Regardless of origin, I think the total absence of black smoke can only be a good thing.

In general I agree with you, however, I do think that joe public should be better informed by the industry as to the potential problems. Maybe the car dealers should actually ask customers about their driving patterns just in case. You know, actually talk to the customer and find out what's best for the customer rather than seeing £ signs just because it's a sale...

And bump... Steve (Raglits) comes out of his dream...

The car only has 1100 kms on it, I have read that consumption can be expected to decline further. Also, these are true numbers and I avoid always keeping low revs for better running in. So Yes, believe 45 mpg are realistic.

My only concern would be tight turns on uphill roads: you need to keep revs above 1500 to avoid switching down to second or 1st gear. That is you need to have one of those gears in already! However, I am not aware of many 1600 normal aspirated engines (especially 16 valve ones) that could move an octavia with 1300 revs in this situation.

The car was measured with the Bosch horsepower system here in Greece. They reported 124 PS and 206 kg of torque!

Interesting.

Good to at last hear some personal experience of the 1.2TSI in an Octavia. If I understand correctly, you're saying the performance is at least as good as a normally aspirated 1600 petrol and it looks like 45+mpg is realistic. This is very welcome, especially in such a large car.

What about noise / refinement - is the engine coarse / loud?

The 1.8 TSi is lovely but speaking from experience I'd say you are very unlikely to acheive the combined mpg figure in normal use. IIRC the combined figure is about 40 mpg, I can acheive (and sometimes exceed) this on long drives at moderate speed where there is little traffic around (e.g. cruising round highland roads). Motorway journeys will probably be high 30's and normal mixed driving about 34 - 35 mpg and if you do short journeys this could easily fall to 30 mpg.

I have been able to achieve average fuel consumption in line with the combined figure with no effort for the majority of petrol cars I've owned in the past, the 1.8 TSi is the first one that misses by so much.

If you want performance and most of your driving is on open roads, I'd consider the 1.8 TSi but otherwise the 1.4 TSi is probably a better balance. I've no experience of one but forum posts here and elsewhere suggest owners like the engines performance but also don't acheive the quoted economy - I'd hazard a guess that you can add about 5mpg to the above figures.

I have the 1.8TSI and I agree with those figures fully. Over 4000 miles my average is 34mpg mixed driving and I don't hang around at all. My driving style is not an economical one (used to get 42mpg from 1.6Tdci CMax which should easily exceed 50mpg). 1.8TSI is brilliant, only bought it over the 1.4TSI though because no one had a 1.4TSI for me to drive in September last year. when I bought it.

Some good info in this thread. What I would say is the 0 - 60 on these lower spec engines is pretty irrelevant. You need to drive them to see what suits your needs. The diesel maybe slower 0 - 60, but it should be far more flexible and workable mid range compared to the small petrols.

I've had a look around, and while there's still no 1.2 TSIs to test drive in the UK, I've found some 1.4 TSIs locally. Swappage deal + SE trim + extras ~ 12.1k

Also found some competitive nearly new deals too for quoting to the dealers, hopefully to get a good new or nearly new deal on the car.

08 1.8 TSI Octavia

600 miles

£10490

07 2.0 TDI Superb

1.8k miles

£10950

09 2.0 TDI Octavia

3.1k miles

£12990

Quoted mpg is fairly similar to the 1.4 for the 1.8. The 2.0 TDI obviously a highly praised all rounder.

My 1.6 tdi has about 15000km now. It averages 48mpg. I do a lot of driving in and around town. When I do 120 km/h on cruise control, I average an impressive 59mpg. It won't win any races, but for me the car is quick enough. I love it.

My 1.6 tdi has about 15000km now. It averages 48mpg. I do a lot of driving in and around town. When I do 120 km/h on cruise control, I average an impressive 59mpg. It won't win any races, but for me the car is quick enough. I love it.

"It won't win any races" - what do you mean by this exactly? I assume you find it wanting in some sense?

Just test drove a 1.4TSI and 1.6TDI Greenline. I was impressed with both, particularly the diesel.

Didn't attack any challenging slopes (I was in Swindon) but both accelerated smoothly.

The diesel had a slight delay at higher speeds, the petrol needed to be dropped a gear at low speeds - you couldn't lazily cruise slowly in 2nd/3rd and accelerate again.

Other than that both are as good or better than my Golf 1.6. Took a while getting used to the lower, wider biting point though.

Glad you enjoyed them!

Other than that both are as good or better than my Golf 1.6. Took a while getting used to the lower, wider biting point though.

To be fair, the biting point in that car is somewhere up around my chin and is very binary in use

To be fair, the biting point in that car is somewhere up around my chin and is very binary in use

True, but it's pretty much all I know.

Shook the salesman up with some shoddy clutch control until I got used to it...

@ Cauliflower: I mean that it isn't the fastest car in town, it isn't suited for drag racing. But that's fine by me. My other car was an atmospheric diesel (VW Passat, 68 bhp), and that was slooooooooow. But it lasted for more than 350.000km with practically no problems.

Getting a low mileage 59 plate Octavia 1.6 TDI CR for 13k minus 600 for the Golf. Sound reasonable?

Getting a low mileage 59 plate Octavia 1.6 TDI CR for 13k minus 600 for the Golf. Sound reasonable?

I've just been looking at swapping out my low mileage 59 plate so was looking at prices, and yes, 13K is about where they start from a dealer. Funny they only want to offer you £10,600 when you're selling.

Don't fancy a 1.9TDi do you

What about noise / refinement - is the engine coarse / loud?

Engine noise is absolutely fine below 4000 revs. Road noise is what you hear for the most part. Over 4000 revs, you can hear the engine, not annoying though. Furthermore, I can see no point where casual driving this car would need over 4000 revs.

The engine is punchy. Overtaking in uphills with a/c, and full load is easy. Don't no about reliability or durability, nor do I thing that one could really say, however the car does rock! B)B)

The fuel consumption of 40+ mpgs is manageable.

Edited 31 May, 201016 yr by RangerMD

Picked up the 1.6 TDI today and drove back from the dealer (~1h40m)

Pulling away is fine, not loads of power in 1st, but as soon as you hit 2nd it's powerful and pulls away quickly.

Slip roads and motorways are fine, plenty of power and acceleration. Having just dropped off the 100ps 1.6 petrol Golf, my GFs comment was "Ooh, this is fast," so in fact fast by comparison.

Trip computer said 44mpg and I was trying to push the engine, so I'm confident nearer 50 is achievable with sensible motorway driving.

Took it for a quick spin round after getting back, and 0-60 felt fast and easy compared to the quoted 11.4s.

On engine noise, at low speed it's audible but fine, and at higher speeds it's drowned out by rolling noise on the motorway, to the extent that I found myself accidentally accelerating from ~76mph to ~90mph without noticing - I'd normally listen for engine noise. Same at 30mph, I'd find myself doing 40mph without noticing.

Went round some winding undulating back-roads in Wiltshire, in 2nd and 3rd plenty of pull and momentum up steep hills. Had to pull in to let a car past - pulling away in 1st wasn't fast, but quickly back into 2nd or 3rd and easily acceptable.

Overall very impressed.

Edit:

Did my first standard weekend trip of ~160miles. Got 54mpg with normal driving. Getting used to the engine obviously helps too...

Edited 19 June, 201016 yr by rjd

I have just returned from a holiday in Scotland which has given me the first real chance to try the economy of my new 1.8TSI DSG L&K estate over a long distance. It now has just over 3000 miles on the clock and so is reasonably well run in. The total mileage of the trip was 753 miles and the roads comprised 200 miles motorway, 250 miles A roads with the rest on single track passing place roads on the Isle of Mull - on which we travelled about 300 miles. The journey was between Carlisle and Fionphorte on the Ross of Mull. together with much motoring within Mull.

On the journey up on the motorway stretch I set the cruise control at 70mph satnav which registered as 74mph on the speedo. The cruise control was never once disengaged over the whole 100 mile stretch of motorway. Similarly on the return Motorway stretch the speedo registered 81mph over the whole journey on continuous uninterrupted cruise control. The A roads were tackled at maximum legal speed where possible but there were considerable holiday traffic convoys going at about 50mph. I'm quite good on the single track passing place roads (25 years experience) - frequently reaching 60mph thereon but there is a considerable amount of heavy stopping and hard pulling out of passing places to deal with a fair bit of oncoming AND traffic catching up one's rear. The DSG box made this single track road driving absolute bliss as there is a vast amount of gear changing required with all the passing place work.

Now for the economy figures. For the whole 753 miles my maxidot registered 40.2mpg. Brimming my tank tells me that my maxidot is about 1mpg out so the true figure will be nearer 39mpg. On my return journey which comprised about 25 miles passing place single track, 100 miles of A road (including crossing Glasgow) and 100 miles of motorway at a registered 81mph (a true 76mph) the maxidot showed 42mpg which will be nearer 41mpg.

Overall the car exceeded all my expectations and was a joy to be in at all times.

Some people may be interested in these real live economy figures over a long and varied journey.

Edited 20 June, 201016 yr by Jrayworth

That's interesting reading Jrayworth. You really can't fault these engines. I love mine, i can rag it all day long with no thought for the fuel price because i know i'd struggle to get it below 30mpg no matter how hard i try! The 2.0 TSi does 41 mpg average over town, motorway and twisty B roads, when driven sensibly.

Manual 1.8 TSi hatch.

Having finally changed from 99 octane to 95 and doing a moderate country run from Hove to Tunbridge Wells, including a bit of a hold up at road works, a few normal stops and starts, and no motorway at all, I was surprised to find it had got up to 41.2 mpg. Speed varied from about 50 to 60 between towns.

I thought it would be in low to mid thirties mpg.

BTW - didn't feel any different on 95, compared to 99.

Manual 1.8 TSi hatch.

Having finally changed from 99 octane to 95 and doing a moderate country run from Hove to Tunbridge Wells, including a bit of a hold up at road works, a few normal stops and starts, and no motorway at all, I was surprised to find it had got up to 41.2 mpg. Speed varied from about 50 to 60 between towns.

I thought it would be in low to mid thirties mpg.

BTW - didn't feel any different on 95, compared to 99.

I tried 99 Octane for a short while and found it made no perceived difference to performance and certainly no difference to mpg. All instructions with the car say to use 95 octane or 91 if not available so I suggest that 99 octane though harmless is a waste of money for these cars. Some 99 suppliers do suggest that the additives therein help clean the engine better etc and I can't comment on that. If true and effective then perhaps a few tankfuls now and again may be beneficial ???

I tried 99 Octane for a short while and found it made no perceived difference to performance and certainly no difference to mpg. All instructions with the car say to use 95 octane or 91 if not available so I suggest that 99 octane though harmless is a waste of money for these cars. Some 99 suppliers do suggest that the additives therein help clean the engine better etc and I can't comment on that. If true and effective then perhaps a few tankfuls now and again may be beneficial ???

VW say with the FSI/TSI's

". Only Lead-free petrol RON 98 or Lead-free petrol with RON 95†" and this mark "† Lower efficiency when using lower RON petrol."

So 98 or 99 ron to get the best, plus Honest John and a lot the press say 98/99 is better because it's cleaner and newer engines can 'advance there timing' with

Hi,

One of his posts below by doing a quick google at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/caradvice/2744181/Honest-Johns-agony-column.html: There's lots more you can find too on his site about plus on his car-by-car part:

"Best run on 99 Ron Shell V-Power Super. Head problems reported at 4 years old if not run on high octane petrol. May also suffer failed lambda probes (two at £200 each) and failed cat converters as a result.

---

We are about to buy (privately) an Audi A4 Avant 2.0T FSI and intend to keep it for six to eight years. I noticed yesterday, when taking the car for a test drive, that a sticker on the fuel cap indicates "98Ron, min 95Ron unleaded". Not all forecourts sell 98Ron, and it costs another £3-£4 per top-up. If we ran the engine mainly on 95Ron unleaded, would it cause any long-term damage or simply deliver reduced performance? I don't drive like a nutter.

J.K., via e-mail

Use 98Ron or 99Ron. Resort to 95Ron only in an emergency or you will really mess up the FSI engine, which needs the best, lowest-sulphur petrol. On 95Ron, it also loses about 20bhp.

VW say with the FSI/TSI's

". Only Lead-free petrol RON 98 or Lead-free petrol with RON 95†" and this mark "† Lower efficiency when using lower RON petrol."

So 98 or 99 ron to get the best, plus Honest John and a lot the press say 98/99 is better because it's cleaner and newer engines can 'advance there timing' with

Well my handbook and petrol cap notice (1.8TSI) says "Only Lead-free petrol RON 95 or Lead-free petrol with RON 91†" and this mark "† Lower efficiency when using lower RON petro so it looks as if the engine tuning must have chamged.

Well my handbook and petrol cap notice (1.8TSI) says "Only Lead-free petrol RON 95 or Lead-free petrol with RON 91†" and this mark "† Lower efficiency when using lower RON petro so it looks as if the engine tuning must have chamged.

It was explained to me on this forum that the confusion arises because on the inside of the filler flap it says MIN RON Super Unleaded 95. Apparently on the continent "Super" is 95 and regular is 91.

So presumably our Regular is the same as their Super.

I keep my car 3 years, then trade in, so if anything blows up because I used 95 I will get it sorted under warranty. Personally I doubt this will happen.

If I felt there was less performace I would have no hesitation in going back to Tesco 99 but so far it feels exactly the same on Esso 95 !!

It was explained to me on this forum that the confusion arises because on the inside of the filler flap it says MIN RON Super Unleaded 95. Apparently on the continent "Super" is 95 and regular is 91.

So presumably our Regular is the same as their Super.

I keep my car 3 years, then trade in, so if anything blows up because I used 95 I will get it sorted under warranty. Personally I doubt this will happen.

If I felt there was less performace I would have no hesitation in going back to Tesco 99 but so far it feels exactly the same on Esso 95 !!

Sort of but not exactly, it depends how you read it

Germany, "Normal" 91 RON, "Super" 95 RON and "Super Plus" 98 RON is practically available everywhere. Big suppliers like Shell or Aral offer 100 RON gasoline (Shell V-Power, Aral Ultimate) at almost every fuel station. "Normal" 91 RON is more and more disappearing, because lower production amounts make it more expensive than "Super" 95 RON, so it is often not offered any more.

Italy, 95 RON is the only compulsory gasoline offered (verde), only few fuel stations (Agip, IP, IES, OMV) offer 98 RON as the premium type, many Shell and Tamoil stations close to the cities offer also V-Power Gasoline rated at 100 RON

France The blue pump dispenses leaded regular petrol with an octane rating of 98. The green pumps gives unleaded petrol is known as essence sans plomb. Super unleaded petrol has an octane rating of 95 or 98. Often, diesel fuel is called by its English name; otherwise, diesel is called gas-oil or gaz-oil. LPG is called Gaz de pétrole liquéfié (GPL).

Edited 21 June, 201016 yr by Stuart_J

My experience of a 1.4 TSI is that fuel consumption starts to get much better after about 8k from new. Before then the best I could get was about 43 mpg st a constant 70, but a recent motorway trip of 300 miles (again mainly at 70) saw 49.6 mpg. In day to day urban running it has improved from 36 to 39 mpg. It is an amazing engine - smooth and with 200 Nm torque from 1500 to 4500 rpm it is so relaxing to drive. No point in going much over 4500 rpm though as suddenly it starts to feel like a 1.4 engine instead of a 2.5! It gets noisier above 4000 rpm as well.