Which autobox?

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Antipasti

Antipasti

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Hi,

We’re after a new family car, but needs to be an auto.

Which manufacturers offer the best autobox? Budget to be around 4-5k

Ideally hatchback rather than saloon, but ideally after the car with the most reliable autobox.

Thanks in advance
 
At your budget, you should be thinking of the requirements of the whole car, but with a definite "must have an auto-box".
For example, mileage, will it be used mainly in town or on runs (which basically defines whether it's optimum to have petrol or diesel).

Off the top of my head, and for your budget, I'd be looking at probably a Volvo or Lexus, both of which are pretty reliable. I wouldn't be going anywhere near anything French, and at the probable age of the car, would also be avoiding DCT in VAG cars.
 
It will mainly only be used for town trips, very occasional dual carriage way/motorway.

My girlfriend only has a auto licence. She currently drives a 2010 Renault Modus. 1.6 and can spend £200 a month purely on doing the school & work run. It really isn’t very economical. The OBC claims avg 23mpg, but that seems generous.

I appreciate the town driving will hamper the MPG, but we would like something returning 30 at least.
 
reevsy said:
It will mainly only be used for town trips, very occasional dual carriage way/motorway.

My girlfriend only has a auto licence. She currently drives a 2010 Renault Modus. 1.6 and can spend £200 a month purely on doing the school & work run. It really isn’t very economical. The OBC claims avg 23mpg, but that seems generous.

I appreciate the town driving will hamper the MPG, but we would like something returning 30 at least.
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Not many cheap autos are going to do 30mpg around town.
 
Wife has a 2010 Polo 1.4 (non-tubro) DSG. We bought it 18 months ago and all its needed is a single snapped spring (other than typical maintenance and servicing). We paid just over the top end of your budget for a 30,000 mile car. Obviously they will have dropped in price a bit now.

Easily gets 50+MPG on A/B roads outside of town, and even round town will get high 30s/low 40s.

I know people are weary of DSG at cheaper budgets, but the 7-Speed box in the Polo isn’t that prone to failures.
 
paradigm said:
Wife has a 2010 Polo 1.4 (non-tubro) DSG. We bought it 18 months ago and all its needed is a single snapped spring (other than typical maintenance and servicing). We paid just over the top end of your budget for a 30,000 mile car. Obviously they will have dropped in price a bit now.

Easily gets 50+MPG on A/B roads outside of town, and even round town will get high 30s/low 40s.

I know people are weary of DSG at cheaper budgets, but the 7-Speed box in the Polo isn’t that prone to failures.
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Interesting, thank you.
 
Clarkey said:
I would avoid DSG on the basis that it's a horrible device rather than any reliability worry, they are pretty solid really.
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I kind of get what you are saying. The lower end ones are certainly not as smooth as a torque converter, nor the best at slow speeds (don’t let one creep for too long, the clutch pack will overheat and start to wear prematurely, that’s why they have Hill Hold). But once rolling and out of 2nd gear, they are fine.
 
paradigm said:
I kind of get what you are saying. The lower end ones are certainly not as smooth as a torque converter, nor the best at slow speeds (don’t let one creep for too long, the clutch pack will overheat and start to wear prematurely, that’s why they have Hill Hold). But once rolling and out of 2nd gear, they are fine.
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Agreed, but that's really the party piece of a traditional auto box, they are silky smooth from a standstill and a delight to use in traffic. DSG is like being driven by a learner driver.
 
Clarkey said:
Agreed, but that's really the party piece of a traditional auto box, they are silky smooth from a standstill and a delight to use in traffic. DSG is like being driven by a learner driver.
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Tell me about it. Been using a DSG daily for 2 months now and it still manages to kangaroo out of junctions every now and again. It even does it itself when using the ACC!
 
Clarkey said:
DSG is like being driven by a learner driver.
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Really? I've driven a lot of DSG-equipped stuff and even the older ones aren't that bad.

Don't think people have to worry too much about creeping in traffic with DCTs. If it is a light-duty dry-clutched gearbox, sure, perhaps treat it a little more sympathetically... Otherwise, drive on. Millions of these things out there enduring this for years on end.
 
Lashout_UK said:
Really? I've driven a lot of DSG-equipped stuff and even the older ones aren't that bad.

Don't think people have to worry too much about creeping in traffic with DCTs. If it is a light-duty dry-clutched gearbox, sure, perhaps treat it a little more sympathetically... Otherwise, drive on. Millions of these things out there enduring this for years on end.
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Daft Q, not driven a dual clutch auto before. I tend to do a lot of crawling in city traffic in my Fiesta, I can get it so that in first the car creeps along on its own without me slipping the clutch. In a dual clutch what would you do? Stop, wait for a gap, let go of brake, catch up to car in front, stop etc? and so on? What would slipping the clutch look like in say a DSG and would you know?
 
VaderDSL said:
Daft Q, not driven a dual clutch auto before. I tend to do a lot of crawling in city traffic in my Fiesta, I can get it so that in first the car creeps along on its own without me slipping the clutch. In a dual clutch what would you do? Stop, wait for a gap, let go of brake, catch up to car in front, stop etc? and so on? What would slipping the clutch look like in say a DSG and would you know?
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If you do a lot of stop-start city traffic then get a traditional converter auto, the fluid coupling is perfect for it. DSG is pants I can't comment too much about others. Basically you release the brake and in that moment there is no drive, it engages the clutches after you release the brake and the car accelerates fairly abruptly to it's minimum creep speed, it isn't very refined. Then you press the accelerator and it gives you whiplash as it fully engages the clutch. No, mine isn't faulty, all of them I've driven are the same.
 
Clarkey said:
If you do a lot of stop-start city traffic then get a traditional converter auto, the fluid coupling is perfect for it. DSG is pants I can't comment too much about others. Basically you release the brake and in that moment there is no drive, it engages the clutches after you release the brake and the car accelerates fairly abruptly to it's minimum creep speed, it isn't very refined. Then you press the accelerator and it gives you whiplash as it fully engages the clutch. No, mine isn't faulty, all of them I've driven are the same.
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I only get that if i release the brake and immediatelly press the gas at least halfway down. Otherwise it’s pretty refined. But yeah, coming from a manual, it needed a bit of time getting used to it, as it used to happen a lot as I was used to using the clutch to hold the car prior to setting off, i.e. set off immediatelly. Just drive a bit more relaxed and should be fine. 1.2tsi with DSG.
 
Clarkey said:
If you do a lot of stop-start city traffic then get a traditional converter auto, the fluid coupling is perfect for it. DSG is pants I can't comment too much about others. Basically you release the brake and in that moment there is no drive, it engages the clutches after you release the brake and the car accelerates fairly abruptly to it's minimum creep speed, it isn't very refined. Then you press the accelerator and it gives you whiplash as it fully engages the clutch. No, mine isn't faulty, all of them I've driven are the same.
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Never had that issue, even made a video of a 1.4 tsi DSG with ACC driving itself, smooth as silk in traffic. Maybe it doesn't like the way you drive as the gearbox control unit does learn your habits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm6zUzv5Ul4&t=3s
 
I've got a Fabia Vrs with a DSG gearbox, it's a 2013 model and the gear box is good. I get 30 around town and 40mpg on motorways.

The car is a bit small for us now though as we have a baby and my wife likes to sit in the back.

It's a polo under the skin.

If you could get one from Skoda you'd get a year warranty. Might be do able for 5k. Plus you can extend the warranty for around £200 a year. So no worries if the DSG fails.

Looks like a used approved 1.2 Fabia auto goes for around £7.5k.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201803315117233?atmobcid=soc3
 
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