having driven all three id say the 1.6CR if he is a relaxed driver. It will be fine with the hills

if on the other hand he enjoys a bit of enthusiastic driving or is a bit eager with the over taking, go for the PD140.

my dad is about to buy his first ever car...

Choices are:

1.6 common-rail tdi with dpf (105 bhp)

1.9 pump-deuse tdi (105 bhp)

2.0 pump-deuse tdi (140 bhp)?

1.8tsi

Definitely the 2.0 (140), I've got one in my Golf & it's great, but noisy when you compare it to a CR engine, personally I'd look at the mileage that he's going to be doing before making the decision on getting a diesel or petrol model.

As I was advised here, if you're going to do less than 10k miles pa, then go for a petrol.

If it's around the 10k miles pa mark then consider a diesel.

If it's a lot more than 10k miles pa, then definitely go for a diesel.

I'm doing around 6k miles pa, so I'm changing back from diesel to petrol, something that I'm a little apprehensive about, because I've been with diesels so long.

I'm now going for a 1,8 TSi Elegance.

1.6CR probably. Didn't actually realise the FL hadn't got the CR140 yet.

But for someone not after blistering performance it should be a solid performer. 184lb/ft between 1500 & 2500rpm should keep him ticking along fine.

It did strike me that he could have the 160bhp 1.8T for less money, still in SE form and it has the same amount of torque. 40mpg combined too. So how many miles will he be doing annually? I just feel that with that powerplant it would be a much more enjoyable experience.

Steve

It did strike me that he could have the 160bhp 1.8T for less money, still in SE form and it has the same amount of torque. 40mpg combined too. So how many miles will he be doing annually? I just feel that with that powerplant it would be a much more enjoyable experience.

Would cost more to tax, insure and run (fuel) though, which was something the OP said was important in his first post.

Fair enough - tax and fuel I can understand. Insurance isn't a cut and dry one though.

I just think it's best to be armed with the all the information and make an informed decision, knowing that you've considered all factors. After all, there's more to owning a car than just numbers

Steve

The brochure lists 105PS engines as group 6 and the 1.8 TSI 160bhp engine as group 12 so I'd guess it will cost more to insure