Drive Select

TreborA4

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Does anyone know what changes actually occur for each of the different modes on Drive Select?

I know that the suspension does not change but what does and how does it work?

I have been driving in Dynamic mode since I got the car just over two weeks ago.

Cheers.
 
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My understanding is:

Throttle response
Steering response
Suspension response (only when magnetic ride is specified as option - coming on S3)

... but I'd also like to know more about how it senses and reacts. Is it more of a gimmick?

I'd really like to know how Auto works though.... does it react to your driving style or are there preset settings?
 
Last edited:
My understanding is:

Throttle response
Steering response
Suspension response (only when magnetic ride is specified as option - coming on S3)

... but I'd also like to know more about how it senses and reacts. Is it more of a gimmick?

I'd really like to know how Auto works though.... does it react to your driving style or are there preset settings?

The air con is also affected. In efficiency mode it takes ages to heat the cabin up.
 
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i want to ask something if i have s line suspesion and i choose dynamic drive i feel deference? or only in magnetic ride... thank u...
 
The main thing is the efficiency mode affects the throttle response quite significantly. It's far more "sluggish" and you have to push it a lot farther down for the same acceleration as in dynamic mode.

Also, there's a "stop" at the end of the accelerator travel. You can push the pedal all the way down, then you push a little harder and it moves a little further down. It's kind of like the kick-down you get in some autos. This has no effect whatsoever in dynamic mode but, in efficiency mode, there's a significant step in performance when this switch is used. What's happening is that, even with the accelerator all the way down to this stop, the car isn't giving you 100% power because it's in efficiency mode. By pressing down past this stop, you're effectively telling the car to give you full power regardless.
 
Efficiency mode is sluggish, it's (obviously) true, but I find it actually makes for some smoother and more comfortable driving on straight city roads, particularly if you've just come off of national speed limits where you might've been having more fun on Dynamic mode.
 
i have been playing with this and can noticed the different in dynamic compared to the other modes, but how does the auto mode work?
 
Don't think I'm going to bother with anything other than dynamic mode. It's really lively (and addictive) and doesn't seem to be affecting economy too much over efficiency mode.
 
With S-tronic, Dynamic puts the gearbox into 'S' mode and changes occur at higher revs with corresponding increase in fuel consumption.
 
I test-drove an s-line with drive select on Sunday, and spent the first 45 minutes of the test drive in "individual" mode, which I later discovered had the efficiency settings on. I drove around thinking that the 1.4 140ps didn't have any serious acceleration that made me feel like it wanted to "go".

I sat in ASDA car park and went through some of the gadgets, and found "dynamic" mode, and thought 'ah, let's see what that does'. I immediately noticed a huge difference in acceleration, and the car wanted to pull away at every opportunity. I wished I'd spent the other 45 minutes in that mode! The dealer didn't tell me it was in efficiency mode, so if I hadn't been more curious, I'd have thought that the car was a bit sluggish, and probably wouldn't have bought it!

If the car doesn't have drive select installed (I've gone for an SE), I'd be worried I'd be stuck in some sort of "efficiency" mode, and with no way to switch it to "dynamic", resulting in a seriously reduced sense of fun. So I ordered drive select. :)
 
I didn't think the 140 ps A3 was available yet - you sure it wasn't the 122 which is still very lively?
 
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Really? Are you sure? Perhaps it was then! The car I have on order is the 140ps - if it's got more power than the car I drove, then all the better! I still definitely noticed a huge difference after switching to dynamic mode.
 
The 140ps has Cylinder On Demand, the 122 doesn't.
As far as I am aware 140 is available for ordering now but not in the flesh until later in the year.
 
Wow! That's *really* good news then, as I was very pleased with the levels of acceleration anyway!

I currently drive a Seat Ibiza 1.9 TDI so am used to the car wanting to pull away past 2000 rpm, and didn't get that feeling at all in the efficiency mode.
 
Wow! That's *really* good news then, as I was very pleased with the levels of acceleration anyway!

I currently drive a Seat Ibiza 1.9 TDI so am used to the car wanting to pull away past 2000 rpm, and didn't get that feeling at all in the efficiency mode.


Know what you mean about the Ibiza I have the FR tdi and that pulls like a train
 

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