> One of the subtler features of my DSG vehicle is that on most downhills it will automatically downshift to maintain speed. On a really steep hill it will start to race, but feathering the brake for 5-10 seconds will convince it to downshift once more. I haven't driven it in the mountains hardly ever, but that's one area where manuals often win out - no melted brake pads, no heat-warped calipers.
Can't you just tell the car to downshift using paddles, or force it into low gear using a gear limiter feature?
DSGs start at 6 gears and go up from there. Paddle shifters and DSG are also not synonymous. Mine and a few other more recent designs I’ve seen have a gearshift that looks like an automatic but it goes sideways into a gear selector. Many won’t use that mode.
Yes you could do this fully manual but you get more fleet efficiency if it’s automatic.
My point was that most (if possibly not all) ATs let you limit the gearing to use engine braking when going downhill.
Sounds like it would work fine for you if you but used it. “More fleet efficiency” is not a huge concern on downhills, you just switch back to the automatic regime when you’re at the bottom.
Can't you just tell the car to downshift using paddles, or force it into low gear using a gear limiter feature?