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Will I hate a manual?

It's Sam

Go Kart Champion
Location
New York (The cool part)
Car(s)
X3 M40i
I live in CT and commute 50+ miles each way to White Plains. 84,684,287 has tons of traffic as you know. Traffic is no big deal.

I love having the manual on 22, saw mill, taconic. It’s a great driving experience.

The dsg will likely sell faster as people who can drive a manual are in short supply these days.

I test drove the dsg. Was not for me


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I really appreciate your input as I sometimes have a similar commute depending on where I'm working. Usually I hit the brunt of the Hutch traffic on my way home from work. But if you feel like it's not horrible on these roads, well that's sort of the dealbreaker for me. Thank you.

.

I'm using Tapatalk.
 

EpicTech

Autocross Champion
Location
Houston
Car(s)
MK7 GTI 6sp w/PP
I learned in a stick, a 79 VW Rabbit was my first car. Growing up I always preferred to have the ability to change gears when I wanted. I am still that way today. Auto's to me are for trucks,vans, and the family car. Performance cars in my opinion, are only truly experienced with a manual. Sure, DSG is faster, but what is the fun in letting a computer shift for you? It takes away from the element of enjoying the car. I'm a driving purist though, and prefer to keep my driving skills polished.
 

XM_Rocks

Autocross Newbie
Location
Austin, TX
I think if you would prefer a manual you wouldn't ask the question. I would go with DSG.

^ this.

This isn’t really a question if you want a manual.

I will continue to row my own gears until I am physically unable to.

It’s strange to see healthy and vibrant adults complain about operating a 4lb clutch in stop and go traffic. Seriously, I drive often in stop and go bumper to bumper traffic traveling 8 miles in an hour.

I don’t even realize that I am operating a clutch, it’s that easy.

One day we’ll all be older and may not be able to operate a clutch without pain, until then enjoy it.

I drive a manual and I like it but the clutch is weak and the risk of crank wall is there, get a DSG and enjoy.

That’s like saying don’t leave the house because you might get hit by lightning. :D
 
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PRRGG1

Drag Racing Champion
Location
USA
I'd like to ask a DSG question, as I've been a manual guy all my 60+ year old life and in a quandary like the OP. I'm strongly considering the DSG.

Working a manual, we are innately aware when to shift to maximize acceleration. Using DSG paddles in manual mode, is that same awareness present? What happens if you mess up and shift the DSG at the wrong time? Can you feel it and have enough feedback to improve technique? Thank you.
 

dr1980

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Canada
I will say, however, that the 1-2 shift in my Golf R is miserable. You have to wait a long beat or two if you want it to just slip into gear nicely, otherwise it feels like you're asking too much of the synchronizer. Thus, I find I wait until I'm in second gear before I give it much throttle (feels stupid to blast forward in 1st just to hang for an eternity before grabbing 2nd). This bothers me a bit, so I thought I'd warn you to look for it (some folks claim their 1-2 syncs are smooth as butter, so it could vary).

This is what drove me nuts in my 6MT GTI, I just could not get the kind of shifts I wanted from 1-2.
 

imthanick_a

Autocross Champion
Location
Ohio
This is all subjective. Some people think manual is fun, some people (like myself) think manual is a pain in the ass and don't want to have to worry about clutching and shifting and all that jazz when theyre trying to take a nice relaxing drive.

If I want to shift, I can with with my DSG but I can also just put it in drive and go. (insert obligatory "bUt ItS nOT thE SaMe aS MaNuAl SHifTs" comment. I know, we get it. Its not the same. The function is there, but the form is not.)

If you increase power, you'll have to upgrade a clutch for manual or tune your DSG.

IMO, as others have stated, if you have to ask the question "am I going to hate it" chances are your brain already thinks you're going to hate it. I would go with something you know you'll be comfortable with.
 

sterkrazzy

Autocross Champion
Location
United States
Car(s)
Turbo. Blue.
IMO, as others have stated, if you have to ask the question "am I going to hate it" chances are your brain already thinks you're going to hate it. I would go with something you know you'll be comfortable with.

That's pretty much why I got a manual. There were too many unknowns with the dsg, so I got what I'm used to.
 

LBmk7r

New member
Location
BC
Out of the box, DSG is the way to go IMO. If you are going to leave the car as is, or do minimal mods, DSG would likely be more economical. There is nothing "sporty" about the manual this car comes with. Sloppy rubber bushings, swirl valves, assist springs, plastic shift relays and the plastic shifter is held on by a clamp. it has shift feels like it was constructed of wood. A precision pine construction I will give it that.
 

virpacalis

Go Kart Newbie
Location
near Philly
Car(s)
'17 R DSG
It might be worth considering the availability of used MK7s with manuals vs. DSGs. If people are keeping or snatching up the latter, perhaps resale will be easier for it.
 

sjdarcy2000

New member
I really appreciate your input as I sometimes have a similar commute depending on where I'm working. Usually I hit the brunt of the Hutch traffic on my way home from work. But if you feel like it's not horrible on these roads, well that's sort of the dealbreaker for me. Thank you.

.

I'm using Tapatalk.



Last week was the worst traffic I have experienced in 20 years from Newtown to White Plains. Average drive home was 3 hours. Leg never got tired and the back roads through Bedford were amazing with the twisters and fall colors. Loved every minute of the drive.


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TrinivdubOG

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Caribbean
All of these threads are exactly the same, dude no one can decide but you and it's always going to be the same answers posted in the other threads which basically are all manual VS dsg threads.

It's all up to you, go take a test drive of both then make the decision for yourself.
 

bkishore_77

New member
Location
NC
Based on my lack of long-term enthusiasm for the dual-clutch and automatics, I bought a 6MT 981 for myself and the 6MT R. I love the weight of the clutch and the ease with which it slides between gears 2-3-4-5-6. I enjoy the heck out of shifting it through those gears during normal driving. Nailing the perfect rev-match is endlessly satisfying. I will say, however, that the 1-2 shift in my Golf R is miserable. You have to wait a long beat or two if you want it to just slip into gear nicely, otherwise it feels like you're asking too much of the synchronizer. Thus, I find I wait until I'm in second gear before I give it much throttle (feels stupid to blast forward in 1st just to hang for an eternity before grabbing 2nd). This bothers me a bit, so I thought I'd warn you to look for it (some folks claim their 1-2 syncs are smooth as butter, so it could vary).

This is what drove me nuts in my 6MT GTI, I just could not get the kind of shifts I wanted from 1-2.


I thought I'm the only one struggling to get that smooth shift from 1st to 2nd. I get it correct when I really concentrate in my shift else will get that ever so light jerk.
 

NCM

Ready to race!
Location
Fort Wayne, IN, USA
Car(s)
2015 Golf R
All of these threads are exactly the same, dude no one can decide but you and it's always going to be the same answers posted in the other threads which basically are all manual VS dsg threads.

Irrespective of the general 6MT vs. DSG arguments, the one thing you can't get around is that, judging against other transmissions in the same category, the R's 6MT drivetrain is mediocre, whereas the DSG is fairly decent.

The 6MT's main problem is the weak clutch, but nobody would ever claim the shift action to be best in class either.

The DSG's only real problem is that its factory programing, which is too eager to reach a high gear and quite reluctant to downshift, is out of step with the R's character. It's also worse than the dual clutch programming in other VAG cars I've driven extensively (Tiguan, Audi Q5), and not nearly as good as BMW (M2, M3, M6). Fortunately this can be much improved with aftermarket TCU programming. Or by rowing the flappy paddles yourself.

So for this car at least, the decision isn't so much between 6MT and DSG as a matter of personal preference — or principle! — but between a substantially flawed 6MT and a pretty good DSG.

By the way, I'm a lifelong stick shifter who bought a DSG Golf R — although not for the reasons outlined above, which weren't generally clear at the time I bought my 2015 R. I also had, and still have, an M3 track car with a 6MT, and thought I'd explore the newer technology's benefits with my daily.
 
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