S4 dsg vs manual
Discussion
Ah man what a stunning colour!
You must be counting the seconds til you can drive it off the forecourt. It would be great to get your early views behind the wheel and few pictures in the wild. Can you tell that I am getting desparate for my own first hand experience?
My dealer still has not confirmed a delivery date despite the car being built and sitting forelorn on some german car park. Oh patience is a cruel mistress...
You must be counting the seconds til you can drive it off the forecourt. It would be great to get your early views behind the wheel and few pictures in the wild. Can you tell that I am getting desparate for my own first hand experience? My dealer still has not confirmed a delivery date despite the car being built and sitting forelorn on some german car park. Oh patience is a cruel mistress...
). This week's find is the auto dip/full main beam. 
Alright boys - I am about to join the party! Dealer has confirmed car is on the way and that it can be picked up on the following Thursday. A whole 2 weeks after Worsy! He may have taken an age to get that baby of his built, but they wasted no time getting it to Blighty. They most have been keen to cash in on that expensive paint job of his.
Anyhow, I wil let you have the shots of the beast, and first comments from the lovely B roads I will tackle on the way home with it! It dawned upon me that the three of us have all opted for the DSG gear option. I do not know if that settles the matter; personally I feel a little more real world commentary would do this thread a power of good. Having never had anything else but a manual I will surely share my views. Fubuar I seem to recall you converting somewhat reluctantly due to a showroom offer... I assume no regrets from past snippets....
Boy am I excited, like a child on the night before Christmas!
Anyhow, I wil let you have the shots of the beast, and first comments from the lovely B roads I will tackle on the way home with it! It dawned upon me that the three of us have all opted for the DSG gear option. I do not know if that settles the matter; personally I feel a little more real world commentary would do this thread a power of good. Having never had anything else but a manual I will surely share my views. Fubuar I seem to recall you converting somewhat reluctantly due to a showroom offer... I assume no regrets from past snippets....
Boy am I excited, like a child on the night before Christmas!
Jhart said:
Fubar I seem to recall you converting somewhat reluctantly due to a showroom offer... I assume no regrets from past snippets....
Absolutely none. Im a convert. Having said that, I must also admit that, in auto with the Dynamic button pushed, unless Im really attacking a road, its pretty damn good as it is.Let the BiL drive it for the first time tonight. He climbed in waffling on about manuals being better than flappy paddles. So I flicked the lever across for him and pushed the Dynamic button. We returned home half an hour later with him grinning like a Cheshire cat
Just to echo what Fubar says, this is my first "Auto" and I think it is brilliant. Why anyone would pick the manual is beyond me. The gearchanges, especially at 3,4,5,6,7 are instantaneous, almost to the point where you can't feel it.
I've tried the flappy paddles and again instant changes, then you can flick it back over when you hit traffic, fantastic.
I've tried the flappy paddles and again instant changes, then you can flick it back over when you hit traffic, fantastic.
Well I'm still "old skool" and I like it 
I find the car has so much torque that I can pootle around in 2nd quite a lot of the time - between lights etc and I can pretty much pull away in 2nd from the lights, get up to the speed limit and snick into 6th and then sit there. Who needs gears? The 'box is still bedding in somewhar and isn't as smooth as my Mini's yet but it's improving by the week and it's by no means a chore to use. The clutch is fairly heavy though and has a strong return spring so I can see that that could get tiring in traffic but I don't commute (luckily) by car so it's a rare problem. I considered, and tested, the S-tronic but I just prefer the manual. I'm quite open to the fact that, given a few thousand miles with the auto I'd change my mind - but I had to make a choice Would be nice to have a go with one now I've been using the manual though I guess.
Went to Germany at the weekend and driving back from Hannover to Delft (in Holland ), I managed to average over 25Mpg (that's real, the DIS over-reads by around 4%) despite a few autobahn discretions. Unfortunately the wife had read the manual and put the speed warning 2 on, set for 95Mph so every time I got the chance to accelerate nice and gently to see how fast I could go before she noticed, the loud "ping" gave me away. The roadworks and random traffic (and rain) scuppered any chance of a decent average and the two eyes in the next seat stopped me from going seriously quickly - in the end I had one blast at around 130Mph and spent most of the time in the de restricted sections at around 110 or so. At 130, the car was still pulling pretty hard.... I'll have to go back when it's dry and the car contains fewer wives.
[obviously I leave the conversion to your personal lepton up to you]
Other observations from the drive - comfort setting on the suspension is very nice for Mway cruising and dynamic quickly shows up the unevenness of German autobahn surfaces. I was brake-tested twice by people pulling out in front of me without looking, both times by a car with Dutch plates. Grrrrr. The brakes work though and that seems to have cured the low-speed brake squeal I was getting B&O makes any drive bearable, unless the wife has loaded your SD cards with ABBA.
I've finally got the various automatic wipey and flashy whatnots configured to my liking now as well. In fact the whole buttons and switches things is overwhelming, coming from a 2002 MINI cooper with AC and not a lot else.
I find the car has so much torque that I can pootle around in 2nd quite a lot of the time - between lights etc and I can pretty much pull away in 2nd from the lights, get up to the speed limit and snick into 6th and then sit there. Who needs gears?
The 'box is still bedding in somewhar and isn't as smooth as my Mini's yet but it's improving by the week and it's by no means a chore to use. The clutch is fairly heavy though and has a strong return spring so I can see that that could get tiring in traffic but I don't commute (luckily) by car so it's a rare problem. I considered, and tested, the S-tronic but I just prefer the manual. I'm quite open to the fact that, given a few thousand miles with the auto I'd change my mind - but I had to make a choice Would be nice to have a go with one now I've been using the manual though I guess.Went to Germany at the weekend and driving back from Hannover to Delft (in Holland
), I managed to average over 25Mpg (that's real, the DIS over-reads by around 4%) despite a few autobahn discretions. Unfortunately the wife had read the manual and put the speed warning 2 on, set for 95Mph so every time I got the chance to accelerate nice and gently to see how fast I could go before she noticed, the loud "ping" gave me away. The roadworks and random traffic (and rain) scuppered any chance of a decent average and the two eyes in the next seat stopped me from going seriously quickly - in the end I had one blast at around 130Mph and spent most of the time in the de restricted sections at around 110 or so. At 130, the car was still pulling pretty hard.... I'll have to go back when it's dry and the car contains fewer wives.[obviously I leave the conversion to your personal lepton up to you
]Other observations from the drive - comfort setting on the suspension is very nice for Mway cruising and dynamic quickly shows up the unevenness of German autobahn surfaces. I was brake-tested twice by people pulling out in front of me without looking, both times by a car with Dutch plates. Grrrrr. The brakes work though and that seems to have cured the low-speed brake squeal I was getting
B&O makes any drive bearable, unless the wife has loaded your SD cards with ABBA.I've finally got the various automatic wipey and flashy whatnots configured to my liking now as well. In fact the whole buttons and switches things is overwhelming, coming from a 2002 MINI cooper with AC and not a lot else.
Edited by troc on Wednesday 18th November 15:20
You guys are setting your limiters into courageous territory. I understand that restraint when sat on a cruise missile is far from easy. An encounter with the blues concealled as a late night SUV driver set me onto the joys of public transportation for 6 weeks, and dampened my ardour for top speed on this island somewhat.
Picking up my steed in 4 days now, I have received confirmed registration details and can practically smell the thing. If the dealer was not so far from my home I would probably do a Worsy and pin the beast down for a few tantalising digital shots.
I have trip to scandinavia booked over Christmas. Probably mad, but intend to drive the S4 so I can test out its legs in Germany. I know what Troc means about the frustating road works from past drives there...
Look forward to finally joining the ranks of first hand experience commentary.
Think I am going to go drift the BMW a few more times before I hand it in, lest the S4 is not so tail happy. Anyone come close to throwing out its hindquarters out a little as of yet...? Does DSG/S-tronic make it more or less difficult to get a little lairiness out of the S4; noticed that most reviews where this is indicated as feasible are in a manual?
Picking up my steed in 4 days now, I have received confirmed registration details and can practically smell the thing. If the dealer was not so far from my home I would probably do a Worsy and pin the beast down for a few tantalising digital shots.
I have trip to scandinavia booked over Christmas. Probably mad, but intend to drive the S4 so I can test out its legs in Germany. I know what Troc means about the frustating road works from past drives there...
Look forward to finally joining the ranks of first hand experience commentary.
Think I am going to go drift the BMW a few more times before I hand it in, lest the S4 is not so tail happy. Anyone come close to throwing out its hindquarters out a little as of yet...? Does DSG/S-tronic make it more or less difficult to get a little lairiness out of the S4; noticed that most reviews where this is indicated as feasible are in a manual?
Only tried it once. Picked a (slightly damp)roundabout exit I know well, held down the button to turn off all the electronics, pushed the 'Dynamic' button, flicked the lever across into flappy paddle....
ok, here we go, throttle on...GRIP...bit more right foot....GRIIPPPP, ok, one more hard stab with the right foot....
OMFG
diesel spill Whole car jumps a couple of feet sideways, all 4 tyres spin up, then the car suddenly bit, but still had some tyre spin. Went off up the road with 4 wheels buzzing away but after the initial sudden sideways movement, the quattro made me look like a driving God (and most certainly saved me from the ditch).
Yes you can get the arse out, but why? I bought a quattro for the very reason above...all IMHO of course
Oh and
on the countdown 
ok, here we go, throttle on...GRIP...bit more right foot....GRIIPPPP, ok, one more hard stab with the right foot....
OMFG
diesel spill Whole car jumps a couple of feet sideways, all 4 tyres spin up, then the car suddenly bit, but still had some tyre spin. Went off up the road with 4 wheels buzzing away but after the initial sudden sideways movement, the quattro made me look like a driving God (and most certainly saved me from the ditch).Yes you can get the arse out, but why? I bought a quattro for the very reason above...all IMHO of course
Oh and
on the countdown 
Very impressive display of skills and courage. You are of course correct that one does not buy a quattro for its tail happiness, but it is the sort of option that eases transfer pains from past rear drive fans...
As for the first comments from a first hand experience, let me take a rain cheque on this as my three days of ownership have revolved around conservative drives finding my feet in this beast and getting my mind around the countless gadgets.
Weather has not allowed me to take any decent shots, so I will need to make ammends when the sky clears. In the hope that Worsy may also indulge us a little in between then. However, I will soon attach a couple of pictures when I can suss out how to do so...think I am being blocked by a firewall.
Early days with DSG has me indeed biased towards pure auto, though I suspect I will be using the manual mode more when I get a better feel for when I want to rush the car a little. Also neat is the ability to switch to paddle mode at anytime - great for rapid downshifts.
I must say though, that I think I am really, really, going to like this car.
By the way - what do you guys think of starting an 'S4 B8 Journey of Ownership Experience' thread to capture our on going comments as time with the S4 goes by and to encourage new owners to join...?
As for the first comments from a first hand experience, let me take a rain cheque on this as my three days of ownership have revolved around conservative drives finding my feet in this beast and getting my mind around the countless gadgets.
Weather has not allowed me to take any decent shots, so I will need to make ammends when the sky clears. In the hope that Worsy may also indulge us a little in between then. However, I will soon attach a couple of pictures when I can suss out how to do so...think I am being blocked by a firewall.
Early days with DSG has me indeed biased towards pure auto, though I suspect I will be using the manual mode more when I get a better feel for when I want to rush the car a little. Also neat is the ability to switch to paddle mode at anytime - great for rapid downshifts.
I must say though, that I think I am really, really, going to like this car.
By the way - what do you guys think of starting an 'S4 B8 Journey of Ownership Experience' thread to capture our on going comments as time with the S4 goes by and to encourage new owners to join...?
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