And I doubly hope that they don’t totally screw it up like they did when they put SMG into the E46 3-series – from everything I’ve read, the SMG in those cars was a complete nightmare. (of course some people think the same thing of the SMG in the Z4, but I had 3+ fantastic years with it)

obviously this dsg box isn’t focused at those ppl.

“You’re kidding yourself if you think this makes you a better driver.”

you’re prob right. nevermind the fact that paddle shift started at the top & has made it’s way down into almost every level of motorsport. they must be doing it for the ‘fun’ factor.

More like, lets the driver focus on his business call, drinking his latte, and flirting with the girl in the next lane. You’re kidding yourself if you think this makes you a better driver.

sure, i’ve driven my fair share of old stuff that’s been a ‘handful’ (and fun) to drive at limit, but any innovation that lets the driver focus more on the road, car placement, steering feedback, throttle control, etc, not only improves the driving experience, but is faster and safer.

not to mention, i can leave it in auto for stop & go traffic, then just click a paddle to take control when the road opens up?! that’s way too cool.

again, imo.

Or perhaps they have stories about how cars less sophisticated were more fun to drive….

Because of liability issues, I doubt they would remove the program that prevents you from stalling or over revving the motor.

The other side of the coin is that these behaviors are just programming. If there is enough demand, someone will find a way to disable the computer override. In the meantime I hope BMW/MINI will change the programming to be less overzealous.

These issues are the ones I find most annoying when driving manual mode on the MCSa. You can easily find yourself shifting down into first gear while driving if you are braking a bit before a turn and both you and the computer decide to downshift from 3rd to 2nd at the same time. In this case, I sometimes get a double shift and find myself lurching into first gear at a much too high rate of speed for it. And if you push acceleration to redline the car, you’ll find the computer suddenly stepping in to adjust the gearing. BMW could fix the first bit by making the auto transmission unable to shift into first gear while the car is moving.

I don’t see this coming to MINI anytime in teh next several years. How long has the dsg been available for the m3? We still don’t have it for MINI – and I’ve heard no plans of it.

A dual clutch set-up like DSG has never been available on the M3 or any other BMW Group cars. This is the first time and officially signals BMWs intent on using it going forward.

Previously BMW used a sequential gearbox called SMG.

sounds like they surpassed it.

I don’t see this coming to MINI anytime in teh next several years. How long has the dsg been available for the m3? We still don’t have it for MINI – and I’ve heard no plans of it.

I don’t think it would make sense for BMW to create a version just for MINI. The numbers would be too low and they would have to find another FWD platform to share it with, perhaps partnered with another manufacturer.

As an independent auto manufacturer, BMW always partners with their suppliers to create components like transmissions. The difference is that they either use off the shelf components or have manufacturers create transmissions for specific vehicles. However the key thing here is that BMW has signaled its intention to use the dual clutch design in future semi-autos. When BMW switches technology (as it has done now changing from SMG to this new dual clutch transmission) it signals a shift in what will be coming down the road to all BMW Group products.

The annoying “lag” of standard automatics, even in manual mode, is exactly why I despise them.

Bravo to BMW for continuing to advance automative technology, with a mind firmly on performance.

There is no doubt that a well designed double clutch will perform better on the track than a single clutch–and paddle shifters on the track are quite a bit of fun to use. For me, its not quite as much fun as banging the clutch in and attempting (emphasis on attempting) to match revs, but I won’t deny I’ll ever be able to do that even close to as fast as a double clutch setup.

Where it suffers is in day to day driving. It simply isn’t as engaging as a standard clutch; in fact most people will leave it in automatic mode for everday driving (myself included). Driving around town with a standard clutch, you still get to pop the clutch and (attempt to) rev match; its still quite a bit of fun–not too much dropoff from the track, and I feel like I’m actually working on a skill, even during a daily commute. Paddle shifters, while fun on the track, at least in my opinion, aren’t nearly as much in day to day driving. Its not nearly as challenging, and maybe I’m in the minority, but I don’t find a paddle shifter nearly as much fun in daily driving.

So for me, its a balance between the gains in performance at the track offset against the losses in enjoyment of daily driving. And since I use my car more as a daily driver than as a track car….