MCRN

I think he was referring to the car as a whole, not the acceleration. Audi's are notoriously nose heavy, though it gets better with each generation. The less weight sticking out beyond the front axle the better. 2.0 weights over 100 lbs less than the 3.0 - so it is more towards that 50/50 balance that is ideal. I drove both back to back and I could absolutely feel the difference.

the 3.0 is a beautiful engine and the acceleration on the C7 is sublime, so there is no debate that its quicker in that regard!

audi40

No, that's his prerogative. For a daily-driver, I'd never go with a stick, but if I had a second car just for weekend fun, I'd go with a stick...just more engaging/fun. Since you previously owned a '90 Mustang LX and a Neon (not to mention some of your other previous cars), I'm guessing one of those must have been a stick and, if so, no fond memories of those days?

Richard Solomon

One word: "control"

If I want to blast through 1st & 2nd then pop over to 6th to hang out at a roughly legal speed, I can do that - and I do

If I want a gentle takeoff I ease the clutch out. If I want a hammer-blow launch I can rev to 4k and sidestep/flatten. If I want something in-between I can rev to 2.5k and quickly let the clutch out. S-tronic is cool, and I've resigned myself to getting one, but it's absolutely without question my *second* choice.


There are unquestionably some operations S-tronic does better than me: it's a way better rev-matcher, it's faster and sounds cooler, it doesn't forget to upshift to top gear.

OTOH, it cannot go from 2nd to 4th, it apparently can't do anything between a soft launch and a full-blown clutch drop. It can't run up to the rev-limiter and stay there either. More importantly I can't *TELL* it to go from 7th to 4th (I know that I can cajole it into doing that sometimes). Paddles are cool, but they don't support Neutral - so I'm headed to another control to tell it to go from 3rd into neutral.

So, no, S-tronic is NOT "superior to the 6M in every possible way". Many ways yes, but not every one.

feralc

A manual transmission is more engaging and fun, requires more skill, and makes the driver better.
That is why I like the new Corvette Z06, a supercar with a proper (old fashioned) manual transmission.
I don't care if a transmission can shift faster than any human, I like the feeling of shifting, in 10 years or so most cars will be driving by themselves and not because of technology has evolved to a point that driving is not longer necessary I will stop driving, because I love driving.

streetspped

I was in the same dilemma. I drove the new S4 with the S Tronic. It's an automatic regardless of what they call it. I loved the car, but the back seat was just too damn small for my needs. I have a Z06 racecar for the track so I figured I could give a little on the sportiness of the S4 for the comfort of the A6. Picking the car up Friday.

gatorguy7

My man, the S-tronic is an automated manual, so drive in manual mode and you pretty much have control over all that except for the neutral.

Mitch105

Your response is clinical. That is not the point. The manual is fun, visceral, and driver centric. No auto can compete with a manual shift car in the art and thrill of driving.

But I do agree today's auto and dual clutch auto are far better than old autos. Also today's direct injection engine make the power much lower further diminishing the fun of a manual.

In the old days before direct injection (notwithstanding diesel) and still on many naturally aspirated v6 cars the rev range is like old where horsepower and torque have to be beaten out at higher revs. Automatics feel worse and lessen driver enjoyment versus a manual that worked well with this combo.


Today with torque off the line these new autos are just incredible and smooth and access power so effortlessly. Still for the emotional and fun a manual is great perhaps in a weekend car.

Richard Solomon

Nope - all the stuff I listed the S-tronic cannot do. You can tell it to go 2->3->4 but not 2->4. It will go 7->4 but you cannot tell it to. We hashed out the launch options over in S6 a bit earlier - and y'all tell me it's LC or stomp-and-go, so that intermediate range is out. In manual mode (at least in the S-tronic I drove) it will shift at or near redline - certainly won't bounce off the limiter.

Look, I'm not ragging on the S-tronic, it's a great transmission from everything I can tell - it's just not as flexible as a traditional-shifting 3-pedal manual. I spent hours in-car and months out-of-car agonizing over it, and decided that I was willing to compromise - but as I said, S-tronic is a compromise for me.

Mike_L

The Mustang did when I swapped it in. It came with a 2.3L I4 and AODE. I swapped in a 5.0 and T5. That was when I knew I hated manuals. Way too much work. And now with no benefits to it, I have no reason to go back.

Not anymore. The 2015 Z06 was just introduced, and it will be available with an 8 speed automatic, which they expect to account for well over half the sales.

I'll say it again; Manuals are antiquated. Even pro driver Randy Pobst says that they're obsolete. And nobody wants them. Look at the sales numbers. Sure, you can claim all you want on a web forum, but look at what you bought. 94% of sales are automatic. Says that people are all talk, but when it comes time to lay out their money, they buy the automatic.

feralc

Sorry to point the obvious but if you have hated manuals for a while is because you don't know how to drive them, therefore the "way too much work" you hate is what we actually enjoy. And the corvette z06 2015 comes with a 7speed manual and a 8speed automatic, my comment was referring to the manual.