2009 BMW M3

[G.Irish]

I'm actually interested to see what you think of the DCT. I read an article a couple weeks ago saying that my DSG that was somewhat revolutionary 8 years ago has really been blown out of the water by new autoboxes like that ZF 8-speed. Sure my DSG can flick between gears instantaneously, but the brand new stuff can do it without all the clunks, rattles, jerky stops, starts, weird sounds, reliability concerns and expensive, special services.

I've never driven the BMW flavor of dual-clutch but I've wondered if they're a little more refined than VWs.

I've driven the ZF 8AT in the 328 and 9AT in the TLX, it's good but it's still not as good as a DCT.

Also drove the S3 with DCT and it still has some hesitation before engagement at low speeds. Nothing I couldn't work around but not a refined as the M3's unit. If you set the M3 for more comfortable shifts you don't get jerked around at all. When I turn the M-mode on it gives you a good shove but it's still plenty smooth.

The Acura TLX 8DCT with torque converter was the best DCT I've tried but it's also on a much lower horsepower application. From what the design team was saying, that transmission set up can't handle a ton of power. I am curious to see how the DCT with electric motor combo works in the NSX. With the electric motor to smooth engagement at low speeds it should be just as smooth or smoother than the torque converter + DCT combo.