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chiny

A 7 speed DSG gearbox... I had to google that to discover that is not a cog-swappers delight but computer control of all those cogs. Sounds good to me.

Roll on autonomous vehicles; either google-style or maybe driven by a synth That should reduce our insurance bills.

Car_54

-=rizla=- wrote: »

What about the VW Up!/Skoda citigo/Seat Mii, all virtually the same car but with different trims/prices. The auto is an ASG, automated sequential gears, so kinda is a manual but the computer deals with what gear to be in and the clutch, you also have the option to select which gear you want, handy for engine braking and overtakes etc

All my experience of autos is on larger cars, so forgive my ignorance. I've driven 100,000 s of miles and can't remember the last time I needed to use the manual option.

Why do you need engine braking?

And overtaking - don't these cars have kickdown?

BeenThroughItAll

Noble_Viking wrote: »

All I need now is a nice name for her / him (yes I am going to name my car!) :rotfl:

I suggest 'the car'. It's worked for me for over twenty years.

Gloomendoom

Car_54 wrote: »

All my experience of autos is on larger cars, so forgive my ignorance. I've driven 100,000 s of miles and can't remember the last time I needed to use the manual option.

Why do you need engine braking?

And overtaking - don't these cars have kickdown?

My driving is similar. I've been driving powerful autos for 30 years but I do still knock the box down a gear if I know I'm go to overtake. The last thing I want is the box to change up to top half way past a lorry with another car car visible coming the other way.

bigjl

Noble_Viking wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your comments. In the end I have opted for a VW Polo 1.4 BlueGT with a 7 speed DSG gearbox. I was initially planning to buy new, but I found a fairly new car (just short of 12 months old) at my local VW garage and it was love at first site!

Hopefully it will be problem free.

One thing to consider is the DSG box, they need maintenance regularly which is why I would stick with VW for servicing.

By simply shopping around you can make significant savings on servicing whilst staying within the VW dealer network.

bigjl

Car_54 wrote: »

All my experience of autos is on larger cars, so forgive my ignorance. I've driven 100,000 s of miles and can't remember the last time I needed to use the manual option.

Why do you need engine braking?

And overtaking - don't these cars have kickdown?

Engine braking is handy in some circumstances, such as when a car is driving down a long incline.

I had paddle shift in my Jag and tiptronic functionality on my 04 Legacy.

I used them rarely to be honest.

Joe_Horner

vikingaero wrote: »

You're not looking at a performance driving experience so I would look at:

Hyundai i10
Kia Picanto
Nissan Micra

Basically anything with a traditional 4 speed torque convertor gearbox for reliability.

Avoid anything automated manual gearbox, MMT, DSG etc. Any salesman who tells you that they are good are lying. The only other box to consider is the reliable CVT from Honda and Toyota.

Had a Mistu Colt diesel with the automated manual box and it matched the engine pretty well but suspect that was more to do with having the torque to stay in a gear once there.

Agree about the CVT option if you can get used to the different driving experience. Apart from "sounding odd" they're the ideal auto box for a small engine for economy and performance. Unfortunately that "if you can get used to" is a big "if" - or Daf would still be making cars and Volvo would never have had the 300 series

Joe_Horner

Car_54 wrote: »

All my experience of autos is on larger cars, so forgive my ignorance. I've driven 100,000 s of miles and can't remember the last time I needed to use the manual option.

Why do you need engine braking?

And overtaking - don't these cars have kickdown?

Kickdown takes time on even the best box.

Most people (at least on roads they know) will drop a manual down before a possible overtake so they're ready if it's on. If you rely on kickdown the change doesn't happen until you decide to go, and then takes a fraction of a second on top to wind the converter up.

Pull an auto down on the lever in anticipation, floor it when you're clear to go, then snick it back to drive - still under full power - as you go and most of them will get past quicker than the equivalent manual, changing if it's needed on the way.

bigjl

Joe_Horner wrote: »

Kickdown takes time on even the best box.

Most people (at least on roads they know) will drop a manual down before a possible overtake so they're ready if it's on. If you rely on kickdown the change doesn't happen until you decide to go, and then takes a fraction of a second on top to wind the converter up.

Pull an auto down on the lever in anticipation, floor it when you're clear to go, then snick it back to drive - still under full power - as you go and most of them will get past quicker than the equivalent manual, changing if it's needed on the way.

Kick down is almost instant in my experience.

Done hundreds of thousands of miles in Autos.

The Sport mode button on older Vauxhalls was actually pretty good, it would hold onto a lower gear most of the time, giving very quick pick up.