guitarman001

The grief will be overwhelming, it's like I'm mourning already. Totally understand what you're saying. Given the wedding & new-build house costs (+ solicitors & funeral costs) and the two girls who'll be staying with me, I need to watch the cash. That's the only reason I've mentioned the Civic diesel (sorry, I know this is a Skoda forum!) as @70mpg isn't to be sniffed at. I think when it comes down to it, I'll get the 1.2 TSi unless I feel flush on the day..!

I believe you! I've no doubts about the engine now, honest. Just weighing up the extra cost of the 1.4, that's all

That's encouraging to hear. What would you say your average mpg is? My 25 miles is half motorway (stop-start) and half bypass (plain sailing). Just trying to decide between 1.2 and 1.4.

WiseBuyers - amazing - thanks for that! Seriously informative site. It says the 1.2 should cost under £8k (it's selling for £8.7k) and the 1.4 should be £9.2k (on sale for £10.5k). My thinking just now is that while the 1.4 would be lovely, the 1.2 is still much better than my old Ford and will be 4-5mpg better than the 1.4, but we'll see. Also I have to admit... the 60-75mpg Civic diesel is still a temptation! Many thanks for the hashtag. It's a lot to take in..

Great links, thanks - food for thought, definitely. I guess to be accurate, the 1.4 is actually more like £10.5k with 25k miles (2014). Do you think that's ok? The ones you posted.. really brilliant, but as Scroogey as it may sounds, every £k is counting given my unfortunate circumstances.

I'm looking at used, £10-11k for 1.4 TSi Elegance or £9k for 1.2 TSi SE. I'd get 1.4 DSG if it were nearby

Thank you all for the detailed information. My dad has a Rapid so I will try that on Friday prior to the test drive. I'm steering toward the 1.4 Elegance but even if that sells, the 1.2 (with 35k on the clock) is no bad choice - it's still miles better than my 07 Focus!

Can I ask a real dummy question.... the Rapid looks to be the same as the Octavia, justa little smaller, better mpg, cheaper. What are the downsides?

Have you had to deal with diesel issues before? D'oh I believe I quoted the IDEAL mpg for the 1.0 in my list rather than the REAL mpg. Regardless of cost and performance, it's just good to know that these engines are ok - those horror stories got me worried! I think it's down to 1.4 Elegance vs 1.2 SE for me.

FYI: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/60916/is-the-skoda-tsi-engine-reliable- Backs up that the 140PS (138bhp) is timing belt and not one of the problem engines. I must ask the sales guy this as he did say it was chain driven. The 1.2 I'm looking at is 104bhp (105PS) which isn't in the Honest John list on the liink above but also isn't the 122PS veriosn with the problems.

Just had a glance. So just from the 1.4l 150bhp info the poster could tell this engine isn't the one that is going to "blow up in my face" (as I like to put it) - many thanks --> Is there anything specific I should ask the dealer regarding the engines, to be sure/safe? Out of interest... what trim level is usually recommended?

Yes exactly - it's a rubbish situation but I need to choose a good car that wont cost me money. I will check that thread but from what you're saying (FYI I'm not a petrol-head.. I work in electronics) the 2014 TSi engines I mentioned should not have those "major" issues attached so I can rest easy. If so, thank you

FYI the 1.2 TSi and 1.4 TSi I'm looking at are 2014 models.

vRS? I'll check that out. You're right.. the road tax isn't a big issue, though if the 1.2 has much better mpg I'd be swung by that, plus it's £2k less. Yeah I need to check the 1.0 figure... it's too new so hard to tell. Diesel... exactly my thoughts (unless it's that Honda engine which appears to be amazing) - I can't risk the costs. I'm super, super keen to find out if the 1.2 or 1.4 TSi engine will be reliable or not. I just keep reading if it's got a timing chain instead of a belt and is the "twin-charged" one, things could get very expensive.... any help on this?

Hi! Just joined. Usually would read the announcements etc but for once don't have the time as girlfriend has terminal cancer with months to live and I need the info soon if you could kindly help. I travel 50 miles a day to and from work along motorway & bypass. Due to diesel horror stories, the only diesel I would consider is the Civic 1.6 iDTEC which gets 66+mpg and I see zero problems online regarding this. I find the seating a bit high up in the car, though. Also I prefer the Sport which is £13k+. I run cars for about 7-8 years at a time. Focus was my last, 37 mpg (not enough) but super cheap to fix - not that it needed to be fixed. I wouldn't mind another but the mpg seems to have stayed still for Focus and I want improved mpg. I'm looking at two Skoda petrols. 1.2 TSi Octavia (2014). Road tax £30 a year. 1.4 TSi Octavia (2014 - Elegance model, 140PS). Bummer about this is road tax is £110 a year. I read that the 1.4 TSi engine, if the one with a chain as opposed to a belt, has serious issues. E.g. if not oiled properly the chain can snap etc, you have to pay for a new engine. Other than this (!!) the car was really amazing... and apparently I could get 45mpg out of it which is ok (anything less and I wouldn't go for it...). Any info regarding the 1.4 TSi engine? Is there any way to tell if this one has the chain? I mentioned to the sales guy and he said it did have the chain but I'd like to check. The 1.2 looked almost as good (and had 35k miles as opposed to 25k on the 1.4 TSi) and do I really need the Elegance trim and whatnot (I hear the satnav isn't great so I'm not bothered about that). This car is also cheaper by a few £k and apparently I'd get better mpg, though it might be a bit "gutless." Saying that, I will post numbers for each car I am looking at and it looks to have more b@lls than my Focus, so maybe it would be ok. Does the 1.2 TSi have the same concern regarding the chain...? How do I find this out? I also see the 1.2 engine is no longer on the website...? Cost (and reliability) is a concern as I'm spending money on a wedding and house and holiday (to make her last days the best they can be) so while I'd love to blow a load of cash, I have to be careful. I'd love the 1.4 but I'm really worried about the engine. In fact, same for the 1.2 if there might be this potential "chain" issue. --> My dad has a Rapid and I just saw that model with 1.2 TSi is a couple grand cheaper still. I need to check that model out. And I also see there are 1.0l Octavias which get stunning mpg numbers.... in fact that seems to be the pick of the bunch but being brand new I'll have to check prices. Anyway, here is my little list.. I left the new Focus off the list as I'm so annoyed their mpg figures are so bad compared to the official figures. Focus 1.4L. Current car! 124Nm, 79bhp. 0-60 in 14.1s 37mpg. ROAD TAX £185. ---------- Honda 1.6 iDTEC. 300Nm, 118bhp. 0-60 in 10.5s. 66.3mpg. ROAD TAX £0. ---------- Honda 1.4 iVTEC. 127Nm, 99bhp. 0-60 in 13.5s. 46.5mpg ROAD TAX £110. ------------- Octavia 1.0 200Nm, 113bhp. 0-60 in 9.6s. 63mpg!?!? ROAD TAX £20. ------------ Octavia 1.2. 175Nm, 104bhp 0-60 in 9.9s. 47mpg? ROAD TAX £30 -------------- Octavia 1.4. 250Nm, 138bhp 0-60 in 8.1s. 45mpg. ROAD TAX £110 ------------ Rapid 1.2. Torque=?, 104bhp 0-60 in 10.4s Mpg approx. same as Octavia. Better if Greenline. Road Tax £30-110 depending on model.