Audi S-Tronic?
Discussion
I'm still toying with the idea of an A1 or A3 (when the new shape comes out) and I see Audi do an "S-Tronic".
How good are these sorts of auto systems with "paddle shift" these days? I know driving enthusiasts will always prefer a manual but it's an option so it's got me thinking as much of my mileage is commuting which tends to be "Stop, up to fifth, stop, traffic, stop, up to fifth, traffic...".
How good are these sorts of auto systems with "paddle shift" these days? I know driving enthusiasts will always prefer a manual but it's an option so it's got me thinking as much of my mileage is commuting which tends to be "Stop, up to fifth, stop, traffic, stop, up to fifth, traffic...".
LukeBird said:
When my dad's A4 was in for a service he had an A4 Cab with the 7-speed DSG/S-Tronic 'box and he loved it.
He said it was great to drive with the paddles and very smooth going up and down the 'box.
Interesting, thanks for that. I've only had one auto before which was a 1990 Merc so totally different kettle of fish.He said it was great to drive with the paddles and very smooth going up and down the 'box.
LukeBird said:
When my dad's A4 was in for a service he had an A4 Cab with the 7-speed DSG/S-Tronic 'box and he loved it.
He said it was great to drive with the paddles and very smooth going up and down the 'box.
A4 didn't have the S Tronic box - they were all Multitronic (FWD) or tiptronic (quattro) sorry to be an anorak but a CVT is very different from the DSG / S TronicHe said it was great to drive with the paddles and very smooth going up and down the 'box.
uncinquesei said:
LukeBird said:
When my dad's A4 was in for a service he had an A4 Cab with the 7-speed DSG/S-Tronic 'box and he loved it.
He said it was great to drive with the paddles and very smooth going up and down the 'box.
A4 didn't have the S Tronic box - they were all Multitronic (FWD) or tiptronic (quattro) sorry to be an anorak but a CVT is very different from the DSG / S TronicHe said it was great to drive with the paddles and very smooth going up and down the 'box.
This can barely have been 12 months ago.
Happy to be proved wrong though.
The simple answer is in my opinion that it depends how you view the gearbox.
If you view it the way that Audi market it (as a replacement for a conventional automatic) then the chances are there are going to be times that you almost certainly hate it with a passion, especially with certain engines (2.0TDI comes to mind - an engine that works fine in the same A3 as a manual). Imagine you're coasting down to a roundabout, you've got a reasonable view right and you're going to put enough power on at just the right point to squirt through a gap. In a manual you drop a gear or two and power through. In a conventional auto when you put your foot down the torque convertor slips and drops a ratio during the slip but you keep powering through. With S-Tronic because you've been coasting the gearbox has preselected the higher gear. Now you're demanding power it wasn't expecting (because it can't see the roundabout). It's now stuck, not only does it need to shift down instead of up, it's got to decide for the amount of power you're asking for whether one or two changes would be a good thing. This can take nearly a second, which feels like an hour, especially if an HGV is approaching the drivers door hot foot. This is then compounded by a low-capacity tubro engine that started the acceleration process "off boost". I find this ability to get caught is unacceptable to me and they aren't quite as smooth in traffic so for me it's a no go.
If you view the box as an automated manual with paddle shift, you'll love it. Quick, responsive and able to change gear far faster than you could manually. Nice for the track and keen driving, less keen if you want it to remove the stress of traffic driving and city driving.
For what it's worth the indecision is far better with a 3.0TDI or similar than the smaller engines - this is because the engine is able to muscle through the over high gear ratio currently being used.
Just my 2p
Regards
Chris
If you view it the way that Audi market it (as a replacement for a conventional automatic) then the chances are there are going to be times that you almost certainly hate it with a passion, especially with certain engines (2.0TDI comes to mind - an engine that works fine in the same A3 as a manual). Imagine you're coasting down to a roundabout, you've got a reasonable view right and you're going to put enough power on at just the right point to squirt through a gap. In a manual you drop a gear or two and power through. In a conventional auto when you put your foot down the torque convertor slips and drops a ratio during the slip but you keep powering through. With S-Tronic because you've been coasting the gearbox has preselected the higher gear. Now you're demanding power it wasn't expecting (because it can't see the roundabout). It's now stuck, not only does it need to shift down instead of up, it's got to decide for the amount of power you're asking for whether one or two changes would be a good thing. This can take nearly a second, which feels like an hour, especially if an HGV is approaching the drivers door hot foot. This is then compounded by a low-capacity tubro engine that started the acceleration process "off boost". I find this ability to get caught is unacceptable to me and they aren't quite as smooth in traffic so for me it's a no go.
If you view the box as an automated manual with paddle shift, you'll love it. Quick, responsive and able to change gear far faster than you could manually. Nice for the track and keen driving, less keen if you want it to remove the stress of traffic driving and city driving.
For what it's worth the indecision is far better with a 3.0TDI or similar than the smaller engines - this is because the engine is able to muscle through the over high gear ratio currently being used.
Just my 2p
Regards
Chris
Just got one (in an S4).
initial thoughts are it's changes are dam near seamless, although at crawl speeds can be a bit sudden with the clutch, (although I am not sure the throttle is not the issue here - still playing with settings)
the 'paddles' are OK, no lag/thinking, it just changes, although let's face it, it will be in D 99.99% of the time.
Ideally I sort of wanted a manual, but the S-tronics CO2 numbers put it in the lower band, (how sad is that?)
initial thoughts are it's changes are dam near seamless, although at crawl speeds can be a bit sudden with the clutch, (although I am not sure the throttle is not the issue here - still playing with settings)
the 'paddles' are OK, no lag/thinking, it just changes, although let's face it, it will be in D 99.99% of the time.
Ideally I sort of wanted a manual, but the S-tronics CO2 numbers put it in the lower band, (how sad is that?)
Scuffers said:
Just got one (in an S4).
initial thoughts are it's changes are dam near seamless, although at crawl speeds can be a bit sudden with the clutch, (although I am not sure the throttle is not the issue here - still playing with settings)
the 'paddles' are OK, no lag/thinking, it just changes, although let's face it, it will be in D 99.99% of the time.
Ideally I sort of wanted a manual, but the S-tronics CO2 numbers put it in the lower band, (how sad is that?)
Is it a bit like a Porsche tiptronic? I've driven a Cayenne with one of those and it seemed to come down to stick it in sport or drive and either let the car get on with it, or if you want a bit of progress/control use the paddles (except I did find the Porsche a bit laggy changing).initial thoughts are it's changes are dam near seamless, although at crawl speeds can be a bit sudden with the clutch, (although I am not sure the throttle is not the issue here - still playing with settings)
the 'paddles' are OK, no lag/thinking, it just changes, although let's face it, it will be in D 99.99% of the time.
Ideally I sort of wanted a manual, but the S-tronics CO2 numbers put it in the lower band, (how sad is that?)
paddyhasneeds said:
Is it a bit like a Porsche tiptronic? I've driven a Cayenne with one of those and it seemed to come down to stick it in sport or drive and either let the car get on with it, or if you want a bit of progress/control use the paddles (except I did find the Porsche a bit laggy changing).
not really, the change itself is dam near instant, the only hesitation is if you catch it napping, ie, of your doing ~40 in 7th, then floor it it takes the box/engine a second or so to drop 3-4 gears and actually go, if you pre-emp it either by paddling down first or tabbing the throttle before, then it's much faster.I suspect if I played with the gearbox settings then you can speed it up but I suspect this will just make it too jumpy, all that said, it's no big deal, just need o
to plan ahead, in much the same way you would with a manual.
biggest surprise for me is that downchanges are not only instant, but totally non-jerky.
Any more feedback anyone?
Still deliberating changing the car, still haven't seen anything except the A1 (which is now out) but of course now the new A3 is on the horizon which may lead to some more indecision.
Anyway, the last week with the snow I borrowed a 1.4 Honda Civic Type-S, and I have to admit that whilst it doesn't float my boat, getting back into my Boxster has highlighted that it's more work/effort to drive it, which is great sometimes, but less appealing lately, so I'm back deliberating something that's a bit less work, and that does more than 27mpg.
Can't help but be tempted by "lazy" auto when I want it, and flappy paddle manual-ish if I want to be bothered.
Still deliberating changing the car, still haven't seen anything except the A1 (which is now out) but of course now the new A3 is on the horizon which may lead to some more indecision.
Anyway, the last week with the snow I borrowed a 1.4 Honda Civic Type-S, and I have to admit that whilst it doesn't float my boat, getting back into my Boxster has highlighted that it's more work/effort to drive it, which is great sometimes, but less appealing lately, so I'm back deliberating something that's a bit less work, and that does more than 27mpg.
Can't help but be tempted by "lazy" auto when I want it, and flappy paddle manual-ish if I want to be bothered.
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