Currently have a 68 plate SEL 150hp 4x4 manual 5 seat with 71k on the clock and pondering switching it before the miles creep up too much - I do 20-25k per year. How does the 150 DSG compare to the manual - read some stuff that says it might be a bit sluggish and the 200hp is a better bet? I have found a lower trim newer model with most of the SEL goodies specced on, but it doesnt have the Drive Mode Select. I do use that on my current kodiak, mostly driving in eco but switching to 'sport' for quiet country A roads and 'norma'l for going up and down the A9 if there's traffic for overtaking. How do cars without the Drive Model Select relate to those with it - are they set to 'normal', so the DMS gives you sport & eco options, or are they set to Sport so DMS gives you the two lower options? Would steering wheel paddles make any difference?

Can’t comment on the diesel specifically, but my understanding is that ‘normal’ is what you get if you don’t have the drive modes. All the drive modes are controlling for you at the moment is throttle response - with a DSG it also controls when the gearbox changes up/down, and also suspension stiffness if you have Dynamic Chassis Control as well.

 

Paddles are a bit superfluous IMHO - I have them and I very rarely use them. Your mileage may vary, of course, and I guess they could be useful as an alternative to the modes if you manually kick down a couple of gears before planting your foot down to overtake. In some respects, it might be a better combination for you if you want to replicate your experience of driving a manual ‘box than having the drive modes - even in sport you have to wait for the ‘box to react and kick down.

I have a 150 4x4 DSG. I used to drive a manual 150 4x4 Superb. I do around 18-25k miles a year.

 

The Kodiaq responds better than the Superb did when you push the pedal down hard / far. You *can* tap it to M and then drop three cogs, but the hard press on the loud pedal will get you there, too. Unless you've trained it to just hold the gear and try to accelerate. Even then, though, it will probably drop to 5 for an overtake instead of 4.

I don't find it spectacularly sluggish. Yes, on the way out of roadworks you're as fast as anything else, but that's the way it is. It's 150PS and 350Nm, it's not going to move mountains.

My Drive Mode is always "individual". I have the DCC on normal, the steering set to Sport and a couple of other bits tweaked and I really like it. I would not have spec'd it, but I am glad I have it. If you're towing, it's great in combination with DCC. Set suspension to Sport and the tail stops wagging the dog, and the rest stays as it is... very comfortable. It would try to drop into 7th at 90km/h, and as soon as there was a slight incline, drop to 6 or 5... and then it would sometimes go to 4 and the only real difference was the engine note. Speeds were kept very nicely indeed and with a *lot* less drama than the Superb did. I took a trailer to track the other year and boy, that took some serious stirring of the gearbox even though it was only around 400kg.

 

I used to have the 'box set to "sport", but it lost that on every start and the changes due to the summer trip - spending quite a lot of time in M, changing down the box - mean it now does that automagically and it's really rather good. I would have liked the paddles for this (and have had them on a rental or two - i find them useful on the really windy stuff and would have found them nice with the 'van on the back, but otherwise don't really miss them. Our roads are similar to yours in that there's not a lot of motorways and lots of overtaking opportunities need to be seized. I find leaving a certain amount of gap is always a good move and planning a little ahead... the DSG will be faster from 40-60mph than the manual can be (though I suspect most of that is just "bung it into 4th and floor it").

 

If you were going to fill the car and put 2 tons on the rear, I'd say yes, do the 190 or 200. Otherwise? don't really see the point.

I’m on Kodiaq No.3. 2L petrol after 2 diesels.

 

Multi-mode DSG every time.  Always with paddles. I also have DCC.

 

I flip-flop through gearbox modes and suspension modes all the time. And I mix and match all the permutations too.

 

Roughly 10K miles a year. A mix of open roads and regular “taxi” trips into Glasgow city.

 

My shift paddles get well used every trip. Very often to pull the car back into gear when Normal mode insists on coasting.

 

Sometimes in full manual mode when I’m having cross country fun in Sport mode.

 

ECO never gets used and Stop/Start is a no no.

 

You’ll have to decide what you need / want to suit your own driving style.

I'm currently on Kodiaq number 5 a mk2. I've previously owned a 150tdi front wheel drive, a 150tdi 4 wheel drive, a 190tsi, a 200tdi and currently a 1.5tsi e-tec.

I've never used paddles despite a few models (and a vRS Octavia) having them.

The Kodiaq is a large, quite weighty SUV and behaves appropriately in that role. 

Paddles and 'sport' mode won't alter that fact. 

I believe Mr Clarkson made 'flappy paddles' fashionable but very very few drivers ever use them. A bit like self parking.

On 23/09/2024 at 22:41, BoxerBoy said:

I’m on Kodiaq No.3. 2L petrol after 2 diesels.

 

Multi-mode DSG every time.  Always with paddles. I also have DCC.

 

I flip-flop through gearbox modes and suspension modes all the time. And I mix and match all the permutations too.

 

Roughly 10K miles a year. A mix of open roads and regular “taxi” trips into Glasgow city.

 

My shift paddles get well used every trip. Very often to pull the car back into gear when Normal mode insists on coasting.

 

Sometimes in full manual mode when I’m having cross country fun in Sport mode.

 

ECO never gets used and Stop/Start is a no no.

 

You’ll have to decide what you need / want to suit your own driving style.

Thank you for the clear scenario you give, for the use of both DCC and the drive modes. I totally agree! This is my second DSG Kodiak and for the first one, I was not sure how to use the full ranges to any advantage and I only ever used Eco and Drive. With my current 2019 4x4, I now use the paddles more for local driving, and I only use the manual (sideways shift) to return back to the  DSG Drive Mode! The mode "Individual" is a godsend for me as it brings in DCC as well as Eco. The greatest use I have found for the paddles is when I face the countryside hills on my East Pennine - especially when maneuvering a slow (I mean there are many 20mph warning bends, and with a downhill dip beyond), whereby the Drive or Eco (even Individual) can leave the revs screaming at 3000 whilst stuck in the low gear... the low gear that the the DSG chose to round the slow bend. Not nice. The '+' paddle can quickly select a higher gear to release the revs and the engine braking effect - far more quickly. I can still continue to stay with paddles until I am clear of those tight, slow, bends. 

Having just switched from a Superb to a Kodiaq, I like to drive in ECO mode and I find it a bit frustrating having to select it manually each time I start the engine, is there a way to select a default mode and have the car remember that setting?

14 minutes ago, Graham Butcher said:

Having just switched from a Superb to a Kodiaq, I like to drive in ECO mode and I find it a bit frustrating having to select it manually each time I start the engine, is there a way to select a default mode and have the car remember that setting?

No.