I have just replaced my Octavia 1.6 fsi for a 1.9 tdi.The new car takes ages to warm up.Is this normal?

Hi HM, I too have a diesel Octavia which also takes it time to warm up. Previously owned diesel Polos are the same. I think its the very fuel efficient engines that use less fuel. Less fuel, less waste heat.

Diesels warm up much slower than petrols

I drive 8 miles to work mostly gentle downhill and flat. This morning temp was 1degC and temp gauge was just lifting itself off the bottom mark and the heater was just getting warm as I arrived.

On the other hand the heater on SWMBO's petrol Micra is pouring out luvverly heat in the time it takes to scrape the windows and drive to the end of the street.

Diesels are far more efficient than petrols so they do not generate as much 'waste' heat, therefore they take much longer to warm up especially if driven gently.

The harder you drive them the quicker you will get heat in the car, but should you drive a cold engine hard??

My 1.9TDI DSG takes about 4 miles to get the Temp gauge to move :eek: But I still love the car

Know that feeling. I went from a 2 litre petrol Golf to my current 1.9 TDI Octy and it does take a long time to warm up. Don't worry about it - it's fine - enjoy.

its a cast iron block as well, this has an affect.

But if you have heated seats your bum is cosy and warm in less than a minute, while your head is cool and alert....

Factors that could affect an engine's warm-up time, order is as it comes to mind:

- metal the block is made of - obviously Micra's aluminium block heats up much quicker,

- engine size - a small 3 cyl 1 litre engine will heat up quicker than a 5L V12,

- fuel - diesel rotates lower and develops less heat in general, thus we should anyway expect a difference between a TDI and a FSI,

- engine design - TDI engines are known to heat up slowly,

- driving style of course.

Those are reasons that come to mind now. Obviously you have nothing to worry about - TDI engines are around for quite a while and have been literally everywhere, so I don't think there's any weather condition that should scare you

I would keep a gentle foot while the engine is cold, since you're going downhill and if you have large parts where you can simply lift your foot off the pedal then you should be burning very little fuel too