RE: Manual gearbox for Polo GTI

[IanJ9375]

sanctum said:

MAnual gearbox is a huge weight saving over the DSG. For CO2 emissions that can be critical, and the CO2 emissions are only getting stricter.

VAG autos tend to do better economy and are rated less for CO2's if you look at them compared to the manuals

[mainaman]

VAG said that only the DSG fitted with the Twincharger due to the shape of the engine,hence all version were DSG only.

[scorchio]

Think they really need to address the oil consumption issues first on this wee twin charged engine.

Me and my wife had one in a 11 plate from new and I drove it hard from day one once fully warmed up to give the rings a good chance in bedding in but it still drank a litre of oil every 1000 miles, great wee power plant though oil issue aside and would really suit the manual box

[Sampaio]

Dave Hedgehog said:

Steve126 said:

A sensible decision. I wouldn't consider buying a car without a proper manual gearbox and there must be plenty more who feel the same - not offering a manual just limits your potential market.

weren't 98% of all M3s sold last year flappy paddled cars?

Well one's a 420bhp sports car that doubles as a cruiser and you can even have as a cabrio, the other's a 180bhp supermini... I can imagine a bigger percentage of the market would prefer a manual in the Polo, compared to the M3 situation.

[court]

Dave Hedgehog said:

also not sure why you would want a manual polo GTi, its nice car 6/10ths but gets terribly out of shape if you try to drive it enthusiastically, its more warm hatch than hot hatch imo

To reiterate what people are saying here - the gearbox was the least of it's worries. The ride and handling was awful when pushing on. I got shot of mine sharpish.

[epom]

Always had manual gearboxes in all of my previous cars, now have a mk5 GTI with DSG, can honestly say I'll probably never go back to manual.

[Dr Interceptor]

epom said:

Always had manual gearboxes in all of my previous cars, now have a mk5 GTI with DSG, can honestly say I'll probably never go back to manual.

I just don't get them really! I had a Fabia VrS for a week on press loan, and whilst it was very good, and it was fast, I really wanted a manual box!

[Allaloneatron]

Ok Renault... You next.

[rtz62]

I'd surmise that possibly, just possibly, VAG are attempting to push this into the 'slightly bigger, slightly more mature' niche that evades it at the moment, so that the next supermini they come along with will slot nicely into the market area that gets the Polo sales at present. Am I trying to say a new car will be 'slightly smaller, slightly more blue-rinse' in its appeal?
Possibly, but then, look how the Polo has evolved over the years / generations; the current one is roughly the same size as the mk1 a Golf....

[Emeye]

Good news. Very good news - hopefully the others will follow suit?

Hopefully there will be a five door option. I would never have a DSG. I've had 2 manual Mk5 Golf Gtis, but the GTis are getting bigger. I might have considered a new Golf, but £30k on a nicely spec'd Gti is painful.

Shame there isn't a five door ST....

[va1o]

Always seemed a bit strange the way it was restricted to DSG previously, presumably down to some obscure technical reason.

I've also heard murmurings the next GTI will loose the Twincharger and will instead have the 1.8 TFSI from the new A3 and Leon but can't see this confirmed anywhere.

[Ed.]

IanJ9375 said:

sanctum said:

MAnual gearbox is a huge weight saving over the DSG. For CO2 emissions that can be critical, and the CO2 emissions are only getting stricter.

VAG autos tend to do better economy and are rated less for CO2's if you look at them compared to the manuals

Getting in to top gear asap would seem to offset the extra weight, no matter what it does to drivability.

[j_s14a]

Renault, and all the journalists who tried fighting Renaults corner, look rather daft right now.

[Mark Smith]

Renault take note! I really do prefer a manual gearbox over DSG any day.

[DP33]

Good news! Hopefully it sets a precedent - here's to Renault doing a Hollande-style u-turn and offering a manual option on the Clio RS.

[Mr Tidy]

I couldn't help recalling what Walter Rohrl said recently about the PDK only Porsche - it was reportedly done for the benefit of the likely buyers. I mean you don't need to change gear on a PS1!

Two other possible reasons for the Polo GTi are:-

Lower headline list price.

Less warranty claims for VAG - I have read a few reports of problems with DSG's.

Personally I just don't want an auto/DSG however quick it may change gear, I enjoy the experience of matching revs on a downshift and having complete control of the drivetrain, etc.

I want plenty of power, RWD and a manual gearbox. Most of us who are "more mature" probably feel the same - automatic MK II Jags and E-types don't fetch anything like what the manuals do.

[dalzo]

Probably only doing it so they can add dsg as an option but keep it standard for a polo R.

Never been a fan of the polo gti or it's engine.

[supersingle]

Mr Tidy said:

I couldn't help recalling what Walter Rohrl said recently about the PDK only Porsche - it was reportedly done for the benefit of the likely buyers. I mean you don't need to change gear on a PS1!

Two other possible reasons for the Polo GTi are:-

Lower headline list price.

Less warranty claims for VAG - I have read a few reports of problems with DSG's.

Personally I just don't want an auto/DSG however quick it may change gear, I enjoy the experience of matching revs on a downshift and having complete control of the drivetrain, etc.

I want plenty of power, RWD and a manual gearbox. Most of us who are "more mature" probably feel the same - automatic MK II Jags and E-types don't fetch anything like what the manuals do.

I didn't think you could heal and toe VWs. I thought the DBW throttle was shut if you pressed the brake. Supposed to be a driving aid for the terminally inept.

Rev matching on downshifts works but that's not much use at 10/10 when you need to brake!

[MadDog1962]

I hope that VW also give us a normal handbrake (not the electric crap) with the 6 speed manual Polo GTI.

That and the 2.0 TSI motor would be a hoot. However, I doubt it'll make it to the US. :-(

I'm surprised to hear all the noise about VW quality. My 2012 German-built Tiguan is solid, no problems whatsoever. Good quality materials throughout the interior, and very nice switchgear logically laid out. Much better than the Ford rental I'm driving this week.

[dukebox9reg]

sanctum said:

MAnual gearbox is a huge weight saving over the DSG. For CO2 emissions that can be critical, and the CO2 emissions are only getting stricter.

They use the dry clutch 7 spd in the lower tq cars like the polo so better on fuel than the older 6spd wet clutches and obviously weigh less then their wet counterparts.

They just cant handle as much power/tq without uprated clutch packs at quite considerable cost.