Mk7 Golf TSI & TDI - Observations and Questions

[Mountainman]

It's purely money making to be honest. Also, there are some sacrifices you have to make when considering your German counterparts. I could've gotten a Mazda 3 with more features for the same price. But the refinement of the Golf outweighed the extra features in the Mazda. I'll have to live without fog lamps, parking camera's, auto dimming mirrors etc.

The base Golf (like mine) is much better featured and equipped than a base model Mazda3. Where are the Mazda's leather steering wheel, touch screen infotainment with SD card and 8 speakers, driver fatigue alert, low tyre pressure warning, rear seat air conditioning vents, split level luggage compartment, electric park brake, comprehensive MFD with information such as oil temperature, height adjustable driver and passenger seats, choice of exterior mirror controls that allow co-ordinated adjustment of both mirrors, all 4 windows are one touch up/down, auto braking, cruise control that holds memory during manual gear changes and has both +10 and -10 increases as well as the typical Jap +1 and -1 only? If I keep looking I could probably find more. In my searching, the base model Golf was far and away the best featured base car in its class - and certainly better than the base model Civic, Corolla, i30, Focus, Cruze and Mazda3.

Yes, the base Mazda3 Neo is $1000 less and does get a chrome exhaust extension (whoopie!) and push button start (no thanks) but at the moment a base Mazda3 Neo manual is $23692 drive away and the base Golf 90 TSI manual is $22990 drive away - and that's with the same dealer - Wippels, Toowoomba, and it doesn't get fog lamps (only SP25 models get them), and the Mazda3 Maxx is $1500 more (and still without fog lamps). You need to pay $1500 for the safety pack in the Neo to get city auto braking and auto dip mirror, but the rear camera only comes with the Maxx.

I do my research pretty thoroughly when car searching lol. And I don't go along with the accepted delusion that base European means poverty pack and the Japs and Koreans are filled with fruit. The reality is the other way around.

[Dave124]

Can anyone tell me what the driver selection mode is like in the manual car ie 90TSI Comfortline?

Its just about the only option I want over the base model and at the current prices it doesn't seem worth it...

Cheers,

Dave.

[Panzer]

Tiptronic DSG, 1st to 2nd gear change. Annoying.

My 2014 Golf 90 Tsi will not change from first to second gear below 2000 rpm when using the dsg tiptronic function. Is this normal. I find I am now keeping an eye on the tacho to ensure I change gear at this mark and not at higher revs. Has anyone else had this experience.

Cheers

[The One]

Why does it matter? Let it rev out abit... Don't see why you would want to change so early? To save 0.00000000000000000000000000000001L/100km?

[Umai Naa!!]

Has anyone else driven it lately?

Perhaps it's learnt someone else's driving style?

[Panzer]

Why does it matter? Let it rev out abit... Don't see why you would want to change so early? To save 0.00000000000000000000000000000001L/100km?

It's not a matter about fuel consumption. Like most people I change gear when it feels right and not having to look at the tacho, it's just annoying that when I try to make the change to second at say 1900 rpm the car doesn't respond and then you have to nudge the selector forward a second time to make the change.

You would think it would be programmed out of the factory to make the change when the driver decides, just like it does for all the other changes above second.

[Diesel_vert]

It's not a matter about fuel consumption. Like most people I change gear when it feels right and not having to look at the tacho, it's just annoying that when I try to make the change to second at say 1900 rpm the car doesn't respond and then you have to nudge the selector forward a second time to make the change.

You would think it would be programmed out of the factory to make the change when the driver decides, just like it does for all the other changes above second.

It does sound like your driving style is more suited to a vehicle fitted with a manual gearbox.

To relinquish a layer of control over the gearbox (and to a certain extent, the vehicle itself) is the inescapable consequence and unavoidable characteristic with any self-shifting gearbox.

That more than anything else, is the compromise, and the price one pays, for the convenience of self-shifting gears.

Anyone is, of course, free to manipulate the gearbox operation in whichever manner they see fit, but what control one has over a self-shifting gearbox is ultimately limited by what manual override options are given by the grace of the manufacturer.

It would appear that you have come across one such limitation.

[Panzer]

It does sound like your driving style is more suited to a vehicle fitted with a manual gearbox.

To relinquish a layer of control over the gearbox (and to a certain extent, the vehicle itself) is the inescapable consequence and unavoidable characteristic with any self-shifting gearbox.

That more than anything else, is the compromise, and the price one pays, for the convenience of self-shifting gears.

Anyone is, of course, free to manipulate the gearbox operation in whichever manner they see fit, but what control one has over a self-shifting gearbox is ultimately limited by what manual override options are given by the grace of the manufacturer.

It would appear that you have come across one such limitation.

Thanks for that. I get around it by starting off in auto and once the car has picked up a bit of speed I switch it over to tiptronic, by this time it is in 2nd gear or greater and from there the car changes gear when I want it to. That's my only bitch, it's a satisfying car to drive and I would always recommend the dsg.

Cheers

[Rawcpoppa]

Thanks for that. I get around it by starting off in auto and once the car has picked up a bit of speed I switch it over to tiptronic, by this time it is in 2nd gear or greater and from there the car changes gear when I want it to. That's my only bitch, it's a satisfying car to drive and I would always recommend the dsg.

Cheers

Older 7 speed dsg do that too. In tiptronic mode mine won't let me shift before 1800 rpm in gear 1 but each shift subsequently can be done at 1500 rpm. In automatic mode however the car can shift anywhere in gear 1 and usually skips to 2 from 1500 rpm or pulls off in D2 even.

[Panzer]

Older 7 speed dsg do that too. In tiptronic mode mine won't let me shift before 1800 rpm in gear 1 but each shift subsequently can be done at 1500 rpm. In automatic mode however the car can shift anywhere in gear 1 and usually skips to 2 from 1500 rpm or pulls off in D2 even.

Thanks Rawcpoppa, I brought up the issue thinking it was possibly only my car driving this way.

[Diesel_vert]

Even in manual or tiptronic mode, the gearbox has been programmed to automatically change into a suitable gear if the engine speed is not within the prescribed range, in order to prevent vehicle stall or engine overreving.

First gear in the DSG on the Mk7 Golf 90TSI is fairly short (42 km/h @ 6000 RPM), which may explain why the software does not allow the driver to change from first into second until the engine has reached an acceptable speed.

[Rawcpoppa]

Thing is the acceptable engine speed is different in manual mode versus auto so I'm not sure it has to do specifically with that.

Why can the car skip to D2 in D mode from gear 1 at 1500 versus 1800-2000 in manual mode.

[brad]

#crapprogramming #fueleconomyatallcosts #whywouldyouchangeat1500anyway

[Rawcpoppa]

Lol. I've found that things that stay a certain way for long with Vw are things done in good faith and generally sound reasoning even if to persons on the outside it doesn't make much sense.

[Kesh]

It's done to eliminate any chance of stalling. When the car begins to move, the clutch is obviously being progressively disengaged like you would slowly let go of the clutch in a traditional manual. This disengagement period is probably mapped up until the 2000rpm mark as a worst case (heavy load, hill start) and so to avoid damaging the clutch and gearbox, they probably just not allow you to shift until it reaches 2k, where it's definitely disengaged. There's that and the cars assumption that if you are starting off in tiptronic, you're after a fast start so you're probably wanting more than 2.5k revs anyway.

Auto mode shifts into 2nd asap (18kph) because the car is in full control and can overcome any stalling by modulating the clutch and throttle itself.

Another side note. If you leave the car in first at slow speed, you'll feel how jerky it is, that's both engine braking and clutch modulation at work.