This is only my 2nd automatic car and the last one I had was a Freelander 2 which was of course a torque converter box. I have always preferred manuals and enjoyed the involvement but since taking on my new job which involves 12 hour shifts and queuing traffic, coupled to my occasional back problems, I found the auto appealing. The DSG box also gives economy as good as the manual (in theory) and certainly better than torque converter boxes.
I am really pleased with it and its made my commute much more relaxed. The gear changes are like pure silk and only noticeable under kick down but I make a point of switching stop/start off until I am approaching traffic or lights where I can utilise it because the bloody thing cuts the engine when stationary at roundabouts giving way! Very awkward when your chance to go comes and you are waiting for the engine to fire up!
I have got the technique right now to avoid the lag that you get when setting off. Basically, if you hold the brake pedal down until the point when you need to accelerate, there is a slight lag before you zoom off. However, if for example you spot the last car coming from your right at a roundabout and your chance is coming, you just release the brake pedal and the lag is over with whilst said car is going past and your car begins to creep forwards. Then hit the go pedal and you zoom off instantly.
The acceleration is definitely easier and feels much faster than a manual too. Bearing in mind my car is the 95ps TSI and has no sporting pretensions at all, it should be destroyed on acceleration by a typical diesel manual rep car for example. However, I have found that in real world city centre driving between sets of lights, it zooms off so promptly that Mr Rep in his diesel manual who is poised in the overtaking lane, cannot quite understand how the little Polo has zoomed off ahead.
They say even a pro driver cannot change gear as fast as the DSG box, so the majority of drivers out there will change gear slower still hence why my Polo feels so zippy under acceleration.
I am aware that some owners of other VW's have had issues with DSG boxes and that they are very expensive to repair but my car is brand new so at least I have 3 years peace of mind with the warranty.
I have tried manual mode but don't plan to use it unless some circumstances dictate that it would be better to use manual mode. Perhaps if we get snow this winter I can utilise it to lock a given gear (got winter tyres ready anyway). S mode means faster progress than D and I use that at very busy roundabouts where I need to get gone really quickly.
Thumbs up from me thus far
For me, I wanted the DSG because I didn’t want to change gear and the manual shift that it does offer just doesn’t compare to a manual gearbox and doesn’t feel right.