Mark V Golf R32 - DSG

[minke]

Howdy All,

Ok.. seriously considering one of these babies so I thought that I'd ask here to get a consolidated view on them. SO if I may, I'd like to ask some questions.

1. DSG - Reliable? what to look out for in a second hand car?
2. 07 vs 08 vs 09? any differences? I've seen this MY08 UPDATE and MY09 UPDATE 2 reference on insurance companies websites..
3. Why buy one of these over a mark V GTi? or visca versa?
4. Any known recalls (non manditory as I can find the manditory ones) on them?
5. do they leak? (oil etc...) I've owned french cars before.. and the word teabags come to mind..
6. I've heard that (at least a deisel golf) doesn't like left foot braking... and that the car thinks you're panicking and cuts power to the engine... does the R32 suffer the same? hard to test that one with the dealer or owner in the car..
7. blistering heat - does the AC work well? especially into the back?
8. what sort of fuel usuage are people getting for around town... have been burnt by other manufacturer claims (Mazda CX7 drinks 10 x more then bonnie on a flight from sydney to london)

I'm upgrading an 2001 B5 Audi A4 Quattro 1.8 Turbo w/ 100k on the clock (minter she is) that frankly is nice, goes well, but the understeer is getting to me and I suspect that after 10 years.. things are going to start to go wrong...

thanks members for any insights
Justin

[ExRexer]

I have an 08 R32 DSG and I love love love it.

1. No real issues with the DSG. It's a bit jerky in reverse going up hill, but that's just the way they are.
2. Can't really comment on 07 or 09 models.
3. All wheel drive, lots more stuff inside and the awesome sound.
4. No recalls I know of?
5. No leaks. Just a few squeaks from door seals.
6. Don't bother left foot braking. It will get very confused, and the brakes are very powerful. (My previous ride was a Liberty that had ****e brakes and I was always left foot braking. Big wake up when I tried it in the R32)
7. AC is pretty good. Heated seats are great.
8. Fuel usage is really good when the wife drives it. Not so good when I drive it, for some reason....? Maybe something to do with the awesome sound of the exhaust??

[ope126]

Howdy All,

Ok.. seriously considering one of these babies so I thought that I'd ask here to get a consolidated view on them. SO if I may, I'd like to ask some questions.

1. DSG - Reliable? what to look out for in a second hand car?
2. 07 vs 08 vs 09? any differences? I've seen this MY08 UPDATE and MY09 UPDATE 2 reference on insurance companies websites..
3. Why buy one of these over a mark V GTi? or visca versa?
4. Any known recalls (non manditory as I can find the manditory ones) on them?
5. do they leak? (oil etc...) I've owned french cars before.. and the word teabags come to mind..
6. I've heard that (at least a deisel golf) doesn't like left foot braking... and that the car thinks you're panicking and cuts power to the engine... does the R32 suffer the same? hard to test that one with the dealer or owner in the car..
7. blistering heat - does the AC work well? especially into the back?
8. what sort of fuel usuage are people getting for around town... have been burnt by other manufacturer claims (Mazda CX7 drinks 10 x more then bonnie on a flight from sydney to london)

I'm upgrading an 2001 B5 Audi A4 Quattro 1.8 Turbo w/ 100k on the clock (minter she is) that frankly is nice, goes well, but the understeer is getting to me and I suspect that after 10 years.. things are going to start to go wrong...

thanks members for any insights
Justin

Welcome to the forum Justin!
Great choice of car there...

You will get a wealth of knowledge and support on this website.

[bang chong]

1. On test drive just watch out for juddering(jerkiness) into gear, that will be an indication on the condition of the mechatronics.
2. I don't really believe that there is too much difference or any at all
3. It depends what you want from a Golf? Do you want V6 or turbo 4, 4motion or Fwd? etc etc... Nothing beats the sound of the R32 though
4. 28F5 ignition coil recall or do you mean common faults?
5. They don't really have too many issues with oils leaks
6. All DSG's will do that
7. A/c are freezing cold in them, just check the one you are looking at to see if it is all ok.
8. They have quite good fuel economy when driving sensibly lol

[DGen]

Any problems you may have will come from the dsg box first of all.
I have a 2009 R32, has been great until last month when i detected a slight noise when changing from 5th to 6th.
Getting it checked out now.

So mainly check out the service history, get a tech to do a full review of the box before buying would be my advice.
Great car, but replacing the trans out of warranty... ouch!

[Stalker]

Buy a manual - problem solved.

[Blitzen]

DON'T GET A DSG BOX!!! If you do, try and get a 15 year warranty on it to!! You may be luck, and get an ok one, but then you may be driving along, and then for no reason, have a box full of Swedes...

Just do yourself a favor, and read all the problems related to DSG on thi site alone...

Never a prospect I would want when buying a car like this... Go a manual, to top off what is an awesome car.

[DNA Tuning]

The DSG in the R32 doesn't seem as smooth as in the GTI; I'm pretty sure it's due to all the extra inertia of the drivetrain, the heavier/larger engine, etc. still... a nice box.

As for left foot braking, I don't see why it would matter if you're left foot braking or not - you shouldn't really ever be applying both the brakes at the throttle at the same time. And it's not like you need to do rev matching (not that you could if you tried).

In a manual, while you are in gear and moving, the ECU will not let you apply both the brakes and throttle at the same time; but as soon as you push in the clutch you can freely apply both (ie. heel-toe, etc.).

Mk 5 AC works great.

As for understeer, the R32 isn't going to be much different to the A4 in terms of sharp handling; but there's lots you can do to fix that up (well there's lots you could do to your A4 quattro as well to improve that...). I drive an S4 which is even more nose-heavy than your A4 but if you get the hang of how the weight can be shifted around then you can still make any car "turn".

[FJ Steve]

I have an 08 R32 DSG and I love love love it.

1. No real issues with the DSG. It's a bit jerky in reverse going up hill, but that's just the way they are.
2. Can't really comment on 07 or 09 models.
3. All wheel drive, lots more stuff inside and the awesome sound.
4. No recalls I know of?
5. No leaks. Just a few squeaks from door seals.
6. Don't bother left foot braking. It will get very confused, and the brakes are very powerful. (My previous ride was a Liberty that had ****e brakes and I was always left foot braking. Big wake up when I tried it in the R32)
7. AC is pretty good. Heated seats are great.
8. Fuel usage is really good when the wife drives it. Not so good when I drive it, for some reason....? Maybe something to do with the awesome sound of the exhaust??

My experience exactly. 83k kms and not a peep from the DSG. Fuel economy (freeway/arterial etc) can be as low as 7.8l/100km - my missus regularly achieves that. On the same roads, I can get to 8.7+l/100km. Go figure. Tank range (city) - approx 540km. Country should see 650km+.

Aircon copes with a Perth summer (just) but the sunroof helps. No oil usage in ours since day one. Zilch. Nada. Zero.

DON'T GET A DSG BOX!!! If you do, try and get a 15 year warranty on it to!! You may be luck, and get an ok one, but then you may be driving along, and then for no reason, have a box full of Swedes...

Just do yourself a favor, and read all the problems related to DSG on thi site alone...

Never a prospect I would want when buying a car like this... Go a manual, to top off what is an awesome car.

There's one nay-sayer in every crowd.