My next car will be an SDi as I don't use the power of my TDi in everyday use.

Things I don't like regarding the TDi is the PD engine which requires VW 505.01 spec oil, the turbo which is a potential nightmare if it fails.

My friend owns a garage and has had a few ATD PD VWs which have 'let go' without warning, giving their owners bills of around 3K, he reckons the SDi unit, albeit slow, is really robust.

The SDi will suit my driving style anyway.

Hi, I have a 2000 W reg Fabia Classic 1.9 Sdi. I have to agree, it's slow. However in my 16 months of motoring and 22k it has been pretty reliable. It will see comfortably at 70mph, I rarely drive it faster than 65mph to get decent economy and preserve the engine. It has to be said there is something to said for the numerous taxi drivers using Sdi Octavias that have clocked up in excess of 200k with ease. For cheap transport you can't go too wrong, and it doesn't have the hassle of a turbo. I have managed to get a bit more performance out of mine by running it on B100 biodiesel, it's smoother and the acceleration is slightly better, economy has little suffered (500-520 from a tank, 450 in this freezing cold snowy weather, but that includes town driving as a Londoner), it's also only 94.9p/litre compared to 106-110/p a litre average so you make a little saving, and it's better for the environment.

Instead of comparing the SDI to the TDI, comapre it to the 1.4 TDI. I find it hard to beleive that the SDI can be more economical than the 1.4TDI, the 1.9SDI would need to be worked so hard just to keep up with traffic wheras the lower down torque surge of the 1.4TDI would require less throttle input, as well as providing at least an adequate amount of power for sensible use.

This video actually makes me beleive the SDI could be dangerously slow in some situations, even when you take care to factor in it's lack of pace

What I could never argue with is the lack of turbo improves reliability drastically, not only no turbo but fewer electronics. Probably one of those engines that will run until the end of time

Hi, i have owned a Sdi for nearly a year now, i use it as a daily driver to give my older car a break. Its not dreadfully slow lol, and it has plenty of torque,you just drive it according to the situation your in. I prefer it to the 1.4 tdi but do like the power of the 1.9tdi. True that sometimes you wish it had a turbo but then the reliability is excellent as is the mpg. Prices are pretty good to.

lol this post was from the very beginning of November, Think Goldmember's probably made his mind up by now

I have followed a Polo SDI and found it rather rapid, but the again I was in cruise mode

I drove a few SDi Octavia taxi's over the years before i had my own car and i loved them. Even with 5 people on board they could drag along quite happily and the fuel consumption was amazing. The gearboxes are the weakspots but used as a private car they should last as long as any other component. 1st gear can sometimes be a bit reluctant to engage from a standstill but you get used to that.

The only thing about the SDi's is they are very basically equipped, wind up window's etc. But if you can live with that, fine.

I had no problems with my SDi gearbox until the oil drained out at 247k when it had to be reconditioned (apparently 2 bolts tend to work loose eventually). Have done another 21k since then, and hopefully will get many more.