Liljeberg

I have to disagree. You can’t compare rpm directly between diesel and petrol engines because they have different power bands and they also have different gear ratios to keep them in their power band. That’s why they have similar in-gear acceleration from 50-75 mph (80-120km/h) in the link I provided. This is getting a bit OT by my point is that they have similar performance, both in street racing (acceleration through the gears) and when overtaking a caravan (in-gear acceleration). Selecting between 1.4 TSI and 2.0 TDI is difficult. What made me select 1.4 TSI over 2.0 TDI was the smoothness of the engine and the lower price.

I have the 1.4 TSI and I like it a lot. It pulls hard if you keep the revs above 1500 and it returns about 45 mpg (6.5 l/100km). On long runs it can return above 50 mpg (5.5l/100km) if I drive around 55 mph. I don’t agree that you would need to down shift more in the TSI because the engine has a lot of mid-range grunt, see figures here http://www.zeperfs.com/en/fiche4543-seat-leon-iii-1-4-tsi.htm (yes it’s a Seat but there was no manual 2.0 TDI in the database) for in gear acceleration times. The only negative about the engine is that it’s completely dead below 1500 rpm and if you want to take of fast from really low speeds you have to be in 1st gear. Good luck with your purchase Edit: Corrected link