22REpower
Well-known member
What's your actual definition of an "auto" transmission? Because in 2018 that seems to be an overly vague term thrown around. Is everything without 3 pedals an auto? If not, is PDK an auto? The quality of life improvements of a PDK or well implemented DSG are a welcome improvement. I've only ever driven 3 pedals cars, that amounts to 6 cars in all my years. I've recently spent some time with a modern DSG and will likely never go back to 3 pedals for a commuter car. When in manual mode you have the benefit of the car automatically shifting into 1st gear as you come to a stop, so there's no toying like you would in a 3 pedal setup to get the car back into 1st to accelerate again (think any situation where you don't come to a complete stop.) Perfect up shifts at redline - so there is no tach watching or listening for an audible notification on when to shift, also no potential for mis shift. And then there the open option to stick in "drive" when in traffic. You can still do all of the fun stuff in manual mode, like holding your desired gear, down shifting to reduce speed and avoid braking, satisfaction for user interaction with the paddles, etc.
I used to be a die hard 3 pedal egoist - everything else was inferior. For commuter purposes, the 3 pedal setup should be put to rest IMO.
For ease of repair, reliability and durability, manual transmission got no match, but i agree that those points are not really sinificant in an overly complicated german car.