dlinoc

Anyone with first hand experience driving all 3 transmissions? Was curious to know what they thought of each. Is the 7 DSG that much better than the 6sp triptronic? How about the 8sp vs. the 6. Drove an S4 yesterday and must say the DSG seems to shift awfully quick, very smooth. Drove the 6 spd can you can feel the shifts more.

sharding

I have an A6 with 6 speed Tiptronic, and an S5 with 7 speed S-Tronic (DSG). I've driven a few cars with the 8 speed Tip, but not enough to be intimately familiar with it. And I've never driven an S5 with Tiptronic. So my comparisons aren't really apples to apples. But I can tell a huge difference between the S-Tronic and the Tiptronic. Night and day for me. I wouldn't say I noticed a big difference between 6 speed and 8 speed Tiptronic, but I wasn't really driving the cars with that comparison in mind, so I didn't pay a lot of attention.

JD15

I have the 8-speed tiptronic and test drove the 6-speed Tiptronic and DSG. This is a bit simplistic, but I would say 7-speed DSG > 8-speed Tiptronic > 6-speed Tiptronic.

Huey52

Concur.

The dual clutch "automatic manual" S-tronic (DSG) trumps all.

Gear Junky

DSG is best, without a doubt. Though how much superior it is greatly depends on the engine it's attacted to, if it's a petrol engine that N/A then the difference between DSG and the latest 8sp from ZF is small but if it's a FI unit and especially a diesel turbo then DSG feels much better as you don't get the double delay of torque convertor and turbo spooling up.

The really odd thing is that Audi switch most of the models that come with DSG in Europe with a traditional automatic for the States, doesn't make much sense to me.

JD15

I have read that this is because Audi thinks that the average American luxury car buyer will be discouraged by the sometimes harsh, more abrupt shifts of the DSG and is more comfortable with a smoother shifting, traditional AT. Although the 8-speed ZF unit is a good AT, I would have preferred to be given the choice of the DSG, as it is available in the A4 in Europe.

Gear Junky

Having lengthy experience of both the DSG and 8sp ZF Auto I think Audi must have a screw loose to think that the DSG has a harsher, more abrupt shift because from my experience quite the opposite is true as it's shift are only noticeable from the change in revs on the rev counter. With the ZF automatic you feel the shift in the form of a surging from one gear to the next, maybe this is what Audi believe most Americans will prefer and why it's offered with the normal range where as the DSG comes in the S and RS models but it's not nearly as seamless a shift as you get from DSG that is for sure.

Huey52

Concur. One of the advantages of the S-tronic is its innate anticipatory gear shift, which also makes it virtually seamless and not at all abrupt.

The S5 with s/c V6 and S-tronic will be my next ride.

JD15

I was referring more to low-speed shifting, like in stop-and-go traffic, than full throttle type of shifting. Generally, dual-clutch manuals are considered to be a bit clunkier under those conditions, although they have improved considerably.

I remember reading that VW regretted equipping one of their standard vehicles in the US (Passat?) with the DSG due to complaints about the shifting harshness under certain conditions and would switch back to a standard AT in the future.

Jake-AudiUSAParts

The only complaints I have ever heard about the DSG is the low speed jerk when starting from a stop or backing up. If I was trying to decide which transmission to go with I would look at how I intend to drive the car. If the intended use is comfort and transport then one of the autos (TIP) would work great. If its performance you're going for then its DSG all the way!