out. 

Very interesting! Well VW/Renault defo don't replace oil in manuals.

I don't understand how dual clutch isn't as good for towing as manual? In fact I'd say DSG is better as it's always run under oil (less issues with overheating) and it has multiple clutches in two packs? It's also made bit more robust. I'm no expert on DSG, but cool to know towing isn't good for clutches 😃 As far as I see, u can tow without issues. And by logic DSG is more robust then Manual.  

P.S.: However, "riding" auto clutches is much easier than manual (as u have no control) and that will defo destroy clutches... This video is perfect explanation. 
 

 

Edited 29 September, 20196 yr by JackySi

21 minutes ago, JackySi said:

I don't understand how dual clutch isn't as good for towing as manual?

P.S.: However, "riding" auto clutches is much easier than manual (as u have no control) and that will defo destroy clutches... This video is perfect explanation. 
 

 

 

You have hit the nail on the head. I don't see DSG gearboxes as not being as durable, but they can be more susceptible to abuse by people who may treat them like a 'proper' automatic as you have said and prematurely wear them out.

29 minutes ago, SuperbTWM said:

 

You have hit the nail on the head. I don't see DSG gearboxes as not being as durable, but they can be more susceptible to abuse by people who may treat them like a 'proper' automatic as you have said and prematurely wear them out.

Yea slippage wise, TC is defo far better yeah. It was designed for trucks :=). Too bad most VW cars don't even have an option to get "normal auto". 
But for "normal" use if you don't ride clutch, it's also totally fine 😃 

9 hours ago, BriskodaJeff said:

I'd be interested in a fuller view on this one @SuperbTWM. I'm an owner and planning to keep mine for at least a couple more years. I did a lot of research before buying and from my reading the DSG box on mine (MY17) is pretty bullet-proof. Did I miss something?

 

Additionally I have to agree with @KeteCantek that the DSG is vastly superior to manual in daily driving. Just my experience based on two manual Mk2s and a DSG Mk3.

Can't offer anything in terms of the my17 dsg being bulletproof. My superb (2.0 D exec) is actually a manual. I really wasn't that bothered, came down to if i saw a car at a good price in a nice colour that's been looked after, I'll get it whether it's auto or manual. So I've currently got a manual. I would say 90% of my commute is quietish motorway, so I just whack it in sixth, acc on 80 and away we go. I think the only time so far where I really thought ooh a dsg would've been nice was a 12 mile part of a recent journey that took 3 hours on the m6 car park 😔 But aside from that, I am absolutely loving the manual! 😀