I would think if you always drive in D mode then the Stronic must give better fuel consumption,as it always will be in the highest gear possible under normal driving.
I'm personally always changing between D mode, and manual in mine,but it's possible for the car to be very economical if you want it to be.

 

I would think if you always drive in D mode then the Stronic must give better fuel consumption,as it always will be in the highest gear possible under normal driving.

I'm not the best person to give an opinion as I've only had the car a couple of weeks, but based on my experience so far I'd agree with this. In D the car always seems to be a gear or two higher than I'd be in driving manual - even slowing for roundabouts and junctions at a speed where you'd think a lower gear would be more economical and quicker to get away. I can't say the car lacks any grunt pulling away, but it's easy to flip down a gear or two with the flappy paddle which I'm tending to do.

There's no doubt that leaving the car in D though and just letting the S-Tronic do it's thing seems to produce the best mpg - at least according to the DIS.

 

In the RS the fuel economy is better with the S-tronic box

33.2mpg (S-Tronic)
31.4mpg (Manual)

6% increase although this may be down to 6sp in the manual vs 7sp in the S-Tronic

I have had both manual and S-tronic and the S-Tronic is definitely better on fuel by as much as 10% I would say.

 

It is utter rubbish if anyone claims economy to be better in a traditional torque-converter driven automatic, these are inefficient by design.

In theory a DSG should at worst be no worse than a manual when driven normally in D, and are potentially better - it really depends on how good the software is. Yes they are slightly heavier than a manual by about 25kg or so but this is negligible and would lose only a fraction of a percent in overall economy - under-inflated tyres would be far more noticeable.

In my experience the D mode in my Stronic TTS was pretty good and and would change up through the box very quickly, you would be in 6th by 35mph.

Conversely the Stronic in the RS, again in my experience, is nowhere near as good and frustrates the hell out of me, a manual would easily be more economical around town, but the Stronic has a longer top gear which helps a lot on a run.

Around town you have to be on the ball and often change up manually to get the best economy possible as the software insists on holding onto gears until 2krpm. If I was driving a proper manual then if performance is not needed I would change up around 15krpm which would drop the revs down to 1100 - absolutely fine with this engine.

This means in the RS you can be in slow traffic and be me moving with engine speed at screaming at 19.5krpm in 2nd gear with virtually no throttle load so you should be in 3rd - however the only way to get into 3rd is to accelerate past 2krpm or change manually. In the S under same throttle load conditions it would've changed into 3rd a lot lot sooner = better economy.

If I could request one change to the software it would be to lower the shift point in D by 2.5krpm for light throttle loads (although not changing down to 1st gear automanually would run a very close second ). This would yield much better economy.

 

The answer is emphatically YES. On my daily commute into work I'm getting an average mpg of 29mpg and I am driving my car with a very light right foot. On exactly the same commute into work with my S3 sportback (manual) I was getting 33 mpg and that's often driving it faster than the TTS I now have, primarliy as the new car bloody drinks the stuff if I start to floor it. The notion that the s tronic gives better fuel economy is total bollocks. Audi are taking the piss to publish what? 36mpg combined for the s tronic tts? I doubt I could get that even if I tried! The BEST I have managed with my new car is 32 and that was driving it at a steady 55 to 60 on A roads...

 

Thanks for the replies. I reckon the S-tronic is what I'll go for. As has been said, whether it's more economical or not depends on its software and the car's gear ratios. I guess that accounts for why some models are better with auto and some better with manual.

 

The answer is emphatically YES. On my daily commute into work I'm getting an average mpg of 29mpg and I am driving my car with a very light right foot. On exactly the same commute into work with my S3 sportback (manual) I was getting 33 mpg and that's often driving it faster than the TTS I now have, primarliy as the new car bloody drinks the stuff if I start to floor it. The notion that the s tronic gives better fuel economy is total bollocks. Audi are taking the piss to publish what? 36mpg combined for the s tronic tts? I doubt I could get that even if I tried! The BEST I have managed with my new car is 32 and that was driving it at a steady 55 to 60 on A roads...

Rubbish, you are comparing apples and oranges :roll:

Check your tyre pressures, compare like for like at same point of year. No point comparing Dec/Jan fuel economy to that of June/July, back to school if that's the case [smiley=book2.gif]

I can emphatically state that Audi are not lying, the S-tronic IS more fuel efficient, it's all in your head. From someone who has actually had both variants of the same car, I think I actually have some credence with this. (And yeah, Audi are lying, it's not as if they havent spent many hours specifically testing this, you're right comparing apples and oranges and myself and Audi are wrong comparing apples and apples :wink: )

 

It's NOT rubbish at all :roll: I can see your point and given your own experiences, tha make sense. But your missing mine old fruit.
The S3 does have the same engine' almost idnetical performance as the TTS and err, the TTS is claimed to have better economy by Audi :roll: (check that if you want...) I've covered what? 1500 miles in the TTS. Almost all on my commute to work in the last three weeks. Average 27.3 and Audi claim 36mpg combined for the s tronic. What utter tosh! For my S3 something like 33mpg claimed and that's pretty much what it did on the same milk run only a few weeks ago. Funny that they get it right for the manual. It's VERY well documented that the s tronic will deliver better economy when tested in the way it is to get those fantasy mpg figures. In the real world, it's definately worse than a manual from my own expereinces and those of many others I have spoken to on the subject. I had a s tronic s3 as a loaner and that managed less than the manual version. A mate has a sciroco R DSG and that drinks it. He gets a manual as a loaner... yeah, it's more econimical. Even evo magazine published an article saying the same thing. Go figure.
But hey, one or two TT RS owners are reporting better mpg with the s tronic? But not too many TTS owners are saying the same thing :? Comparing bananas with plums of course [smiley=gossip.gif] Personally I think it is a lot easier to get better consumption from a manual than the s tronic, and I think that's the hub of all this really. I have been watching the real time consumption as I drive along (nowt else to do on the M25) and it is definately a lot harder to drive down the consumption in the auto than when using the manual. Anyway, I've stopped being bothered about it as I've got the wife's skoda yeti diesel to use where I want to avoid big fuel bills :mrgreen: the only problem is letting her have the TTS [smiley=bigcry.gif]

 

The reason for the increase in the RS is due to a 7th gear.

Having never driven a TTS S-Tronic, does it have a 6sp or 7sp S-Tronic? If 6sp then you may have a point, the S-tronic boxes are 25kg heavier straight away.

 

The reason for the increase in the RS is due to a 7th gear.

Having never driven a TTS S-Tronic, does it have a 6sp or 7sp S-Tronic? If 6sp then you may have a point, the S-tronic boxes are 25kg heavier straight away.

DQ250 in the TTS is 6-speed. Best I have had is 38.2mpg on a 75-mile run averaging 60mph or so. I had a manual S3 before the TTS and difference in fuel economy is negligible.

 

On the V6 the MPG is considerably improved in the DSG version, so really I can't see how MPG can be worse!

 

In theory a DSG should at worst be no worse than a manual when driven normally in D, and are potentially better - it really depends on how good the software is. Yes they are slightly heavier than a manual by about 25kg or so but this is negligible and would lose only a fraction of a percent in overall economy - under-inflated tyres would be far more noticeable.

In theory, we should compare between apples, like 6-speed manual and 6-speed DSG with exactly the same gear ratio, also assuming same shift point for both human and DSG software.

In that case DSG should have better mpg in urban driving as the shifting process is lot faster than human => less lost in shifting. However on the motorway under the same speed, since no shifting need to be involved, then 6-speed manual should have better mpg because of the reduced weight.

 

Who cares?

In the real world the difference of a couple of mpg between each variant is negligible anyway to the pocket over the course of a year

The most I have ever managed was 40mpg on a 70 mile run slapped in 6th cruise control @ 60mph

 

Honestly, there are times when I wish I could somehow disable 6th gear altogether. In city driving, 6th gear can be problematic for me. I'll be driving along at 1200 rpm in 6th gear, and the car tends to bog down a bit when I encounter a hill, then upshifts to 5th. I would argue that the extra gas trying to push the car up a hill in too high of a gear ratio saves nothing over having 5th gear at the ready to begin with.

In other words, I wish I could push a button and enable 6th gear, sort of like the old "overdrive" gear in slush boxes. It would be a great use of that dead button that now resides where the tire pressure monitor reset was, considering it's very near the gearshift lever.

 

Honestly, there are times when I wish I could somehow disable 6th gear altogether. In city driving, 6th gear can be problematic for me. I'll be driving along at 1200 rpm in 6th gear, and the car tends to bog down a bit when I encounter a hill, then upshifts to 5th. I would argue that the extra gas trying to push the car up a hill in too high of a gear ratio saves nothing over having 5th gear at the ready to begin with.

In other words, I wish I could push a button and enable 6th gear, sort of like the old "overdrive" gear in slush boxes. It would be a great use of that dead button that now resides where the tire pressure monitor reset was, considering it's very near the gearshift lever.

You could always drop it manually to 5th prior to the hill with the push of the left paddle ... or if you're worried about it reengaging drive and upshifting, 'lock' it in to 5th using the gearstick in manual sequential mode.

DSG is a superb idea - if you don't like the current choice of gear, your own choice is only a click or two of a flappy paddle away. I use them all the time to downshift to 4th prior to an overtake with a couple of taps of my left hand. Then hold down the right paddle for a second after I'm in front and it's straight back into 'D'.

 

It is utter rubbish if anyone claims economy to be better in a traditional torque-converter driven automatic, these are inefficient by design.

In theory a DSG should at worst be no worse than a manual when driven normally in D, and are potentially better - it really depends on how good the software is. Yes they are slightly heavier than a manual by about 25kg or so but this is negligible and would lose only a fraction of a percent in overall economy - under-inflated tyres would be far more noticeable.

In my experience the D mode in my Stronic TTS was pretty good and and would change up through the box very quickly, you would be in 6th by 35mph.

Conversely the Stronic in the RS, again in my experience, is nowhere near as good and frustrates the hell out of me, a manual would easily be more economical around town, but the Stronic has a longer top gear which helps a lot on a run.

Around town you have to be on the ball and often change up manually to get the best economy possible as the software insists on holding onto gears until 2krpm. If I was driving a proper manual then if performance is not needed I would change up around 15krpm which would drop the revs down to 1100 - absolutely fine with this engine.

This means in the RS you can be in slow traffic and be me moving with engine speed at screaming at 19.5krpm in 2nd gear with virtually no throttle load so you should be in 3rd - however the only way to get into 3rd is to accelerate past 2krpm or change manually. In the S under same throttle load conditions it would've changed into 3rd a lot lot sooner = better economy.

If I could request one change to the software it would be to lower the shift point in D by 2.5krpm for light throttle loads (although not changing down to 1st gear automanually would run a very close second ). This would yield much better economy.

PP, certainly in my car, D changes up dependent on the throttle pressure applied, light throttle pressure it can change at 1400rpm, medium throttle will change at 2000rpm.

Try a gentler right foot :wink:

 

PP, certainly in my car, D changes up dependent on the throttle pressure applied, light throttle pressure it can change at 1400rpm, medium throttle will change at 2000rpm.

Try a gentler right foot :wink:

That's certainly the case with my six speed DSG - it will go into sixth by 37mph under light acceleration but if you give it more gas it will hold gears longer (not as long as 'S' mode though).

Also, strangely, if you do a really sharp turn (say, pull out from a junction) then it holds the second gear much longer than normal. Maybe this is designed to give you enough power to safely get up to speed if you have pulled out on to a main road?

 

Honestly, there are times when I wish I could somehow disable 6th gear altogether. In city driving, 6th gear can be problematic for me. I'll be driving along at 1200 rpm in 6th gear, and the car tends to bog down a bit when I encounter a hill, then upshifts to 5th. I would argue that the extra gas trying to push the car up a hill in too high of a gear ratio saves nothing over having 5th gear at the ready to begin with.

In other words, I wish I could push a button and enable 6th gear, sort of like the old "overdrive" gear in slush boxes. It would be a great use of that dead button that now resides where the tire pressure monitor reset was, considering it's very near the gearshift lever.

Issue is you dont have enough power to move the car at those revs in that gear.
Both my TTS and V6 never had a problem.

DSG improves CO2 output, thats a big gain on tax.
Doesnt really make that much difference on MPG while driving esp motorway as it really doesnt matter "how" it gets to that speed, its still the same amount of fuel being burned....

 

DSG is a superb idea - if you don't like the current choice of gear, your own choice is only a click or two of a flappy paddle away. I use them all the time to downshift to 4th prior to an overtake with a couple of taps of my left hand. Then hold down the right paddle for a second after I'm in front and it's straight back into 'D'.

Ah... is that right? I so hope it is. Holding down the right paddle will switch right back to 'D' without the system having to detect zero paddle activity for a few seconds?

 

. Then hold down the right paddle for a second after I'm in front and it's straight back into 'D'.

Ah... is that right? I so hope it is. Holding down the right paddle will switch right back to 'D' without the system having to detect zero paddle activity for a few seconds?

Well I'll go to the foot of our stairs! I checked this out this morning and you're dead right! No mention of it in the Owners Manual that I can see either. :?

Top tip - really handy to know. 8)

 

It is utter rubbish if anyone claims economy to be better in a traditional torque-converter driven automatic, these are inefficient by design.

In theory a DSG should at worst be no worse than a manual when driven normally in D, and are potentially better - it really depends on how good the software is. Yes they are slightly heavier than a manual by about 25kg or so but this is negligible and would lose only a fraction of a percent in overall economy - under-inflated tyres would be far more noticeable.

In my experience the D mode in my Stronic TTS was pretty good and and would change up through the box very quickly, you would be in 6th by 35mph.

Conversely the Stronic in the RS, again in my experience, is nowhere near as good and frustrates the hell out of me, a manual would easily be more economical around town, but the Stronic has a longer top gear which helps a lot on a run.

Around town you have to be on the ball and often change up manually to get the best economy possible as the software insists on holding onto gears until 2krpm. If I was driving a proper manual then if performance is not needed I would change up around 15krpm which would drop the revs down to 1100 - absolutely fine with this engine.

This means in the RS you can be in slow traffic and be me moving with engine speed at screaming at 19.5krpm in 2nd gear with virtually no throttle load so you should be in 3rd - however the only way to get into 3rd is to accelerate past 2krpm or change manually. In the S under same throttle load conditions it would've changed into 3rd a lot lot sooner = better economy.

If I could request one change to the software it would be to lower the shift point in D by 2.5krpm for light throttle loads (although not changing down to 1st gear automanually would run a very close second ). This would yield much better economy.

PP, certainly in my car, D changes up dependent on the throttle pressure applied, light throttle pressure it can change at 1400rpm, medium throttle will change at 2000rpm.

Try a gentler right foot :wink:

Same here,but I have noticed it changes a bit later until the engine is warm.
With very little throttle, it basically changes after every 10 km/h,and will be in 7th by 75 km/h

 

. Then hold down the right paddle for a second after I'm in front and it's straight back into 'D'.

Ah... is that right? I so hope it is. Holding down the right paddle will switch right back to 'D' without the system having to detect zero paddle activity for a few seconds?

Well I'll go to the foot of our stairs! I checked this out this morning and you're dead right! No mention of it in the Owners Manual that I can see either. :?

Top tip - really handy to know. 8)

Only seems to be on newer model s-tronics though ... I think if you have the newer gear knob (looks like a manual knob with the 'trigger' on the top) it will work but the older ones (with the 'ball' style knob with the button on the side) won't. I could be wrong though.

 

It is utter rubbish if anyone claims economy to be better in a traditional torque-converter driven automatic, these are inefficient by design.

In theory a DSG should at worst be no worse than a manual when driven normally in D, and are potentially better - it really depends on how good the software is. Yes they are slightly heavier than a manual by about 25kg or so but this is negligible and would lose only a fraction of a percent in overall economy - under-inflated tyres would be far more noticeable.

In my experience the D mode in my Stronic TTS was pretty good and and would change up through the box very quickly, you would be in 6th by 35mph.

Conversely the Stronic in the RS, again in my experience, is nowhere near as good and frustrates the hell out of me, a manual would easily be more economical around town, but the Stronic has a longer top gear which helps a lot on a run.

Around town you have to be on the ball and often change up manually to get the best economy possible as the software insists on holding onto gears until 2krpm. If I was driving a proper manual then if performance is not needed I would change up around 15krpm which would drop the revs down to 1100 - absolutely fine with this engine.

This means in the RS you can be in slow traffic and be me moving with engine speed at screaming at 19.5krpm in 2nd gear with virtually no throttle load so you should be in 3rd - however the only way to get into 3rd is to accelerate past 2krpm or change manually. In the S under same throttle load conditions it would've changed into 3rd a lot lot sooner = better economy.

If I could request one change to the software it would be to lower the shift point in D by 2.5krpm for light throttle loads (although not changing down to 1st gear automanually would run a very close second ). This would yield much better economy.

PP, certainly in my car, D changes up dependent on the throttle pressure applied, light throttle pressure it can change at 1400rpm, medium throttle will change at 2000rpm.

Try a gentler right foot :wink:

Lol - I wonder if there are slightly different software revisions out there then, as mine definitely does not change up early enough. Certainly I agree it will delay changing up if you give it any more than minimal throttle, squeeze a bit harder and it will hold a gear in D until about 3.5k.

I experimented a bit today and no way can I make it change up at 1400rpm, in any gear apart from 1st, no matter how slight the throttle. Ran in 3rd gear with the revs at 1900, constant minimal throttle pressure and it would not change up, only when revs were nudging 1950 or so did it change up.

 

i've tried with mine and can get it to shift up reaching 6th by 32mph !

out of curiosity though

when in S mode, the car is eager enough to hold the gears for acceleration, but by 100 leptons, i've noticed the car will not accelerate onwards as quick as it would in D, reaching 120+ leptons much easier.

 

Honestly, there are times when I wish I could somehow disable 6th gear altogether. In city driving, 6th gear can be problematic for me. I'll be driving along at 1200 rpm in 6th gear, and the car tends to bog down a bit when I encounter a hill, then upshifts to 5th. I would argue that the extra gas trying to push the car up a hill in too high of a gear ratio saves nothing over having 5th gear at the ready to begin with.

In other words, I wish I could push a button and enable 6th gear, sort of like the old "overdrive" gear in slush boxes. It would be a great use of that dead button that now resides where the tire pressure monitor reset was, considering it's very near the gearshift lever.

Me too ... there are many times the gearbox could be changing down to 5th OR EVEN 4th but stays in 6th and labours somewhat .. I guess thats where the paddles come in to their own !!