(Turbo) Petrol -v- Diesel

[Cauliflower]

I'm in a ' I love diesel' quandary. Up front, let me say, I've driven diesels for about the last 15+ years and do 10,000 miles per year. In the last 10 years, I've driven Ford Fiestas with the the 1.4 Tdci diesel engine. I need more space, so I've negotiated a deal with a local Skoda supplier for an acceptable deal on the Octavia for the following: (1) a 1.4 Tsi and about £800 more a 1.9Tdi . Any advice? Is the 1.4 Tsi up to it???

[Paul007]

Do a search on diesel v petrol - there's plenty of threads. The 1.9 tdi is soon to be replaced I think with newer, lower capacity CR engines.

[theandywaite]

Personally I'd go for the TSI because I'm a petrol head.

Having driven a lot of diesels and and a lot of petrols, I can say that diesels offer unbeatable economy and good performance, but the driving characteristics of a petrol, IMHO are far better.

If you do really want a diesel though, go for the more modern 1.6 CR diesel which has the same power output as the 1.9PD, but is quieter and smoother.

According to Parker's diesel-vs-petrol calculator, it will take you 29,483 miles to recoup the £800 up-front cost of going for the 1.9PD.

[Raglits]

I'm in a ' I love diesel' quandary. Up front, let me say, I've driven diesels for about the last 15+ years and do 10,000 miles per year. In the last 10 years, I've driven Ford Fiestas with the the 1.4 Tdci diesel engine. I need more space, so I've negotiated a deal with a local Skoda supplier for an acceptable deal on the Octavia for the following: (1) a 1.4 Tsi and about £800 more a 1.9Tdi . Any advice? Is the 1.4 Tsi up to it???

To be honest, on that mileage I'd go for the 1.4TSi or maybe even the 1.2TSi that's just out... That 1.4 is a cracking engine and I've already recommended it to some friends who don't do silly mileage like I do

[Babs]

1.4 TSI

[Zdenek Fibich]

As you do 10,000 a year I presume that you like diesels for their torque rather than economy.

Historically small high-powered engines have given of their best at high revs and been poor for low-down torque (e.g. Honda, Alfa Romeo). I haven't driven a 1.4 TSI but road testers and people on this forum seem to rate it highly for performance and economy - so it may be that this new type of engine is able to give us the best of both worlds.

Go for a test drive and tell us how you think it compares.

[prolfe]

i am lover of cars, petrol or Diesel.

Out of those two I'd have the TSI for sure.

[durhamfisher]

I once changed from diesel to petrol but changed back six month later. I just couldnt stand the lack of torque on the petrol engine.

Just checked out the torque stats on the 1.4tsi (200/1,500-4,000) and it isnt far behind the 1.9tdi (250/1,900). Plus its 2s quicker 0-60. Maybe its time for me to have a rethink.....

Edited 23 January, 2010 by stacon

[Phil_P]

Even though I do low mileage, it's still diesel for me - it hurts less visiting the pumps knowing I won't have to pay a return visit for a month!

[skodafab]

I am in the diesil camp so much more punch and torque so less changing gears. When looking for my current car i tried both which is a vrs bit of a difference to what your looking at but in real world driving terms i would not swap back to a petrol one thing that i found really worring was the complete lack of engine braking with the petrol it was like i had pressed the clutch down just felt like the car was free wheeling when shut off which means to me more braking more pads per miles my vrs tdi has almost 30k on it and the pads are only half worn i know that sound a little off topic but its worth considering in your runnig costs :wonder:

[vrsadz]

the 1.4 will be ok for the job but will only do about 40mpg at the most probably, wait for the 1.6cr tdi to be put in the octavia if u want diesel

[Rincey]

I cant see me moving away from Diesel - the engines are incredibly economical and versitile. I have the vRS and can quite happily manage 55mpg on a round trip from Warrington to Burton on Trent. After 340miles, I haven't quiet gone through half a tank!

[Redboy]

I am in the diesil camp so much more punch and torque so less changing gears. When looking for my current car i tried both which is a vrs bit of a difference to what your looking at but in real world driving terms i would not swap back to a petrol one thing that i found really worring was the complete lack of engine braking with the petrol it was like i had pressed the clutch down just felt like the car was free wheeling when shut off which means to me more braking more pads per miles my vrs tdi has almost 30k on it and the pads are only half worn i know that sound a little off topic but its worth considering in your runnig costs :wonder:

I sold a 140 Bhp TDCI Mondeo for my petrol VRS. I loved the TDCI torque, relaxed driving and 45-50 MPG. It was slow..ish on acceleration and you had to be in the right gear for overtakes at certain speeds so became boring. The VRS fills the performance requirement. The economy if you drive at normal motorway speeds isn't too bad. For the 1.4 tsi if it suits your driving style and mileage, i.e does the cost/common sense equation fit, then I'd plump for that.

[Phil_P]

... wait for the 1.6cr tdi to be put in the octavia if u want diesel

Already is

[gadgetman]

http://www.parkers.co.uk/News/Motoring-Costs/Petrol-vs-Diesel-calculator/

[Cauliflower]

Folks, thanks very much for the comments, that's very useful. From what you're saying, given my mileage and the fact that I only hold on to cars for 3 - 4 years, it's really down to the question of driving preference rather than an economic decision (I'm assuming that depreciation won't be significantly different over that period... or will it???). Zdenek Fibich, you've guessed my next move - I'll go try them and report back.

[icarusi@hotmail]

Just checked out the torque stats on the 1.4tsi (200/1,500-4,000) and it isnt far behind the 1.9tdi (250/1,900). Plus its 2s quicker 0-60. Maybe its time for me to have a rethink.....

The low end torque is good on the 1.4TSI but there is a slight flat spot or lag (IMO) on very low revs which needs a cog dropping one lower than you would expect on a non-turbo, to take uphill sharp bends at lower speeds. On the uphill straights it fairly gallops.

[Aspman]

Drive them both see what you like.

The decision to go derv or petrol on moderate mileage is really down to what car you like to drive better. Saving/costs don't really make a lot of difference on paper.

[Cauliflower]

Drive them both see what you like.

The decision to go derv or petrol on moderate mileage is really down to what car you like to drive better. Saving/costs don't really make a lot of difference on paper.

[skippy41]

Petrol would no be so bad if you could get the extra 30 mpg on a long run

If skoda where to bring out a LPG version I bet they would sell like hot cakes

[Cauliflower]

Hi there everyone. Early last week I placed the deposit on a new 1.4 TSi Octavia SE in corrida red (this basic colour was surprisingly hard to get), with a spare wheel thrown into the deal (essentially the no-VAT deal and a reasonable trade-in for my current car). Notice I didn't say 'order', for the dealer tells me this is a call off stock, presumably sitting in a field under pouring rain in Germany or suchlike, hence the short delivery time of 3 weeks. Anyway, I'm glad to have moved forward to a decision. In the intervening period I had tried a similarly engined VW Golf and was, frankly, amazed at the readiness to propel you forward that this little engine exhibits. Having said that, I'm coming from a fairly low baseline of a 1.4 TDCi Fiesta. Not to knock it or the previous versions of the same car that I owned, all of which did exactly what they said on the tin. Perhaps that should be Ford's motto. Anyway, I think the performance of the 1.4 TSi is going to be more than adequate for my relatively modest needs and if I get 40 to the gallon without having to try too hard, I'll be well pleased with life. I'll let you know what my first impressions are if I manage to survive unscathed for the first few weeks (what is it about driving a new car that attracts all the dingbats trying to write you off?). Incidentally, this represents my return to skoda after a 23 year gap (I had an Estelle 120L from 1985-1987) and a return to petrol after over 15 years - can anyone beat those gaps???

Edited 5 February, 2010 by Cauliflower

[toureos]

Honest John's opinion is at:- Which Ocatavia?

Also he says similar things about the Seat Leon and the 1.4TSI: Seat

[Cauliflower]

Ta very much Toureos, the reviews seem to reflect my experience from driving the VW Golf 1.4 TSi of diesel-like grunt with petrol-like manners. I must admit the sales guys at my dealer didn't try to steer me towards the 1.9 TDi so I don't know if the availability of 1.4 TSi's is as big a problem as Honest John claims. However I've still got this nagging concern in my head about what will emerge in years to come - with some cars, the problems don't manifest until 3 years down from the production line. For my sins I had a Fiat Uno turbo in a earlier part of my life - the memory is too painful to relate.

[Phil_P]

I faced a similar choice between 1.4TSi and 1.9TDi when I bought mine, but as I bought under the scrappage scheme and that gave £3.5K off the TDi and only £2.5K off the TSi, it effectively neutralised the price difference. At that point, the TDi is more economical, cheaper to tax/insure and will have better residual resale value so it really was no contest.

At £800 difference, I wouldn't have hesitated to go for the TDi if that's what you want/prefer. But OTOH, I don't think you'll be disappointed with the TSi either

Edited 5 February, 2010 by Phil_P

[Avalon]

Firstly I think you made the right choice based on what you state your needs to be. So many people will blindly buy the diesel because of the better mpg ignoring the fact that unless they do 25k+ the higher cost of fuel makes a petrol engine cheaper even without factoring in the (usually) higher purchase price of a diesel and the bigger bills such as DMF failure or the cost of a diesel fuel pump which on some brands is way above and beyond that of the petrol alternative. Also a diesel engine is not the stupidly simple bomb proof beast of old, with the demand for more refined engines came the same issues/level of complexity of a modern petrol engine.

Edited 5 February, 2010 by Avalon