before you complain about dsg again drive a ford powershift

[adamk]

recently changed from a dreaded ford falcon wagon on gas with a 4 speed slop box to a new mondeo turbo diesel and can say next time you want to complain about your dsg pop down to a ford dealer and drive their version, its generally okay but compared to the DSG its very often caught 2 gears to high when rolling into a roundabout leaving you stranded 2 gears from where you want to be in a world of turbo lag and then a huge shunt and wheelspin kick in.

So as much as the DSG isn't perfect its better than most

[break]

Weird, I really liked the powershift in the 1.6 petrol Fiesta.

That said, it's MUCH slower than the DSG and suited more to everyday driving than the DSG. Personally, I'd have a DSG... but the powershift was just so much smoother for my girlfriend to drive, it didn't roll back on hills, it didn't get confused at low speed in traffic.

It's a more consumer friendly item for those people who aren't performance orientated.

[adamk]

i think possibly the issue is it hasn't been tinkered with enough in the move to a turbo diesel power delivery given that in europe auto's aren't that big a deal. its the slow change vs the lag and lack of power/torque down low that bothers this example i thinks

[gh172]

My wife has the new Mondeo with the powershift auto and I think the gearbox ruins what would otherwise be a great drive. Our car doesn't seem to have the lag issue. Our car holds on to gears way too long. I'll be going around a roundabout and it won't upchange from second until you take your foot off the throttle. Very frustrating. It also refuses to go into 6th gear until you hit 90. The only way I enjoy driving it is in manual mode. When we had the car in for the free 3k check I mentioned my issue with the gearbox only to be fed the usual crap of " it's operating exactly as it should be". The DSG in my GTI drives like a bloody dream in comparison. I'll be kicking up a fuss at the next service.

[adamk]

glad its not just mine then, its the mid roundabout hail mary when you need to accelerate away, its off boost in 4th or 5th and hasn't kicked down at all then it wakes up and the engine comes with it, i've resorted to using the sport mode up to round abouts and give way signs as it changes down a bit better but yeah a good car otherwise with a gearbox still programmed for a petrol engine me thinks

[break]

Sounds like it's very inconsistent between our experiences... sounds like the technology is still a little green and needs a few more years to iron out those teething bugs.

[kaanage]

It must be a model specific issue - I found the Focus TDi Powershift drove VERY similarly to the Gold TDi DSG when we test drove both.

[adamk]

mines a mondeo wagon which i think was pressed into service very quickly with the deletion of the falcon wagon on gas, which company fleet managers loved and the stark realisation that fleet budgets didn't cover territorys thirst for fuel. I think with some work on the change points and the like it would work okay but as it is i'd rather have the DSG at least the paddles give you access to quickly save yourself if you find the car in the wrong gear

[CSR]

I don't know why anyone would complain about DSG...Sure I got kicked around a little bit in traffic in the first few weeks but you're never going to get a "PERFECT" gearbox as it would not work on all road applications and users, and this is by far the best auto transmission i've driven. Just flicking it quickly into manual then back to D has solved a few of my issues with it..

[thezoneR32]

The dsg is awesome. Just need to drive something with grunt to appreciate it fully. Why else would they put it in the fastest car in the world?

[velly_16v_cab]

I drove a powershift Mondeo on the weekend, My main problem was urban driving it wasnt very smooth.

Adam, wait for Fords LPI's to come out, they rock! just a shame we dont build wagons anymore

[simple_man]

The dsg is awesome. Just need to drive something with grunt to appreciate it fully. Why else would they put it in the fastest car in the world?

+1
You need DSG when you have POWER. In no way avarage driver with Manual gearbox will change gears in-time near redline in 1-2-3. Redline comes way too qick.

[hooba]

Sounds like it's very inconsistent between our experiences... sounds like the technology is still a little green and needs a few more years to iron out those teething bugs.

My take on it is that the rule of thumb on when the DSG technology has been sorted out is when the Japs start building them in high volume on low priced models. To date only the GTR (happy to be corrected on this) has come out with a double charge tranny, and besides the obvious performance match up to me this says that the quality issue can be sorted provided you can build them in low volumes in a non price sensitive manner.

[gh172]

My take on it is that the rule of thumb on when the DSG technology has been sorted out is when the Japs start building them in high volume on low priced models. To date only the GTR (happy to be corrected on this) has come out with a double charge tranny, and besides the obvious performance match up to me this says that the quality issue can be sorted provided you can build them in low volumes in a non price sensitive manner.

Mitsubishi evo 10 is available with one as well I believe.

[break]

My take on it is that the rule of thumb on when the DSG technology has been sorted out is when the Japs start building them in high volume on low priced models. To date only the GTR (happy to be corrected on this) has come out with a double charge tranny, and besides the obvious performance match up to me this says that the quality issue can be sorted provided you can build them in low volumes in a non price sensitive manner.

EVO and Ralliart both have 'em as well.

That said, Ford have tried to develop its powershift to behave as smooth as a regular auto box, but with the economy of a DSG. It's a completely different box to any other dual clutch setup.