I would not go as far as calling an auto a hero. I have driven a variety of them from old corona 3 speeds to the latest from PlayStation inspired German offering, and still enjoy going back to my manual box.
I say again type of gearbox is a personal choice based on driving style. This topic can start the same arguments as what’s the best bakkie. All very much a personal choice.
Personally my reason for choosing a manual is that a manual is much more fun and more of a driver’s car. Auto is a very lazy relaxed driving style. They ok for commuting traffic. I do rush hour every day and never had a sore leg or got tired of shifting. It’s all part of the drive.
Yes the dsg is quick 0 to 100. But my 17 year old manual car is still quicker than many of these autos today. A proper driver would still shift on par with a dsg and the split seconds difference on gearbox shift time makes no difference as it’s the engines output that makes the difference.
The big difference shows when they get driven hard or tracked. A manual car gives more control in shifting weight entering and exiting corners. A manual follows drivers input with no ecu overriding input. The manual gives more control with engine braking. The auto on track does as programmed and still override drivers input. Heard many complaints as the car would not shift at the time the drives gives input. Yes not everyone tracks a car.
I also have a concern with the over complicated electronic auto boxes. Experienced shudder on pull off and difficult gear changes on modern auto boxes and then the box needs a software calibration to compensate for wear. The selector module on a Polo gti dsg is about 35k and is known for early failure. Even the dsg clutch unit replacement is R60k and up depending on car. All well and dandy when you buy a new car every 2 years and live with a full maintenance plan.
But what happens to the poor sod that buys a 2nd hand car and ends up spending more on the gearbox repairs than what the cars is worth.
Again its personal choice. And yes I like living in the stone age where I decide what gear lol.
I chuckle when someone mentions DSG as it always make me think of this. And I heard this comment before. "The auto frees up my hands to do other things". like what? your makeup while sipping coffee and eating breakfast watching your infotainment system lol?
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