Audi DSG

I'm been driving the 911 to work off and on. It's such a fantastic ride with the new engine. But being surrounded by SUVs does make me nervous. I'm little more than a speedbump. So, it's not my daily commuter. It needs suspension tweaks, a cage, etc. But that budget's been depleted for a while.

In the mean time, my daily beater, the trusty Scooby (Subaru Legacy Outback), is getting tired. It needs a bunch of work that would cost roughly what the car is worth at trade-in. So I went car shopping this weekend. Long story short, the best overall value and fit for my needs is the Mazda 3 wagon, although the car I liked the best was the new A3 wagon with DSG.

The car drove like a dream. Didn't even think about being in a wagon. It was a pleasure all around. But the best part, imho, was the DSG. Audi's Direct-Shift Gearbox (DSG) is the first sequential that is both a great sequential shifter and automatic box. When it was in automatic, if was smoother than any automatic and none of the low gear jerkiness of other sequential boxes. This transmission is the first one i've used that i'd gladly leave manual behind for. What fun.

Update: Found a better article about the DSG.