The last time I spent some time in my Father's 1.4 TDI Fabia 2 it had covered 7k and was grindingly noisy at most speeds. We did a trip together in it yesterday (mileage now almost 14k) and it is a lot quieter. After 50mph the engine was a distant, though purposeful hum. Refined, even. At idle there is the obvious diesel clatter but it's softer, more subdued. Very little of the original hard-edged metallic growl. So these engines really do improve with age, though you do need to be patient. No need for additional sound-proofing.

Incidentally, I spent a few minutes inside a new VW Golf yesterday. Nice interior plastics but I didn't rate the interior quality as a huge leap over the current Fabia by any means. Maybe a 15% improvement. The heating controls felt disappointingly flimsy. I think some car journalists aren't getting out enough.

The last time I spent some time in my Father's 1.4 TDI Fabia 2 it had covered 7k and was grindingly noisy at most speeds. We did a trip together in it yesterday (mileage now almost 14k) and it is a lot quieter. After 50mph the engine was a distant, though purposeful hum. Refined, even. At idle there is the obvious diesel clatter but it's softer, more subdued. Very little of the original hard-edged metallic growl. So these engines really do improve with age, though you do need to be patient. No need for additional sound-proofing.

I agree with you on that, I also found my car ran alot quieter when run with bp ultiamte (review coming soon from me )

Adrianh1, I too agree with your assessment. This applies to most diesels...but particularly these 3 cylinder Audi units. They are very tight when new and for the first few thousand miles, with huge amounts of friction to overcome. This creates considerable extra mechanical and combustion noise. My 1.4TDI has become more powerful, flexible and quieter over the last few thousand miles. Fuel consumption is also improving. I hope your dad is as pleased with his as I am with mine.

My 1.9 td is much smoother and quieter far nicer car to drive after 20000 miles, used all sorts of diesel never noticed any difference, but I do prefer to use to main brands as there is a slight worry that supermarket fuel is somehow inferior

It's good to know that my new 1.4TDI Fabia II Estate (less than 1000 miles on the clock) will get quieter as time goes by, one question is how much better does the fuel consumption get? I'm seeing a disappointing 45-48 mpg at the moment with an absolute maximum of about 58 mpg if I'm very very very light on the pedal. (The brochure stated around 53-67mpg - I know this is a freewheel downhill with the wind behind you!)

I would factor in a conservative 5% increase. I don't meant to sound patronising but have a look at your driving style. If you enjoy that torque surge and change up at 2,500-3,000rpm you are burning fuel; change up at 2,000rpm and you should see a significant increase.

I would factor in a conservative 5% increase. I don't meant to sound patronising but have a look at your driving style. If you enjoy that torque surge and change up at 2,500-3,000rpm you are burning fuel; change up at 2,000rpm and you should see a significant increase.

Im the same I take up to 3000rpm and am getting 51mpg at the moment

Kanga, I agree with Adrianh1. Driving style is the biggest influence on fuel consumption, but with more miles, as the guys say, your motor will loosen and give more power and miles per gallon.

I don't know if this is the first diesel you have purchased...but quite often people who have 'gone diesel' after driving petrol cars for most of their lives have said how disappointed they are with the fuel consumption of their new cars. I appreciate this may not be the case with yourself. However, I went out with one such individual in his new Golf diesel. Crikey...he was rowing it along on the gearbox and revving it's proverbials off! In fact, driving it just like a petrol car. No wonder his economy was rubbish (although still much better than his petrol Golf). I actually showed him how to drive it...using the torque and changing up early. He was amazed at the fact we were going just as fast with a lot less work and recording almost double the miles per gallon. He had no idea that to accellerate he just needed to push in a bit more throttle and not change down one or two gears! He is now very very happy.

It takes a while to learn how to get the best out of these engines. It'll be fine, you'll see.

Thanks for your advice, it is the first deisel I've owned and I'm realising it takes a different driving technique, I'll give your suggestions a try and see how this improves things although I think I am already changing up gears before the 'surge'. Anyway, regardless of my driving style, upper 40's is still better than the 30mpg I was getting from my Petrol Renault (when it worked). Sorry for hijacking this post, better get back to the subject of deisels getting quieter with age.

My Octavia 2.0 TDI is still running in at 100k and is quieter all the time, especially after the missus filled it with 98 unleaded.!!!!

Nah - it's just that the constant clatter has damaged your hearing so much that you can't hear it any more.:P

Seriously though, the diesels do seem to get better with age. When I swapped one PD100 Fabia for another, I couldn't believe how much more responsive the old (mega-mileage) one was compared to the new one.

It's difficult to compare fuel consumption though as there are so many other variables - there's quite a variation with time of year for instance (you get more MPG in summer than winter).

Nah - it's just that the constant clatter has damaged your hearing so much that you can't hear it any more.:P

Seriously though, the diesels do seem to get better with age. When I swapped one PD100 Fabia for another, I couldn't believe how much more responsive the old (mega-mileage) one was compared to the new one.

It's difficult to compare fuel consumption though as there are so many other variables - there's quite a variation with time of year for instance (you get more MPG in summer than winter).

I thought you got better MPG in the winter as the air is denser and colder and the Aircon is not on!

Depends. If you do a lot of short trips then engine takes longer to warm up.

I thought you got better MPG in the winter as the air is denser and colder and the Aircon is not on!

Given the so-called "summer" we've had this year, my aircon's hardly been on anyway!

I don't claim to know exactly why, but I know that if I look at fuel receipts, my consumption is consistently 2-3 MPG worse in winter. It's not because of short journeys either - my usual commute is quite a long one.

Don't forget, the diesel fuel we buy in the winter is the 'winter mix' version supplied by all garages. Even petrol is a 'winter mix' these days with what they call 'more sniffers' added. This aids starting and cold running. The main factor with diesel is to prevent 'waxing' or freezing as most people know it. To do this anti waxing agents are added...not just parafin, and these slightly alter the cetane level and the way the fuel burns. This, along with the fact the engine takes longer to warm up, you use your lights and heater more and probably aircon too lowers your fuel consumption by around 2-3mpg at least. It does mine.

Edited 21 August, 200916 yr by Estate Man