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So been told I won't get new gti until November now but have a question please about dsg. This will be the first car ever had with a dsg so was wondering if there are pros and cons over a manual box. Also, what are the modes you can have it in? Am i right there is an S position and i would use that with the sport mode option on the screen turned on, or is that not needed to be active? Any info is great please as trying to learn a bit while I wait for car.
Thank you

You don't have to be in driving profile "sport" to make the gearbox work in S.

Pull the DSG selector stick back and it switches the box to "Sport mode" (faster changes/holds onto the gears etc.). Pull it back again and it switches back to "Normal mode". Pull the gear shift selector to the right and this can be used to change the gears manually.

use the paddles on the steering wheel to manually change gears should you wish. Hold the up-shift paddle for at least 1 second and it switches back to auto mode.

Only my second car with a semi-auto box and I'm loving it. The first was a RS Clio EDC and the box in that was no where near as good as the one in the Polo GTi. Can't personally see any real down sides myself.

I must admit I rarely use Sport mode in mine unless I'm trying to show off. It holds the gears low so you've always got the power available to boot it, but it makes it quite tiring to drive for any length of time, and ruins your fuel economy. It sounds nice though.

There is also another mode called Eco/Economy mode. This does the opposite and makes it change up at the earliest opportunity. It will also make it drop out of gear and coast if you take your foot off the accelerator (provided you're not on a hill or braking). Whether this truly makes much difference I'm not too sure.

I tend to leave it in normal/Drive 99% of the time. You can still intervene with the paddles if you want to, but it will drop back to auto if you leave it long enough without shifting and it thinks you're not in the appropriate gear.

Pros over a manual? It can shift gears much, much faster than the average driver can manually, so you'll get a much faster and smoother acceleration. Also better fuel economy, and they're far more relaxing (almost effortless) to drive. Some will argue that you lose some of the fun and engagement of a manual box, which is a fair comment, but if you do a lot of long drives, or through heavy traffic, I know which one I'd rather be driving.

@tom.wright; sounds like you use your DSG pretty much like I do.

I’ve never used Eco mode and have used Sport mode no more than a handful of times in just over two years of ownership. I tend to just leave it in Normal mode and let it do it’s own thing l, and use the steering wheel mounted flappy paddles to intervene if I want to or feel I need to.

Having long term back-related issues (sciatica sufferer on and off for over 40 years, and a few slipped discs) that don’t improve with age, I find DSG certainly has benefits over a manual with no left leg work to do. My current car is the first DSG I’ve owned (always had manuals before) and I probably wouldn’t go back to a manual now.

It can also de-couple the engine and gearbox in "normal mode" as well.