Ah! I see...a clutchless manual.
Fair enough - I wouldn't want one of those either! :-(
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..........Why on earth would anyone not like a DSG-style gearbox. What am I missing?...............
The £5000+ bill for a new one if it goes wrong out of warranty! ....although I don't believe they play up too much? Yes, i agree they're impressive but not my cup of tea...I like changing gear and deciding for myself personally, that's part of the fun of driving.
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I like changing gear and deciding for myself personally that's part of the fun of driving.
A perfectly valid and respectable opinion. You are one of the many drivers who don't want ANY automatic gearbox. So your view is logical, I have to admit.
Sorry - I didn't make my point very well. What I actually should have said was, "Why would anyone who wants to drive a real AUTOMATIC not want a DSG-type one?"
Edited by LikedDrivingOnce on 11/07/2009 at 18:22
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Ah yes, I completely agree, it seems like a massive step forward, certainly from what I've seen of them.
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I think the main reason my dad doesnt want even a DSG type gearbox is that the type of use he will be doing, ie local running, low annual mileage but with long term ownership, is that potential age related issues with these boxes are still to be discovered.
Yes they are good when new, but with all the complex electrics these modern boxes have, he doesnt like the idea of testing their longevity - basically he wants tried and tested over a long period. Until there are 10 year old DSG cars around, he would never commit to them. I think its a fair view and one that cautious older people do often follow.
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. I think its a fair view and one thatcautious older people do often follow.
Stu you were doing so well there and i was nodding agreement until the last 5 words.
Maybe that is an older chap's way of thinking....whereas younger people may well embrace this wonderful electronically controlled stuff we somehow now can't manage without...having said that i don't read about Stu's ongoing reports on his wondrous DSG either.
I too have no intention of testing the durability of things of negligible benefit, so your Dad's reading from my hymnsheet there matey.
..;);)
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I guess its type of ultra conservative buying that is alien to people who change their cars every few years. I guess my dads caution has spread to me hence the torque-converter bias for the misses car!
Is the Skoda Fabia auto a DSG? My dad likes the idea of the car, but cant find anything definative about what the box is.
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I would imagine the Daihatsu has the best chance of being that long term reliable car that your dad wants. You just don't here of the "built in japan" japanese cars going wrong.
If he likes the boxy shape then I think it might be his thing. My Dad is mid 70s and has a real dislike of the very swoopy styling on cars these days - as if they are all made for driving at 90 miles an hour even if they are really just a supermini. The manufacturers may not like it but most cars probably average about 25 miles an hour during their lives pootling to the shops and around housing estates and at that sort of sub 50 mph speed the shape of the car is irrelevant but a boxy shape is easy to see the extremities of and easy to know that boxes and paraphenalia will fit in.
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Is the Skoda Fabia auto a DSG?
Yes. Skoda call it "Tiptronic", but it is a DSG box.
Brilliant! Just stick it in "drive", and let the box do all the work.
The 1.6 Engine is nippy and frugal with the DSG Automatic box. Best of all it is not one of the wretched semi-automatic horrors that you want to avoid.
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What about a Kia Soul or a Skoda Roomster?
Both mini-MPVs lots of space.
I agree with some of the DSG comments. I'd only have one within warranty, out of that its too pricey if it goes wrong.
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The Skoda option was really dependant on whether it was a DSG or not, so Im not sure he will be too keen knowing that it is.
Does the Soul come with a proper autobox? Ive looked at it but it does also seem very pricey, especially compared to the Ceed.
Im thinking he will be getting a Materia, he was talking about it again yesterday over Sunday dinner. he said it looks awful in the pictures but in teh metal he reckons its very attractive and is now trying to spot them on the road!
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I would check the Skoda is a DSG - I suggest it isn't. Skoda do use the term DSG for their DSG equipped cars - not Tiptronic. Check the Octavia and Superb on their website.
Tiptronic will be a 6 speed torque convertor auto with the facility to lock up in any of the 6 ratios - a friend has an early Octavia with the 1.6 and autobox.
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Good idea to check the website. However, all it says is "six-speed automatic transmission" and "Hydraulic single dry clutch with membrane spring, asbestos free"
The official Skoda Fabia website says:"Automatic gearboxes
You can also indulge in the comfort of automatic gear changing for the 1.6 16V/77 kW petrol engine. This is a six-speed gearbox with Tiptronic, the option to change gears manually. As the transmission fluid lasts for the entire lifetime of the car, the gearbox does not require any special maintenance. "
No mention of DSG or Torque Converter.
Over at briskoda.net, one contributer posted this in May 2008 (tinyurl.com/m9hcky):
"I would love to see DSG in the Fabia, but the current 6 speed tiptonic is a very good gearbox, and at the moment I beleive it's the only 6 speed torque converter automatic in a small car, it intergrates with the ESP System (Holds gears in corners) and offers good performance and economy"
So I am betting that it actually isn't DSG, even though other Skoda cars use this gearbox.
In any case DSG is a real automatic, and meets your criteria. You just stick it in "Drive" and leave it there for the duration of your journey.
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I dont think my dads criteria is to do with the way you use the gearbox, but the mechanics of it and the long term durability.
I will look deeper into the Skoda as it is a very nice little car for sure and it may suit my dad - the fact that it has cruise control on the posher spec models will certainly get his attention as he would love to have it.
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Grief! Another long thread on cars of which I have never heard...
What about one of these?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGBoOQLtTm4&feature=related
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>>Grief! Another long thread on cars of which I have never heard...<<
Perhaps one wants to leave the potting shed once in a while then ;-)
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Just an update if anyones interested!
Im just about to take my dad out on a test drive of a Materia auto. He has pretty well decided on it so long as it doesnt drive badly, but in all honesty, after his Astra, anything will feel quite nice. He said aslong as the ride isnt rock hard ( he doesnt mind it firm ) and its comfortable, that is enough for him.
It turns out, the car they have in the showroom is in the colour he wants and is auto ( infact its the showroom car he will be driving ) and he is looking to buy that very car as apparently the Daihatsu importer is reluctant to factory order any cars as the price they pay has gone up considerably, something to do with the price of the £, I know not of these things.
He wont even look at any other cars as he said this car does exactly what he wants and he admitted he has fallen for the looks of it - I knew he was serious when he took my mum up to have a look at the car on Sunday ( she likes it too ).
The funny thing is, this car is surely aimed at people my age who want something individual, maybe with a young family and yet despite all attempts, Daihatsu are still attracting pensioners!
Im hoping this will be the end of my dads will he wont he car buying saga - I bet some never thought he would buy something! I had my doubts!
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www.daihatsu.co.uk/materia/
Just had a look at one - funky.
A Kia Soul long before the Kia Soul came out.
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Also just had a look.
Looks a bit like a PT Cruiser drawn with a ruler. ;-) But I quite like it.
A bit surprised the 0-62 time takes 2.9 seconds longer in the auto. (13.7 v 10.8)
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Well, test drive went well, he bought it, collecting Wednesday. It is actually alot like a large Sirion to drive ( of course I had a go! ) but with stiffer suspension which makes for a firm ride, but translates to flat cornering so there is a trade-off.
Its not especially fast, but it has enough power to overtake on modest straights, rear legroom is brilliant and the car is in general simplicity itself, just what people my dads age want as he doesnt want anything that is over complex, especially as he gets older.
The interior is a lesson to many manufacturers though as it offers huge space on a footprint that is smaller than a Fiesta ( we checked ). The feeling of space is a combination of a high seating position, even higher ceiling height, plus because the windscreen pillars are so upright, the top of the windscreen sits much further forward and it creates alot of space immediately infront of you. It can also comfortably fit a wheelchair in the boot without any dismantling. The bonnet is also quite short which has allowed a cab-forward style creating the extra space - the bonnet on a Fiesta is actually quite a large proportion of the cars length and thus much wasted space.
All in all one very happy old fella :-) and a third convert in our family to the Daihatsu brand. Its catching!
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Congratulations! I hope that your dad enjoys his new car for many years!
Your reports have been interesting and comprehensive, and I'm glad that there has been a happy ending. So many threads just sort of tail off...............
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Reading your review suggest this is an updated version of my grandfather's last ever car - a Suzuki Wagon R.
1.3 auto, lots of room, great visibility - he enjoyed it for a couple of years before he stopped driving altogether.
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>> Is the Skoda Fabia auto a DSG? Yes. Skoda call it "Tiptronic" but it is a DSG box. Brilliant! Just stick it in "drive" and let the box do all the work.
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The Fabia is not a DSG, but a conventional slushbox with torque convertor.
DSG boxes have a dodgy repution for smooth takeoff and low speed parking manouvers, with added problems of delayed response in these specific circumstances. More suited for long distance work.
Edited by brum on 06/08/2009 at 19:20
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DSG boxes have a dodgy repution for smooth takeoff and low speed parking manouvers with added problems of delayed response in these specific circumstances. More suited for long distance work.
That's true, but IME I didn't think it was quite as bad as you're making out myself. Brilliant on the move though, no doubt about it.
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