Hi All,

I'm looking to replace my rusty Escort with something a little more economical. The 1.4tdi 80bhp looks, on paper anyway, ideal for the use I want but I just wondered if any current owners out there could give me their opinion of it.

Many thanks

Julian

I have owned the 1.4TDI (80) (Ambiente spec)for almost three years and driven more than 40,000 miles in it. I have kept accurate records of fuel used and of course economy has improved as the engine has loosened up. Last summer I averaged better than 56mpg over several thousand miles. The on board computer is almost 10% optimistic (gave an average of 61mpg). Winter driving of course drops economy to an average of 54mpg. Aircon is always on – I don’t turn it off.

The car handles very well but the three cylinder diesel is a compromise and peak torque is at 2,200 rpm which is high for a diesel. Noise at idle is dreadful but once at normal road speeds noise is not a problem. I had the four cylinder non turbo SDI previously and that had wonderful pulling power at low revs – it had a wide torque band whereas the 1.4TDI does not – the 1.4TDI has to be revved – but when revved in third or fourth it can really shift when there is requirement to do so. It can make safe overtakes that the old SDI just could not do.

The car is comfortable, handles well, is well finished and served me well for more than 40,000 miles driving BUT I missed the low down pulling power of a four cylinder diesel so have changed it for a Golf 1.9TDI. Having said that I’ve owned four Skodas over the years; each has been better than the one before and the 1.4TDI was the best of them all – but I missed four cylinders which better suits my style of driving. I’d heartily recommend the 1.4TDI though but like all things insist on a good test drive to ensure it’s what you want.

All the best