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Right, but is that what stops people choosing them in the first place? No.
Technical Dualogic Questin
- Thread starter AdamDam
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Technical Dualogic Questin
Some people also enjoy having proper control over what gear they're in 
Plus the manual gearchange in the 500 is rather quite nice
Plus the manual gearchange in the 500 is rather quite nice 
Why? It's common sense to leave a car parked in gear, Dualogic or manual.
Very cheap infact for an automatic over manual box. Need to look at it as a different car rather than an option, like most manufactures do. Won't find many offering an auto box for only £700 over the price of a manual.
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You're missing my point. For someone spending £10,000 on a car, spending £750 on an auto box is a larger proportional spend than someone spending £1,500 on it on a £30,000 BMW. (On a BMW 428i SE Coupé the auto costs £1,515, and the car itself is north of £32,000.)
No I'm not, you show me 3 other superminis where an automatic option is the same price or less than it is on a 500.
I agree with Robin, the price would put most people off who don't absolutely need something to shift gears for them.
But you could say that about any car you need to pay more to have an auto on. Why would someone pay more than they need to
There are shed loads of Dualogic Panda's and 500's out there, so obviously isn't that costly that almost everyone is put off.
But if it's a bigger proportion of the cost, till put more people off, that's why you see leather on BMW's more often than in 500's
I said that above
From someone who's about to buy a 500 TA and has been driving large automatics for the past 10 years or so, naturally I have considered a Dualogic so here are my thoughts, I should point out though that I haven't actually driven a DL so the experience may put me off it altogether or really impress me:
PROS:
1. I commute in some fairly bad traffic so auto is very attractive particularly as I have been driving one for many years. I also have a 105 Alfa Spider which is great but it can be nice to get back in the Merc with it's 'point and squirt' auto box.
2. Arguably suits the small nippy city car profile of the 500.
CONS:
1. Cost, although not that expensive it is percentage wise, I may prefer some extras for the same money (sunroof or whatever) or just not spend it at all.
2. Possible single point of failure in years to come, it's a robotised manual after all and lets face it, it will fail before a manual most likely.
3. Losing that well positioned 'snicky' manual gear change in the 500 that's so nice.
4. Possibly losing some of the character of the TA by not been fully in control of gear changes (yeh I know you can change manually in the DL)
5. General fear of 'autos' in small engined cars!
My instinct is to go for the manual but I guess a test drive in a DL would be sensible.
PROS:
1. I commute in some fairly bad traffic so auto is very attractive particularly as I have been driving one for many years. I also have a 105 Alfa Spider which is great but it can be nice to get back in the Merc with it's 'point and squirt' auto box.
2. Arguably suits the small nippy city car profile of the 500.
CONS:
1. Cost, although not that expensive it is percentage wise, I may prefer some extras for the same money (sunroof or whatever) or just not spend it at all.
2. Possible single point of failure in years to come, it's a robotised manual after all and lets face it, it will fail before a manual most likely.
3. Losing that well positioned 'snicky' manual gear change in the 500 that's so nice.
4. Possibly losing some of the character of the TA by not been fully in control of gear changes (yeh I know you can change manually in the DL)
5. General fear of 'autos' in small engined cars!
My instinct is to go for the manual but I guess a test drive in a DL would be sensible.
We should ban the use of automatic in the 500 forum. The dualogic box is the EXACT same box as a manual, but with a robotised system to select the gears for you. Anyone expecting the same thing as ye olde torque converter boxes of olde is going to get a surprise or two
Having a Dualogic only added £15 to my monthly payment for my 500 and it makes driving, especially in traffic so much easier. I would personally never go back to driving a manual.
I had a Citroen C2 before my 500 and the Sensodrive auto gearbox needed a new actuator when it was 9 years old and that cost £500. I'm sure the gearboxes have come on a long way since 9 years ago and will be even more reliable.
I have 3 friends with 500's and I let them drive my car and they were surprised how much easier an Auto is and had just never thought of getting one before, but after driving mine said they would definitely consider choosing an Auto for their next car.
I had a Citroen C2 before my 500 and the Sensodrive auto gearbox needed a new actuator when it was 9 years old and that cost £500. I'm sure the gearboxes have come on a long way since 9 years ago and will be even more reliable.
I have 3 friends with 500's and I let them drive my car and they were surprised how much easier an Auto is and had just never thought of getting one before, but after driving mine said they would definitely consider choosing an Auto for their next car.
Call me crazy but 15 quid a month is a lot to pay for a little convenience if you don't really need it.
Making the gearchanges completly AUTOMATIC
They're not half matic are they
Matter of opinion, what that, 2 packets of fags, some people spend that in 2 days enjoying other habits - so what if lazyness is someones habit.
Making the gearchanges completly AUTOMATIC
They're not half matic are they
Matter of opinion, what that, 2 packets of fags, some people spend that in 2 days enjoying other habits - so what if lazyness is someones habit.
It's not really about laziness or convenience, for some it's a necessity or simply a personal preference. I smashed my left ankle up quite badly a number of years ago and constantly depressing the clutch in rush hour traffic can cause it to act up over time. Are all Auto (sorry, robotised manual) drivers lazy??
doggydoctor
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Just like you don't want someone to tell you what you will love, I don't think you should tell someone what they need.
And before you ask, no I don't have a dualogic.
But there's a clear distinction between someone like Mercky (or MEP) who has an obvious need for the functionality that a dualogic provides and someone else who just doesn't like shifting gears. A need is something that you can't really live without, a want is something you'd like, but can live without
