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Golf GTD (DSG or Manual)?

5

55NF

New member
Location
UK
HI.... First post! I'm getting out of a 335d Touring and into a Golf GTD soon.

Just curious how good the DSG is as opposed to Manual? Quite fancy a manual again but not sure if I'd get tired of it.

Anybody driven both? I'm finding it difficult arranging a test drive with VW dealers.
 
J

JavaGreen94

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Cumbria, UK
I haven't driven a GTD but on my 3rd golf had 2 manuals and just bought a 17' R Line in DSG. I'd never considered DSG and at my dealer drove a 17 tiguan in DSG and fell in love. My golf arrived.from another dealer (was used with only 4k miles) and honestly I love it. I tend to drive it auto but occasionally use the paddles on the steering wheel to change up/down. I tend to drive it in 'normal' to preserve some mpg, but there's a noticeable difference in sport mode. I can say it's a really fun drive and I imagine would be more so in a GTD with the extra power. Mine is just a 2.0 150ps (insurance was too much for me on a GTD as female and only 23 and i drive it a lot and mpg slightly better).

Have a drive of one and.you won't go back to manual - coming from someone who said they'd never drive an auto!
 
Mk5Dom

Mk5Dom

Ready to race!
Location
UK
Car(s)
2.0 TDI CRBC
As above.

I never set out to buy a DSG but I couldn't pass on the spec and colour when my car became available.
I was sceptical at first but next VW will definitely be another DSG.

Go out and try one!
 
C

chiefhiawatha

Ready to race!
Location
Chicago
55NF said:
HI.... First post! I'm getting out of a 335d Touring and into a Golf GTD soon.



Just curious how good the DSG is as opposed to Manual? Quite fancy a manual again but not sure if I'd get tired of it.



Anybody driven both? I'm finding it difficult arranging a test drive with VW dealers.
Click to expand...



I’ve driven manuals for 30 years, absolutely love the shifting, and feel like I’m a better driver and more in the flow and attentive when I’ve got a manual.

I have a friend with an S3, and while waiting for her to get ready to go out, I took her car to get it gassed up. I wanted to dislike the dsg. I mean I really wanted to think how much better this thing would be with a stick. Nope. The dsg with the paddles isn’t the same, but damn that made me smile to rip around and crack off shifts so fast. To call it an automatic is a tremendous disservice. The sound it makes between shifts is great.

I don’t know if pairing a diesel with a dsg is better or worse than a gas engine, but I would not be disappointed if you couldn’t source a manual. The dsg is something else. And you can tune your car with a dsg without having to upgrade the clutch.
 
XoneDB4

XoneDB4

Ready to race!
Location
St Albans, UK
You have to go and test drive both. I used to swear I’d never have anything but a manual, but now I’m totally converted to DSG.

For a smaller car with less power where you really want to squeeze everything out of every gear, manual is better. But in a car like a GTD, the DSG is the best gearbox to pair with the engine IMO.
 
J

Jon2

Ready to race!
Location
Denley Moor
DSG with a petrol engine. A GT or R-Line with the 1.4 or new 1.5 ACT (Active Cylinder Technology) which shuts down two of the four cylinders under mild/normal throttle, but all cylinders kick in for acceleration. Diesels are on the way out and will be hit by tax over the next few years.
 
5

55NF

New member
Location
UK
I suppose the the only way to decide is to test drive both. VW though do seem useless when it comes to taking a car out.

I don't care about the depreciation & diesels being on the way out as it'll be Business Contract Hire. Thanks for the opinions / advice
 
DanDuda48

DanDuda48

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
St Albans, UK
Car(s)
Golf GTI & GTD
Besides testing it for yourself to see how you like it, it also depends on where you do most of your driving... If you do a lot of city driving stuck in traffic, DSG would suit you well. If you do a lot of motorway driving, manual will get you better mpg results...

P.S. Even Jeremy Clarkson changed his mind on DSG recently:
https://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews/clarkson/clarkson-review-2017-volkswagen-golf-gti/

However, most reviews of GTI recommend to stay with manual...
GTD is similar in this regard. I have a manual and very pleased with it!
 
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K

kevin.handley84

New member
I have a 330d with the 8AT and the wife has the DSG GTD.

Under the previous tax regime the manual GTD came in cheaper on road tax, so we drove both, but having been used to my auto (in the M135i at the time) she went for the DSG.

As a direct comparison to the gearbox in your 35d, the DSG doesn’t creep as smoothly from stand-still (which is to be expected I guess) but the crisp up shifts are where the DSG shines. Some good advice above, if using for any sort of commuting or in and around town I’d go with the DSG. Especially coming from the car you’ve got, I reckon the manual would annoy you. I found this going from a DSG R32 to manual 350z a few years back!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
D

Donscarlet

New member
Location
Oxford uk
DSG all the way. nothing like a standard automatic. much better instant shift and with ACC brilliant in stop & go traffic situations also on the motorway for a relaxed drive.with a gtd dsg you also get flappy paddles with instant response .
 
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B

bertj

Ready to race!
Location
Wirral (UK)
I've owned several DSG diesels over the years. My present Mk.7 Match 2 litre 150bhp is ideally suited to DSG and there is no way I would ever go back to manual. With increasing automation on cars (i.e. autonomous braking, steering, ACC, etc.) it's likely that many more cars will have some form of automatic gear changing to suit these new forms of automation.
I know this will upset some people but IMO manual cars will gradually be phased out by most manufacturers.
 
DanDuda48

DanDuda48

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
St Albans, UK
Car(s)
Golf GTI & GTD
bertj said:
I've owned several DSG diesels over the years. My present Mk.7 Match 2 litre 150bhp is ideally suited to DSG and there is no way I would ever go back to manual. With increasing automation on cars (i.e. autonomous braking, steering, ACC, etc.) it's likely that many more cars will have some form of automatic gear changing to suit these new forms of automation.
I know this will upset some people but IMO manual cars will gradually be phased out by most manufacturers.
Click to expand...
Actually this engine, 2.0 TDI 110kW/150hp will not be offered in Golf from MY 2019 (week 22 this May) with manual gearbox any longer...

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
 
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