DSG or Manual?

[Andre Jordaan]

Hi guys!

Guys, I need solid advise here...

I am looking at a few VWs. Jetta, Passat, Caddy and Tiguan (albeit the new shape Tiguan is still a bit expensive). As far as the research I've done it looks like its gonna be Caddy Alltrack 2.0TDi.

NOW. I need to decide between a DSG and a manual. I haven't owned a modern VW (only a Golf 1) as I've mostly owned Japs in recent years.

I am looking at a year old vehicle with about 20K on the clock. Do I go for a manual, or a DSG? Is DSG reliable enough that I won't have sleepless nights over it?

I will be doing around 15K Km a year, plan to drive the car for 3 years MAX. Will a DSG give me grief during that time?

I take very very good care of my vehicles. I don't drive hard (espesially when cold) and service annually.

The Alltrack comes wit 81Kw in Manual form and 103Kw in DSG.

What is your opnions?

[casperjjordaan]

I've also never had a DSG. I'm also in the market for a new vehicle, and I am also considering either Tiguan or Caddy, also with the DSG flavor.

Looking forward to the replies on this topic.

[Jetta2]

Manual for me thanks.
I had the option of getting a Caddy DSG and after test driving both it and a 5 speed manual back to back, I prefered the manual.

It is personal preference really. I have nothing against a DSG 'box. Go test drive both versions if possible and choose for yourself, we cannot make your choice for you.

[SkinnyD]

If you drive in a lot of traffic then any auto is always a plus.

In my old age I need to rest my left foot so yeah..

My question has always been how does the DSG achieve a higher power output? Is the engine tuned differently and why?

@Jetta2 Did you notice the power difference between manual and DSG on the caddy?


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[Jetta2]

Yes, tune is different between the DSG and manual versions.

To be honest, they both felt the same. Manual was the one I bought and it is the Maxi Crew Bus and the DSG was the Caddy Life with 103kW.
Might have been the extra weight of the Life that made it feel the same.

[Andre Jordaan]

Thanx for your replies, however, this is not about making a choice for me, it is regarding the reliability of the DSG vs Manual

[SkinnyD]

Yes, tune is different between the DSG and manual versions.

To be honest, they both felt the same. Manual was the one I bought and it is the Maxi Crew Bus and the DSG was the Caddy Life with 103kW.
Might have been the extra weight of the Life that made it feel the same.

Should then be easy to remap yours to a higher output?
Wonder if there is more room for the DSG version engine?


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[Abdullah]

Hi bud, just my 2 cents, i would go for the dsg, you wont be doing extremely high mileage so thats a plus and after 3 or 4 years you gonna change the vehicle if i understand you correctly. I had a golf 6 gti dsg which i traded in at about 40k mileage for a g7 gti dsg which i again traded in at about 60k mileage and both were driven hard most of its life and i had not one issue with the gearboxes. i know the caddy as well as the tdi engines are completely different to the gti's but that was my experiences with the dsg's and i was also sceptical at first.

[Neuk]

For a daily drive I won't go with a manual again but for a weekend toy I would.

[Sebz]

For a daily drive I won't go with a manual again but for a weekend toy I would.

This. The amount of mileage you will be doing is not excessive and you are looking at buying a pretty low mileage vehicle to start with.

If you were buying an older car with more mileage (and more opportunity for the previous owner to have treated it poorly) then i would go for a manual, but since it's a daily and you say you look after your cars well, I don't see why you'd need to worry about any headaches from the DSG.

[Jetta2]

Yes, tune is different between the DSG and manual versions.

To be honest, they both felt the same. Manual was the one I bought and it is the Maxi Crew Bus and the DSG was the Caddy Life with 103kW.
Might have been the extra weight of the Life that made it feel the same.

Should then be easy to remap yours to a higher output?
Wonder if there is more room for the DSG version engine?


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Caddy was remapped to Stage 1 by Insane Racing soon after I got it. No idea on power and torque figures but it is plenty more than the stock 81kW and 250Nm it is rated at.

[SkinnyD]

For a daily drive I won't go with a manual again but for a weekend toy I would.

This. The amount of mileage you will be doing is not excessive and you are looking at buying a pretty low mileage vehicle to start with.

If you were buying an older car with more mileage (and more opportunity for the previous owner to have treated it poorly) then i would go for a manual, but since it's a daily and you say you look after your cars well, I don't see why you'd need to worry about any headaches from the DSG.

Manuals get abused more than autos.
Ask @jetta2 about his experience


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[Sebz]

For a daily drive I won't go with a manual again but for a weekend toy I would.

This. The amount of mileage you will be doing is not excessive and you are looking at buying a pretty low mileage vehicle to start with.

If you were buying an older car with more mileage (and more opportunity for the previous owner to have treated it poorly) then i would go for a manual, but since it's a daily and you say you look after your cars well, I don't see why you'd need to worry about any headaches from the DSG.

Manuals get abused more than autos.
Ask @jetta2 about his experience


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Not always, surely. I never said that nobody has ever bought a manual car with no gearbox issues, but honestly, which one out of the two would require more maintenance in general in the long run? Which one out of the two would cost more should something go wrong?

[Andre Jordaan]

OK Guys, thanks for all your inputs.

I guess, that I will be looking at a DSG then, especially after reading @jetta2 's post wiffs what happened to his 81Kw Manual. After all, I am not planning on driving the car for hundreds of thousands of kms.

After three years I would probably have added an additional 50K Kms or so.

I am looking forward to buying my DSG Caddy Alltrack! Can't friggin wait!! But, I have to wait until June unfortunately.

[Kavi4GP]

The DSG fitted in this model is the more reliable wet clutch units due to higher torque output...they are the less worrisome units and in conjunction with an alltrack is a great drive.

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[Nielmaree]

Hi guys. Have a Caddy Alltrack tdi manuel 81kw. Want to do a remap on it so that it can have 103kw like the DSG. But someone told me that the clutch wont last with the extra torq. Any comments?