[vberry33]

I worried myself sick for two weeks because after ordering a Cheerup! with the ASG gearbox fitted I later read very bad reviews and plenty of them. I even asked my partner to cancel the order but she refused claiming the Internet is full of people you would cross the street to avoid if you saw them in person so don'tvalue all opinions for more than the strength of the person giving it, let's drive it and make our own opinion. True to form she was right.

We collected the Cheer up! from VW HQ in Braunschweig this weekend ( 28/09/13 ), North Germany and drove it a straight 700 km ( 435 miles ) with a 15 min break halfway. Now I can very comfortably say that the gearbox is a joy to use and all my worring was for nothing. Shame on you bad reviewers, shame. ASG has proved to me itwas designed to run smoothy and save my left leg from hundreds of gear changes while saving a ton of fuel at the same time. Yes it is a slower experience, so what. Do people really expect a 1ltr car to achieve much ? Ive had 10 cars with 1 ltr engines to 3 ltr turbos with Manual and DSG gearboxes and I am happy to understand what I expect from each of them.In defence of the ASG, I drive smoothly, infact I take pride in it, always have since my driving instructor mentioned that if a cup of water was on the dashboard I should drive in a way that it would still be sitting there by the end of my journey, I still drive with this in mind 15 years later. So having jumped into this little up! and find that it delivers a super smooth driving experience with great comfort, I was over the moon. I fully recommend this ASG gearbox so long as youunderstand that it is a lazy man's ( or woman's ) manual gearboxNOT a fast sporty DSG auto gearbox costing tons more, using more fuel but without the gear changing pauses of a manual gearbox. I find the ASG to be fast enough for my use but recommend a test drive first if you are the type of person how likes use the full range of revs from your engine.

 

[MiiMii]

Hear, hear! I totally agree with vberry33's comments, especially the last paragraph. Our SEAT Mii ASG is great. Love it!

 

[shakotanVIP]

Automatics on small cars are utterly pointless. Unless you are in someone physically restricted to using one, I don't know why you'd ever choose to have a car with one in.

 

[vberry33]

Hi shakotanVIP, your signature states you havea set ofWeitec HiCon Coiloversand huge17 inch wheels. So are youa racer with a 1 ltr car ? Ifyes then this is as you say, " utterly pointless " on a far greater level. People should buy what they want and can afford.Whena product matches your expectations then this is a job well done. If you don't need or want it, then don't buy it.Edited by: vberry33

 

[Beevee]

I agree with you vberry33. I have had automatics now for fifteen years and would not go back to manual gear changing. I could say having to change gear so often in towns and cities is pointless when you can get an automatic car but I believe in live and let live. I am we'll pleased with my ASG Up! and enjoy driving it.

 

[vberry33]

Beevee very happy to hear it. I've started to use the MANUAL option when entering the main road from a side road and man it does race through the revs like a normal MANUAL gearbox. I'm pretty suprised how quick it is. Really like how nugging the gear stick forward a centimeter shoots you into the next gear, a nice action indeed. I would expect anyone wanting to give an opinion regarding the ASG gearbox goes and test drives one so that the opinion given is an educated one. Simply saying blah blah without even using it is simply silly.

 

[vwild1]

Automatics on small cars are utterly pointless.

Not true, automatics are pointless on all cars with internal combustion engines. Fortunately I'm not driving all cars on the road so I say to each his own.

 

[Truth-seeker]

Wish us here in the UK could collect our new VWs from VW HQ. Service not offered like Mercedes does. Shame, as it would be a great experience. How about it VW UK?

BTW, the ASG is great!

 

[vberry33]

Hi vwild1, interesting comment you made there.Would you mind explaining a little why you believe this.
I would like tonote out thatthe engineers at VW are so highly trained and experienced it would be insulting not to respect their workmanship and testing before a product becomes available to the public. Honestly, would such a company deliberatly go out of its way to invest , produce, test and sell a product that is not worthy of use ? I don't believe a corporation would do such a thing, doesn't make an sense.VW is not a back street garage with idiots leading the fools.

Hi Truth Seeker when a car has been ordered ( online in our case ) you can contact customer service and arrange to collect it yourself from HQ. Such a beautiful area too. HQ has a massive complex where with theaters and auto houses where you can take tours, dine at the restaurants and walk the gardens. Our car was waiting for us in one of two huge glass parking towers before a robotic crane lifted it down and dropped it off for collection. An amaing day and treated very well. We live in Munich South Germany so it was cheaper and easier for us to collect than customers in the UK.

 

[Leif]

An odd story. but some years ago I developed sore knees due to inflammation of the soft tissues. Anyway, I later got a new job, with a horrible commute, lots of traffic. To my surprise the continual use of the clutch and other pedals was ideal exercise for my knees.

I was wondering if the ASG would destroy control, but since you say there is a manual option, clearly not.

 

[Leif]

Oh and the idea that someone who likes big wheels and low profile tyres can criticise choosing an auto box is rich. Each to their own.

 

[Beevee]

Oh and the idea that someone who likes big wheels and low profile tyres can criticise choosing an auto box is rich. Each to their own. 

I am afraid Leif that there are some people posting that will not allow anyone to hold an opinion different to theirs.

 

[vberry33]

If it was possible to use a simple software update in the car's ECU to give asportier gear change ie using higher revs for longer I wonder if this would change people's view of an ASG gearbox system ? Unsure if this can be done.
For me it would be of little interest as the driving style of an automatic is what I wanted. Lazy driving as I call it. Not in a rush, ever. I make time for my trips and always set off early, I can't do with the stress of racing about in my free time,I get enough of that at work every day of the year.

 

[Andy T9]

For me it would be of little interest as the driving style of an automatic is what I wanted. Lazy driving as I call it. Not in a rush, ever. I make time for my trips and always set off early, I can't do with the stress of racing about in my free time,I get enough of that at work every day of the year.

Definately. Since getting my up I set off to work earlier, nice chilled out drive instead of racing to work and potentially endingup in aditch somewhere.

 

[SMART EXAMINER]

How can you race anywhere in the Manchester traffic? Driving today is just a series of short hops, stop start.Drive a few yards, traffic signals,another few yards pelican crossing,then traffic jams,then idiots pulling out of side roads infront of you. Automatics are a must.
All modes of transport that spend their life driving stop start in the city are automatic. Black cab taxis,buses,refuse wagons etc. The Up and Smarts are city cars so they are the automatic choice lol.

I have had loads of manual and automatics cars over the years,but i would now only have automatics.
My Smart has the same type of auto box as the UP and i love it.Its as smooth as silk as long as you take it nice and easy.

 

[Andy T9]

How can you race anywhere in the Manchester traffic? Driving today is just a series of short hops, stop start.Drive a few yards, traffic signals,another few yards pelican crossing,then traffic jams,then idiots pulling out of side roads infront of you. Automatics are a must.
All modes of transport that spend their life driving stop start in the city are automatic. Black cab taxis,buses,refuse wagons etc. The Up and Smarts are city cars so they are the automatic choice lol.

I have had loads of manual and automatics cars over the years,but i would now only have automatics.
My Smart has the same type of auto box as the UP and i love it.Its as smooth as silk as long as you take it nice and easy.

Because I tend to be driving away from manchester in the morning, onto the M60/61, so the traffic flows ok but can be busyat points, meaning thatI ended upracing for the rest of the journey if I didn't leave enough time. Never do enough City driving to need an auto. I do drive from Stretford right through the centre of Manchester one day a week, at about 5.30pm but for some reason everyone else seems to be going the other direction

 

[Derkie54]

Must admit I tried the manual and automatic on my test drive and I went for the manual but the auto worked perfectly.

In the end it's personal choice and up to you !

 

[vberry33]

After re reading the previous comments would I be correct in saying that the general feeling is that the Manual is for the " Interative and / or Sportier " driver as where the ASG is for the " Relaxed and / or Lazy " driver, not so much ahardware and designflawwith the ASG gearbox more it's design is for the latter ? I would greatly appreciate yourthoughts ....

 

[Andy T9]

After re reading the previous comments would I be correct in saying that the general feeling is that the Manual is for the " Interative and / or Sportier " driver as where the ASG is for the " Relaxed and / or Lazy " driver, not so much ahardware and designflawwith the ASG gearbox more it's design is for the latter ? I would greatly appreciate yourthoughts ....

ICAN see the point in this ASG gearbox, because the economy is good having a proper clutch in there, the older automatics with their torque converter had alot of transmission losses under acceleration, so the economy was pretty bad, albeit smoooooth...

Is the ASG a pretty new design? if soquestion is why have they not made them like this before? It's like half a DSG 'box in a sense, ok you don't have the next gear engagedready in waiting but it probably uses some of the technology from DSG with less weight/expense, perfect if you just want to get from A to B with ease

 

[vberry33]

Hi Andy T9, I was told it is a new design made for the up!, here is a link to how it works.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEDbIvxxM4I

I just think of this car as a manual without having to do anything. It is smoother than the manual gear changes my friends make, I don't feel sick as a passenger in this car when my partner is driving anymore due to the hundreds of much smoother gear changes. The only draw back is if the car is losing revs on a hill you may have to 1) press your foot to the floor breifly to liven up the engine or 2) Manualy knock back the gear stick a centimeter to drop a gear and use the higher revs it quickly jumps into. Which is what you would have to do in a Manual anyway. The ASG is not a genius gearbox but it isn't too far from it.