tiptronic transmission questions

We were originally leaning towards a manual transmission, but after talking with about a dozen friends and family members, we're reconsidering. We have young children and live in a pretty hilly city (Vancouver, Canada) that sometimes has horrible traffic.

I think the automatic transmission with the "Tiptronic" feature might just give us the best of both worlds. I'm particularly curious...if I drive it in "manual mode" can I expect better fuel economy than when driving in full automatic mode? Or, is this just a fun performance feature?

Wyley

Reply to
Wyley Ingeus
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Tiptronic is still an automatic...I have driven the TDI-PD with Tiptronic, and it is a quick car...I personally find that Tiptronic is fun when you want to have some more control over the shift strategy, but it still will override your shifting if the timing isn't right...so you can't go from 5th to 4th at 140 km/h.....

That being said, the difference in fuel economy is marginal between full automatic and Tip modes...

- Peter

Reply to
Pete Cressman

"Pete Cressman" wrote in news:ddjbc.4311$ snipped-for-privacy@news04.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com:

Great info. Thanks.

I'm very close to acquiring one of these. Perhaps this weekend. :-)

Wyley

Reply to
Wyley Ingeus

Congrats!!!

Suggestion....get the leather...you mentioned having kids...the cloth is a PITA to keep clean!

Reply to
Pete Cressman

It definitely is an automatic and feels like on. I've always had manual cars, but the few times I've borrowed tiptronic cars, I've prefered to leave them in automatic. The control you're given really isn't much and I found it more annoying than worthwhile (especially at red lights or in traffic). Most owners I've talked to that have it, stopped using it once the novelty wore off.

dv

Reply to
Drew Volpe

Reply to
Rob Guenther

Go tip and you'll be happy in a long run. I have a 99 Passat 2.8l with tip and MPG is city 22mpg highway 29mph. The way the tiptronic is designed once the trans get into the upper gears the torque converter locks up and you have direct drive just like a STD trans. When in tip mode you just have a little more control over shifting which is especially great during winter.

99.9% of the time mine is not in the tip mode.

Reply to
Woodchuck

How much extra is the tiptronic over the auto ?

dv

Reply to
Drew Volpe

Reply to
Rob Guenther

Drew Volpe wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@hcs.harvard.edu:

From what I can see here in Vancouver, Canada, there are only two transmission choices: the manual and the auto transmission with Tiptronic.

So I suppose the answer to your question would be "free"? :-)

Wyley

Reply to
Wyley Ingeus

ah, ok. I was going to say it seems silly to pay for a feature you only use 0.1% of the time, but if it's free, that's not a problem.

dv

Reply to
Drew Volpe

Like air bags ??? ;-)

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Reply to
Tim Burr

I haven't driven a VW Tiptronic but we have a BMW Steptronic in a 3-series and it's kinda boring. If you really get pleasure from driving a car with three pedals, the Tip/Step will not satisfy. It can be best summed up as little different from any other automatic except that the gearshift motions up and down the gears are simplified (just nudge the shifter) and less clumsy (compared to a typical auto shifter where you press a button and move the shifter down a gear or up a gear). I think the only other thing that the Tip/Step does is that it will override you if you leave it in a lower gear too long (or if you downshift and the engine would overspeed)...it will upshift for you (or not downshift, depending on what you were doing) to prevent you from overspeeding the engine. It's definitely no substitute for a traditional manual transmission for the overall experience/feel that a true manual gives you.

Reply to
Matt B.

Reply to
Woodchuck

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