Manual or R Tronic

[8rr8]

greeting every one! recently I just put down an order for the r8, I am currently live in Melbourne around the city areas, the r8 will be my every day car to drive and weekend cruising machine, the traffics in melbourne are horrible during the peak times.

I initially put down a deposit for the R-tronics. because i will be using it on an every day basis, however as i was reading alot of reviews most of the journalist point out that the Rtronic is horrible, and waste of money, especially when you driving it at low speed, and its very painful to drive in the traffics, i heard the transmission is very jerky at low speed, (i dont quiet get what do they mean by that) finally is the car comfortable to drive daily? is it hard get into shopping centres etc?

Im not a very pro driver, and i dont do track days. but i do enjoy driving manual cars, but im a lazy driver! so sum to the conclusions

which one is more suitable for me?

I REALLy want to hear some honest feed backs from every one. very apprieciated

[mark25]

Mine is manual and I love it. I have driven R-tronics but would pick manual everytime, its a sportscar afterall and the great clunky sound you get with the gear shift makes you feel so much more one with the car

[gazza1]

I know Melbourne really well as I lived there for 35 years..

Dependent on what suburb and what roads you travel I think the R-tronic needs to be a serious option as some of the roads are crawl/stop for long periods of time etc.

I drove a 2011 V10 R-tronic Coupe(courtesy of Audi) from Sydney to Bathurst recently which is about a 3 hour drive and going through Sydney (which is worse than Melbourne traffic)the R-Tronic performed fine as long as you change manually with the paddles as Auto mode is very average.

If I had used a manual transmission through this heavy traffic in Sydney it probably would have been a bit of a pain.

R8 Manuals are really nice with a light clutch and a really nice feel of changing between gears and of the course the higher driving engagement you do get with a manual box and clutch.

I think a lot of the negative reviews are based on the fact that the R8 is so good in everything it does that the R-tronic and the way it changes gears feels a bit from Noahs Ark compared to what is now available in other high performance cars.

In your case though a R-tronic is probably the right way to go unless you do want that higher engagement with the car and you are prepared to live with lots of manual changes in long traffic lines dependent on your location and the routes you travel.

[the_buch]

A lot of the reviews on the R-Tronic came out before a number of software updates improved the system significantly. I'm loving my R-Tronic car and enjoying learning the fine points of driving it smoothly. Still, I'd be able to drive a manual car somewhat more smoothly in stop and go traffic like you describe; it would, however, be a bit more work with the left foot :-)

Your question about getting into shopping centres is an interesting one. It's a pretty wide car and the doors are long so getting in and out of the driver's seat can require a few yoga moves but you get used to it. Park a little farther away in the lot and enjoy the walk :-)

[FiftyPence]

This has been discussed at length on this forum, if you search you can find all such discussions. No need to go over it all time and time again.

[R8Spyderman]

I've never driven the R-Tronic but every description I've read of its shortcomings reminds me of my 2005 Maserati Quattroporte's paddle shift semi-automatic transmission. The only smooth and comfortable way to drive that car was by using the paddles. Otherwise, it would simply get hung up in a lower gear and refuse to automatically upshift, or when it finally would decide to upshift would do so very jerkily.

I love my manual Spyder but rarely have to drive in stop-&-go rush hour traffic. No matter how light the clutch is (and it is as light as on a little car with a 4-banger), it's still a PITA when stuck in crawling traffic so your best bet is to take Gazza's advice and order the R-Tronic and use the paddles to make your upshifts for you. If it's anything like the Quattroporte, it will automatically downshift for you and the only time the auto mode is balky is for upshifts, so using the paddles will definitely get rid of that problem.

[ignomini]

If you're going to spend long bouts in traffic, it really comes down to whether you're willing to deal with a clutch pedal. I drive my RT to the market (when there's nowhere else to go), and other than longish doors, and an inevitable audience, it is almost as livable as a Porsche.

I'll be the first to admit the RT's auto mode is poor, but people who say the RT's gear changes are clunky are treating the transmission like a slushbox, which is wrong. It is a manual gearbox with an automated clutch. At low speeds, when working through the gears, you need to manipulate the throttle as you would in a purely manual transmission. Also, as stated in a post above, even in manual mode it will still downshift for you if you ignore engine rpm. Up and downshifts in traffic are as easy as flexing a finger.

[desperado]

which one is more suitable for me?

This has been discussed at length on this forum, if you search you can find all such discussions. No need to go over it all time and time again.

Fifty is right. Did you read the FAQs? There is a link at the top of every forum. Kinda Hard to Miss. If you did, then trolling for controversy will not get you loved on this forum. Please USE SEARCH and read the very large volume of discussion on this forum which goes on ad nauseum. Most of it reads (paraphrased): "I've never driven one but it must be awful because some automotive journalist says it is."

End Rant.

[Motown]

I was torn. I ordered (and yet to recieve) a manual so I am bias. I heard through reviews the R-tronic was jerky when driving light. So city driving in stop and go sounded like a pain in the neck to me.

Also I start to go to other general car forums to see what others were saying about it. Seems that many members here are R-tronic fans. I think there are some serious track guys here that influence some votes and trends. Seems the R-tronic is better for them on the track.

I went with the manual for a few reasons. Outside the "core" users it seemed the manual was the popular vote because the gated shifter was awesome, the RTronic had issues and the old school reason... it makes the experience better.

[8rr8]

i dont understand why people saying the manual will be better in the stop and go heavy traffics~~ i use to drive a manual car and in the traffics was pain in the ass...

is the auto mode that bad?? lol