EGainer

I've been driving manual for 10 years and hated the thought of going to auto. When I first got the car, I only drove manual. Now, I have lots of fun with manual, but letting the car roll down the highway in traffic in D, with adaptivd cruise and lane assist on is awesome. I really don't have to drive when in traffic, just watch out for morons swerving between lanes.

I switch between manual S and S often, then D if I'm warming the car up or driving down the highway.

m3brad

98% Manual

gamegenie

I tried it for the first time today, and I can't figure it out.


I put Drive Select in Dynamic and move the gear-shift to the (- +) position and the car seemed to want to go straight to the highest rev point.

I thought there was suppose to be an indication of what gear I was at displayed on the dash, but I saw no such thing while doing this in manual mode.

sgt_cr

Yes you do, you get the M on manual and it will tell you M1-M2-M3-M4, etc, it happens the same thing on D and S, D1-D2-D3, etc, S1, S2, S3, etc.

gamegenie

I took it for a spin again and yesterday and noticed the M1 in the corner. I didn't see it earlier before I made my previous post.

I don't get the same manual car feel from Driving my A3 in manual mode. It seem to want to start at the highest revs when switching gears, (going up + or down -) making me nervous that it might red-line.

I was trying to see how I can slow down the car hitting the (-) shifters and the car just rev'd more.

smooth 1

With a screen name of Game Genie, I would think this new Playstation driving approach would be second nature for you!

Manual mode means you have to shift it when you want it to shift. Otherwise,,yeah,,it's going to rev to the redline and stay there unless you you shift. Sport mode will only shift when you get to the top of the gear. I never use sport mode. I don't really understand what situation there is that makes that the right choice. But whatever.

salvadorik

I drive my S3 on manual mode almost all the time. I find manual mode to be the best one for my driving style. The interesting part I was introduced to paddle shifters a while ago and I had three or four cars before S3 with the paddles. I never used paddles as I found those paddles useless because they were slow to respond to my inputs. I would rather leave it in "auto". On S3 however it is a joy to use the paddles. They have instantaneous response to your inputs and this is the first car with automatic transmission (meaning without third pedal with true manual) where I find it to be more preferable to use manual mode than auto. Other than the initial lag/hesitation issue that this DSG has I find this transmission to be superb.

smooth 1

Yep...me too. I've had several cars and trucks with the paddle shifters, and "manual shift" programs. But DSG with Stronic is soooo much nicer. In fact, I still rarely use the paddles, as I like to use the shifter. Theres just something satisfying about feeling the lever hit home, and the car instantly shifts into the next rev range. And the rev match for downshifting is like auto ****! LOL!! If I've been driving it hard...I can even get it to crackle and pop as the revs drop down...kind of like the new Jaguar F types do...not as loud though...and I can turn mine off so it doesn't do it at all.

gamegenie

haha, what's funny the only experience I had with paddle shifters were the ones attached to my Xbox 360 steering wheel. and I whenever I did play Forza I'd mostly chose the Automatic transmission option over Manual.

I got to figure out this Sport mode. I need to sink myself in my A3 manual because thinking I can just wing this setup might lead me to trouble.


What mode am I in when I change the Drive Select mode to Dynamic and then switch the gear shift to D (+/-) ? Is that Sport or Manual?

joxer

I've just had my little A3 a week, and I'm pretty much staying away from manual mode until I get a few more miles under my belt. I do wish they had made the +/- the right way instead of upside down but I guess once you start using it you figure it out. Until you get back on your motorcycle at least ;-).