I am looking to buy a new Fabia Estate 1.4 tdi 80 as our second child is on the way. We are buying a diesel and never having driven a "modern" one, I have a quick question. Does the 1.4tdi 80 accelerate quickest at low, mid or high revs, i.e 1200-2000 or 2000-2800 or above 2800??? Is there noticable shove between a certain rev range??? Any help will be fantastic.

Thank you very much for your help!!!

You can get the max torque at 2.200 rpm.

Far better than petroleum counterparts...

Is max torque (2200 rpm) the point at which the car accelerates hardest or fastest???

Yep. The most shove comes from 1900ish, tails off a little by 3000.

Peak torque is at 2200rpm. I find that most of the mid range overtaking 'shove' is between 2000 & 3000, especially in third gear.

Thank you for the advice so far. Obviously I am not expecting it to be a Ferrari but my wife's car is a 60 hp fiesta and that is so slow it is almost funny. My car was a 1.8 115 hp escort before someone decided to crash into it. I know the fabia won't be as quick top end, but I am hoping it may match it for mid range drivability and punch. I never used to go over 3000 rpm in the escort anyway, and most of the time changed up at just over 2000 rpm as I'm not a thrasher... and it drank petrol too!!! If the fabia can compare to the lower revs of the escort then I would be a happy bunny! If not, well it's tough for me, the family has to come first...

BTW I meant it's tough luck for me and I will have to live with it, not tough for me to accept and I won't be interested in a Fabia. Just wanted to clear that up. Family practicality first, performance (hopefully anyway) second!

Thank You

Well, I live out in the middle of the countryside so overtaking is a regular occurance here. I've swapped from a 1o5bhp scenic to the fabia and I feel far safer overtaking in the fabia.

Its ''real world'' performance is perfectly adequate for safe, fast overtaking.

Any skoda dealership will be happy to let you test drive an 80bhp model.

Here is the power curve...

Do you mind if I ask where you got that curve from i.e the web site please.

Diesels never give good acceleration from rest - mainly because of the limited rev range meaning that you have to change up the gears more quickly. So don't buy a diesel if you are a boy-racer!

But where they score is in driving once you have got going - the midrange torque is excellent and makes for much more relaxing driving than a petrol engine. Also, of course, the efficiency is much greater because diesel engines are running at a higher compression ratio and don't have the energy-sapping ignition circuit to power. One additional point is that diesel has about 10% more energy in it than petrol (which is why the tax and hence pump price is higher), so taken altogether diesel gives you much better fuel consumption than petrol, although you are paying extra for some of it.

Do you mind if I ask where you got that curve from i.e the web site please.

Sure...

These are for Roomster, but they are all the same with Fabia II. Just click on the engine type, than click on power curve...

1.2 12V/51kW

Can we get it clear that a car will accelerate fastest when the engine is making peak power. So thats between about 3500rpm and 4200rpm going by that wee graph.

Can we get it clear that a car will accelerate fastest when the engine is making peak power. So thats between about 3500rpm and 4200rpm going by that wee graph.

Thank you! So, this means, we should stick to hp curve for acceleration, not torque...

Can we get it clear that a car will accelerate fastest when the engine is making peak power. So thats between about 3500rpm and 4200rpm going by that wee graph.

i found that the most "thrust" is just below where it should according to the graph. thats odd!

One additional point is that diesel has about 10% more energy in it than petrol (which is why the tax and hence pump price is higher), so taken altogether diesel gives you much better fuel consumption than petrol, although you are paying extra for some of it.

IIRC it is also denser than petrol, someone once mentioned to me that if 'fuel' was sold by weight rather than volume a petrol engine would be more economical....

Just to add a real life experience - my 1.4tdi has a small pause from standing starts but then quickly gets up to speed. Its great from about 10mph to 50mph but then fairly average.

I went from driving an old 1.3 petrol Polo and the Skoda is far far better than that.

It will hold its own in accelleration terms is my view.

If your budget will stretch go for the 1.9tdi as this is much quicker and many believe it to be more economical as well as you don't need to thrash it to make progress. Plus better remap potential!!

Regards,

Mark

1.9 TDI PD/77 kW

is the site for 1.9 torque curve!

From a standing start- more revs will get you away quick.For other driving - most power etc around the 2000-3000 band .

A Furby 1.4tdi is not an OAP car

I think that the lower list price + ved tax savings over the 1.9tdi mean that the 1.4 tdi80 will be the suitable choice for us. I'm sure the 1.9 would be more exciting to drive, but I'm affraid that family economics come first... and my wife is the boss too when it comes to money. As long as the 1.4 has enough shove to not be a bore then it will be enough for us. Let's hope it's enough go to compare to my 1.8 petrol escort... which I drove like a girl anyway changing up at 2-2250 revs cos it drank petrol. Even at these low engine speeds the escort was quicker than anything else I've owned, so if the fabia can compare to the escort low down then it will be more than enough for me... I mean us!!!

I completely see your point. Just consider that if you are carrying big loads or lots of passengers the 1.4 may struggle on inclines, the mpg would certainly be less than the 1.9tdi as it would have to be booted quite a lot. Plus the VED Tax will be reduced on the 1.9 to £95 as from 2009! Also the 1.9 is the more reliable engine so might be cheaper in the long run!

But of course it is important to consider your family needs and costs, so the 1.4 might make sense as long as you don't plan any continental slogs as it will be much tougher!

Hope your search goes well!

Mark:thumbup:

I completely see your point. Just consider that if you are carrying big loads or lots of passengers the 1.4 may struggle on inclines, the mpg would certainly be less than the 1.9tdi as it would have to be booted quite a lot. Plus the VED Tax will be reduced on the 1.9 to £95 as from 2009! Also the 1.9 is the more reliable engine so might be cheaper in the long run!

But of course it is important to consider your family needs and costs, so the 1.4 might make sense as long as you don't plan any continental slogs as it will be much tougher!

Hope your search goes well!

Mark:thumbup:

What do you mean when saying that the 1,9 is more reliable than the 1,4 TDI ?? They are basically the same engines except that the 1,9 has one extra cylinder. And because of this, the 1,4 features a balancer shaft.

They are both PD engines, they both have a belt drive for the camshaft etc.

Just curious!

JonA

The engine block is different due to the fact that there is an extra cyllinder and the bore is obviously greater as it has more capacity. Those in the know in the motor trade say that there is hardly ever a problem with the engine block for the 1.9tdi but they say the same cannot be said for the 1.4tdi unit! Thats what the mechanics think.

Regards,

Mark

Anyway no worries for you Jon, as like me you have the pd105 unit!