[ADEY]

This thread is pretty interesting for me. I have been using manuals all my life. I am nearing 40 and want to shift to a reliable automatic in the next few months. This is where the thing becomes confusing for me with so many technologies in the market right now.

What I need from the members is little bit of help in identifying the auto transmission type that I should select and there after have a peaceful life.
Just to mention, I have a budget of 22-25L( Only new cars/ no pre-owned) at max and any suggestions keeping the reliability factor in mind will be highly appreciated.

[abhijit 2284]

From what I am seeing around me there seems to be a serious shift from dual clutch to CVT and TC wherever the opportunity exists. This is more in the case of first time buyers and buyers who have used Maruti products in the past.

[noopster]

Voted No. Have a Superb 1.8 TSI DSG in the extended family and it has already suffered the dreaded mechatronics failure once. My own experience with the VW Vento 1.6 MFI with a conventional 6-speed torque convertor AT has been awesome. So when the time came to get a new car opted for the Kia Seltos 1.5 diesel AT instead of the 1.4 turbo petrol DCT. It's a no-brainer really!

[buntee90]

Voted No,
Reliability is of prime concern!

Most of my long drives are with family, and I wouldn't want my gearbox to fail with Kids and parents aboard. I can't live with that kind of uncertainty after 4-5th Year of ownership of a car.

A competent TC/CVT for me please!

[FAIAAA]

Voted NO

Having experienced the smoothness of the ZF torque convertor (TC) gearbox , i feel a good TC is "nearly" up there with a DSG gearbox, minus reliability issues. Current ride has a CVT gearbox, which though certainly not "enthusiastic", is smooth and reliable.

I do a lot of long /cross country road trips and reliability is #1 for me. The thought of being stranded due to a gearbox (or any other mechanical) failure is too much for me to handle.

[sachin_cs]

Voted a big resounding yes! I have been driving a 2019 Skoda Rapid DSG TDi and have done close to 43k Kms and everytime I get behind the steering wheel, I always feel I made the right decision by choosing this over Korean Torque converters. As far as reliability of DQ200 is concerned, I'm very well aware of its woes but what I am confident about is the way Skoda is improving its after sales support, they are working hard and its visible from every visit to the A.S.S.

Couple of things I ensure to keep my car in good health-

• Always shift to N when standing for say more than one minute in traffic
• We recently acquired a Kwid so most of the city duties are taken care by Lydia(that's what I named her)
• Buy that damn extended warranty and sleep in peace for 6 years
• Avoid after market mods and keep her bone stock till warranty expires
• Mentally prepared to shelve 1L on gearbox repairs if any
• Also added gearbox and engine cover in my comprehensive insurance

Here's a recent click of my beauty-

[VVN]

Voted No and I wish I could vote twice.

I have driven cars with DSG and my god it's amazing. But I would not want to own a car that I'd have to drive with certain conditions neither will I be willing to compromise on the reliability. A well built car is still an unsafe car if it gives up on the highway with family. I'd love to own a DSG car in the future once the issues are ironed out but till then, I am happy with my CVT. It's a luggard but 95% of me is sure that it won't give up randomly.

[fhdowntheline]

After having owned a Polo TSI DSG, I would say I'd buy a German DSG car than a Korean- that's one of the reasons I did not go for the 1.4 DCT Creta and chose the 1.5 TC-AT Diesel one.
Interestingly, I haven't heard of too many failures or overheating issues of the Jeep or MG DCT gearboxes. Are they designed any differently ?

[buntee90]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

Interestingly, I haven't heard of too many failures or overheating issues of the Jeep or MG DCT gearboxes. Are they designed any differently ?

That's because there aren't many of them.
I have only come across one Petrol Compass that on TBhp too!

[kraken]

Voted Yes and bought one in 2019. The Rapid DSG is one of the best heart over head purchase I've made in my entire life. I know there is a very big chance of DSG failure, but I do everything to mollycoddle the gearbox. I drove almost 8 cars before I zeroed in on the Rapid. None of the other cars made me grin like a teenager. The Vento TSI DSG did come dangerously close, but I did get sweet discounts on the Rapid BS-IV stocks which made it a no brainer.

Although now that I think of it, I would never have gone for the DSG if mine was a single car garage. I think having a Toyota did influence, rather gave me the confidence to go for it.

[sudeepg]

Voted No

I would if these manufacturers would fully engage, support and resolve issues that arise out of this complex machinery, but most don't.

Service centers are not competent to diagnose and resolve these matters. In today's world where time is a premium, I simply don't have the energy to run behind getting faulty gearbox problems resolved.

[manjubp]

One of my friend owns a Vento 1.5TDI DSG HL and it is 2014 model. The car has run 85+K Kms and always serviced at ASC in Bangalore. On Monday, car just refused to move and has to be towed to ASC. The initial diagnosis was Mechatronics failure and requires clutch replacement, with total estimation of Rs.1.3L. The reports were shown to my friend, but they refused to mail/whatup the same.

Based on recommendation in VW Jetta owners whatsup group, I suggested him to talk to ASC and ask for a goodwill warranty for a 7.5 years old car. Surprise !!! After some discussion, they accepted to waive the Mechatronics cost(with 2years warranty on replaced part), but other things like clutch/flywheel and service cost needs to be paid by my friend.

As long as VW can provide this sort of customer service and standby, I will always go by VW DSG. (I have a pre-owned 2014 Jetta HL TDI with DSG). None of my earlier car so fun/engaged to drive.

Voted YES!!!!

[src]

Have voted NO and I am not surprised by the result till now.
Honestly was in this dilemma for entire 2020 and pushed my upgrade plans.

Did multiple Test Drives in various cars at various price segments during 2020 to 2021.
Put down my requirements and spoke to multiple people from various sections.

Realized that for a city usage in Petrol Car it is no brainer to stick to CVT.
Eventually bought the Honda City ZX CVT and even after buying the remorse was there.

But no more remorse nowadays after seeing so many failures even in 2021.

[MartinVirage]

I think it's a subjective question. Most people who have had DSGs (with good experiences) will always say Yes. Most people who have had DSGs with problems, will still say Yes, because there is no other alternative. So 'YES'. Yes I will stick on with my defective TSi DQ200 till it dies and I cannot afford to fix it simply because 99 percent times I have had good times with my car and will buy a similar DSG if not anything better.

IMHO I believe there will be many of us, who would vote 'NO' by listening to reviews rather than actually experiencing these cars or maybe are too fed up to repair them - which I eventually would become. But, again I don't blame anyone, and I respect every one's opinion.

[Tapish]

Clear NO from my end on this.

I am in the market currently and reliability is my top concern. Hence I booked Verna IVT instead of the other options. Did consider a few other options briefly but never went forward with a DSG/ DCT due to the constant issues I see on the forum everyday. In fact, long term reliability was why I stayed away even from 1.0 Turbo Petrols and preferred a 1.5 NA engine.

For me, it was not about the cost or the downtime but more about the mental peace that I can take the car anywhere without a nagging feeling that something may go wrong. Agreed, there is nothing that is 100% reliable, but we all play in probabilities. In 2013, I had my Esteem give up on me 30 kms short of Kedarnath, but surprise, a local mechanic was able to get it to work and I found a Maruti Service Center within 50 kms who was able to take care of everything professionally.

T