hello. taking delivery of a 57 plate base model 1.4tdi 70 soon. To replace a Panda diesel. Bought largely on value - it was cheap :-)

Reading up and it looks a quirky little beast... but are the reports on the 70bhp engine as bad as they sound?!

Would also be interested in what is the cheapest route to ipod linkage? I imagine the base model stereo isnt oging to be very well endowed with ipod compatibiity... but I may be wrong.

Is it possible to retrofit cruise, if it was ever available on the 1.4 diesel?

kind regards

welcome

Can't answer any of your questions though

Hi Pondweed and welcome. Just looked at your profile. Which model Berlingo did you drive? Mine had the old 1.9 non-turbo engine, which produced similar BHP to the Skoda 1.4 (70) but less torque. If your Berlingo had this engine and you were happy with the performance then you'll be happy with the performance of your Roomie. The Roomie's engine is not as quiet as the Berlingo's but the build quality of the Roomie - and the quality of materials used - is streets ahead.

Sorry I can't help with the ipod and cruise control, but doubtless somebody will be along soon with the answers.

Rob

Edited 2 January, 201016 yr by Robjon

I have a 1.4tdi and have had it from new and have done 30,000 miles. I now regularly drive to/from Sussex. a round trip of 500 miles. Last summer five of us went across Europe, camping, and managed to get as far as Slovenia, so lots of mountain passes and such like were crossed.

Around the city it is perfect as everyone is driving so slowly that it makes no difference what sort of car you are in. I get an average of about 50-55 mpg (real figures, not from a computer!) on mixed driving with mostly 5-10 mile city journeys. It couldn't be described as "nippy", but it goes well enough. It broke down once in Scotland and I had a 1.9tdi Scout for the day, which I found to be a far superior ride, and just a far better car all round, when I was expecting there to be little difference.

On the longer runs I find it gets noisy above 70 mph and so isn't that comfortable as a result. It will travel all day at 80mph and the mpg is still about 45mpg ish, but it is noisy. Given British road conditions, I am lucky if I can stay at 80mph for any length of time on most trips anyway!

When fully loaded it will slow down on long hills, so on motorways across Europe we sometimes found ourselves down to about 60mph, but the car was really heavy.

I have had packed snow on the road for the last 2 weeks and find I can always get up the hills in second gear without touching the pedals, so the torque is excellent.

Edited 5 January, 201016 yr by kenho

I'm just wondering if my 70 has been remapped by the Skoda technicians on the quiet, for something else they had lying around! It was used as demo and then as sales exec car, and it seems indecently keen to rev beyond 3000...

I'd honestly call it nippy, particularly from the lights - but that might be because the resonance of the engine encourages you to rev, perhaps. Spectacularly good car.

Rather disconcerting not having a temperature gauge though...

Deceptive aren't they ?

We've had a 1.4 (80) Tdi for three years and have been entirely happy with it's performance. When we got a 1.9 Tdi recently I was looking forward to a noticeable increase in the already acceptable performance, but to be honest there is no quantum leap in the enjoyment of driving the big 'un.

That three cylinder 1.4 is a delight to tool around in and sounds great for an oil burner.

I have to admit that I've toyed with the idea of remapping it now that we are out of the manufacturers warranty period (to achieve around 100bhp) but I am sceptical about the claims made by so many of the tuners out there. It would be nice to optimise the engines power and make it even more efficient (for improved mpg) but WHO do you believe ?

Tuning boxes versus remaps ? Everything from a tuppeny resistor in a box (no thanks) to an "adaptive" box of gizmo's that you plug in yourself, or a remap of the original ECU by specialists. I've discussed this with several colleagues who have each had one or other of these fitted to their VAG diesels and they ALL swear their mod is the best thing since Sunblest !

I'll probably end up leaving it alone and I'll still enjoy what it offers as standard.

Would also be interested in what is the cheapest route to ipod linkage? I imagine the base model stereo isnt oging to be very well endowed with ipod compatibiity... but I may be wrong.

If you have a 3.5mm socket next to the handbrake, that's the easiest way to connect an iPod. Can't remember which spec levels have it.

If you have a 3.5mm socket next to the handbrake, that's the easiest way to connect an iPod. Can't remember which spec levels have it.

roomster 2 and 3,

peter

roomster 2 and 3,

peter

no - I've found one on my '1' too!