NY wrote:

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
You drive a manual at present?

Yes. I like to control when the car changes gear so I don't get a sudden
surge of power if the car changes down when I wasn't expecting it - eg in
response to a slight increase in throttle where I'd stay in the same gear in
a manual.

DSGs are great for *performing* the gear change with a smoothness that most
manual drivers (me included) cannot always achieve. But I would want to
remain in control of *when* the gearchange occurred.

I've driven autos and found them difficult to predict - I find myself
*fighting* a gearbox that changes down to readily, so I back off the power
if it changes down unexpectedly, and the damn thing changes back up -
hitting the happy medium of moderate, controlled acceleration can be
difficult. Most of my auto experience was a long time ago in the 1980s, on
my Dad's Ford Sierra and various Honda Accords, but I have driven a few Ford
Fiesta-size auto loan cars when my car has been in the garage.
.
All autos creep on the level, unless the
brakes are applied. My PDK works just fine provided you don't mind the
brake lights being on all the time. It even has a hill hold feature.

What it doesn't seem to like is the handbrake on and being in drive for
long periods on a hot day.

Which is why I would always put an auto into neutral if I was stopped for
more than a few seconds - exactly as for a manual - so I can come off the
footbrake and use the handbrake. I might even use park, but only if I was
stuck in a traffic jam with no chance of setting off in the next five
minutes - and only if the brief flash of the reversing lights as I moved
from park to drive wasn't going to scare the car behind ;-)

You'll probably say that I'm trying to drive an auto too much as I'd drive a
manual, as regards neutral and handbrake when stopped ;-)



I think what you do is exactly the right thing to do with torque
converter transmission. I've no idea about the newer systems. Perhaps
if they disengage completely when stopped there is no reason to take
them out of "drive".
--

Roger Hayter