1.2 3 Cyl 70ps v 1.2 TSI 85

[Reinfield]

I know this may seem a stupid question!

Due to the current vat free offers I am seriously considering purchasing a Fabia, probably in SE trim. I can just about afford the 1.2 TSI 85 model, so I assume it's a no brainer to go for this. But, most of my driving will be around town with just the occasional motorway journey, and I just wondered if their was any merit in saving some money and going for the 1.2 3 cyl engine.

I am going to try to get a test drive in each to make my final decision, but would appreciate peoples views on this

[paully]

Welcome to the forum ....I`ve got the 1.2 105, which is very quick but a friend at work bought the 3 cylinder jobbie and is looking to get rid of it. Says its ok on flat bits of the M-Way at 70 but when you come to hills, or you have a few adults in it its murder. I test drove one of these before i got mine and to be honest if you can afford the new TSI engine I would go for that.

But have a test drive and see what you think of them....Power apart they are nice cars...Good luck

Edited 5 October, 2010 by paully

[lemonvrs]

I have a 1.2 70hp 3 cylinder estate and Ive found the performance brilliant. It isnt great out of the box, but after a few thousand miles it really loosens up. Ive driven to Spain, I regularly drive it fully loaded with gear and passengers and its always good. Yes, up steeper inclines you sometimes need to drop it down a gear but on the whole Im exremely happy.

If I were to buy a Fabia tommorow I would happily go for the 3 cylinder again. I tested mine back to back with the old 1.4 16v which was only slightly faster at the top end. The 3 cylinder is lively off the mark round town, the TSI engines do have a certain amount of turbo lag. For that reason, for your use... go with the 3

[benwiddowson]

i cant speak for the 3cyl but i had one of the first 85 tsi's to be delivered and love it. I came from a fabia vrs and the tsi still has more than enough poke to make me smile.Mpg is fine and the tax is fairly low. Go drive them both would be my advice.

Edited 5 October, 2010 by benwiddowson

[Fatbloke]

I have a TSi 105 and the wife the 1.2 70. Two very different engines. The triple is a great zingy little engine, surprisingly torquey and capable. On the other hand it is a little coarse in comparison to the TSi and offers little, if any, fuel saving. The TSi feels more 'grown up'. The main advantage is saving on purchase price of course. You won't have any trouble finding a HTP to test drive but you may struggle to find a TSi.

[lemonvrs]

I can get over 60mpg if I drive the 3 very granny like. On the open road as long as you stay below 70mph 50mpg is easily achieved. In reality, with hills and using higher revs then 45mpg is usual. The 3 has a very high fifth gear. It is coarse, but characterful... if you like character then its great!

I find them noisy on start up, but when shes warm it isnt too bad, the tyre noise is worse so will be the same on the TSI. Dont be alarmed by the clattery sound they make, youll hear it with the window open. Biggest downfall.... using the aircon kills performance so I only use it it town and when its boiling hot out.

To be honest, I initially dismissed the engine as I thought it would be slow but it isnt. As a comparison it will leave my wifes Pug 107 behind in every situation and that has only 2hp less and is tiny! A mate with an Audi 80 2.6 was very impressed with my Fabias performance and his daughter couldnt get away from me in her Polo 1.3 GT.

[gallego1968]

I have the TSI 85 and it is perfect for normal roads and motorways, i would say go for the 85 as it will be worth it.

[fabia55]

Based on reviews if the tsi was available I probably would go for it. At the time the 3 cylinder 70bhp was my only choice for price/economy/performance. I have no problems keping up with traffic,, even on full load, going up hill I have no problems as long as you take a run up. However on the straight 0-70 is slow but most 1.2 non turbo petrols are slow. It cruises nicely at 70mph with plenty more in reserve. The main noise is the tyre noise once going.

Edited 5 October, 2010 by fabia55

[fabia55]

I have a 1.2 70hp 3 cylinder estate and Ive found the performance brilliant. It isnt great out of the box, but after a few thousand miles it really loosens up. Ive driven to Spain, I regularly drive it fully loaded with gear and passengers and its always good. Yes, up steeper inclines you sometimes need to drop it down a gear but on the whole Im exremely happy.

If I were to buy a Fabia tommorow I would happily go for the 3 cylinder again. I tested mine back to back with the old 1.4 16v which was only slightly faster at the top end. The 3 cylinder is lively off the mark round town, the TSI engines do have a certain amount of turbo lag. For that reason, for your use... go with the 3

and no turbo to go wrong, also cheaper insurance

[benwiddowson]

and no turbo to go wrong, also cheaper insurance

Yeh the tsi is 9e and the 1.2 is 5e. Both are VED D.

[rwbaldwin]

I have ridden in a 3-pot 70hp Fabia. My expectations were quite low but I was quite impressed considering there were 5 people in the car.

The only time it struggled was on a section of dual carriageway that climbs a hill. It's a section of road I use for testing so I asked the driver to stay in top. The max he could maintain was 65mph, but. I'm sure there would be no problem if he changed down a gear.

[fabia55]

if the op is using the car for mainly for short journeys around town, would a turbo be ok for regular short journeys

[benwiddowson]

i dont see why the turbo wouldnt be ok as long as its not ragged when its cold and the last few miles are taken steady if its been worked hard.

[fabia55]

so it may not be ideal for someone who does regular short trips of a few miles. by the time its warmed up you'll be at your destination...

[The Plumber]

Regularly drive a Fabia I 1.2 HTP 54 and occasionally my wife's Fabia II FL TSI 85 around the hills of the Yorkshire Wolds. No doubt the TSI is the better motor but our lowly powered HTP will still climb a hill with our family of three adults on board without to much drama. So for your described driving the 70 version may be more than suitable.

Regards,

TP

[Guest]

Reinfield, a big welcome to the site.

I've had the pleasure of driving both of the engines you are mentioning. Both absolutely brilliant to drive. Obviously, the TSI is top flavour at the moment due to it's turbo and extra power over the older 1.2 engines. It's a brilliant engine. However, don't rule out that beautiful, well tried and trusted 3 cylinder petrol unit. I agree with Lemon...it's a gem. I had one for a whole day and was amazed at how good and how powerful it was. It makes a great sound too when you rev it hard. With just two of us in the car it went like a rocket and maintained any speed I wanted on the motorway without being troubled by hills. I could envisage maybe changing to fourth gear to maintain 75mph if you have a steep hill and are loaded with 5 people and luggage. Otherwise, no problem power wise. I covered 345 miles in a day in the one I had (went to the NEC from Colchester) and it averaged 52 mpg driven averagely hard, but with just the two of us in it.

The TSI 85, I had that for half a day and found it very good, but grew to dislike the turbo lag. It's not a problem I'm sure once the engine has loosened up a bit and once you get used to it. It averaged much less to the gallon than the 3cylinder unit in a 150 miles stint, but I put that down to fewer miles on the clock than the 3 cylinder unit. No problems of course with the power, it was well up on the 3 cylinder engine.

If you intend to do mostly shorter trips I would without hesitation go for the 3 cylinder normally aspirated engine. Speaking in general terms, turbo engines don't like shorter trips where the engine and oil doesn't warm fully up on a regular basis. The turbo bearings do tend to fail earlier in that sort of usage. I've dismantled a turbos that was just over a year old and seen the acid based corrosion on the bearings, and the restricted oil flow (caused by emulsified oil) passing through the feeder pipe due to the engine being just driven on short trips. However, it's unlikely to be a problem if you make sure you have the engine flushed and refilled with the correct oil on a regular basis if you are doing short trips.

So two great motors. Let us all know what you think after a test drive. Good luck.

[xman]

The 1.2 3 cyl is well established, cheap, cheerful simple and very easy to maintain DIY. Its a remarkably capable engine with good low down torque for town use which is what its best suited for. Better residuals (percentage wise) compared to the more powerful engines strangely enough.

I havent tried the latest FL version which is supposed to be quieter and smoother (new type of camchain used and lighter smaller internals crank etc for lower friction)

Some evidence that Tsi engines dont like low grade fuel and perform much better with "super" (97+ octane) fuel. It hasnt been around long enough to comment on its reliability. Direct injection and electrically controlled turbo could be an expensive problem area once out of warranty.

All the latest VW engines seems to require up to 10,000 before mpg is sensible.

Loudest and most annoying noise in the Fabia is the road noise.

Best to try both before you buy.

[Reinfield]

Thanks for all the replies.

It appears that it's not such a "no brainer" as I first thought. With the type of driving I envisage the 3 cyl might well be the better option

I will try to get test drive of both before making a final decision.

[Guest]

Loudest and most annoying noise in the Fabia is the road noise.

You haven't met my wife mate!

[Auric Goldfinger]

The wife has a Fabia Mk2, 1.2, 3cyl, 70 bhp Blueline Hatch, Wonderful little engine.

She used to have a Fabia Mk1, 1.2, 3 cyl, 70 bhp Silverline Estate...............

[wee vic]

I know this may seem a stupid question!

Due to the current vat free offers I am seriously considering purchasing a Fabia, probably in SE trim. I can just about afford the 1.2 TSI 85 model, so I assume it's a no brainer to go for this. But, most of my driving will be around town with just the occasional motorway journey, and I just wondered if their was any merit in saving some money and going for the 1.2 3 cyl engine.

I am going to try to get a test drive in each to make my final decision, but would appreciate peoples views on this

reinfield get a testdrive in the basic 1.2 6v 60hp.thats what i have and it pulls so well i thought skoda had fitted the 70hp by mistake.i used to have a 54hp htp and a vw fox 1.2 54hp.vag have definitely improved this engine.my wife has a 77hp 1.4 grande punto and the skoda feels like a 1.6 compared to it.i bought the fabia 2nd hand of a vauxhall garage and the salesman said it pulled better than a 1.4 corsa.

[fabia55]

reinfield get a testdrive in the basic 1.2 6v 60hp.thats what i have and it pulls so well i thought skoda had fitted the 70hp by mistake.i used to have a 54hp htp and a vw fox 1.2 54hp.vag have definitely improved this engine.my wife has a 77hp 1.4 grande punto and the skoda feels like a 1.6 compared to it.i bought the fabia 2nd hand of a vauxhall garage and the salesman said it pulled better than a 1.4 corsa.

i've been in a grande punto 59 reg (probably the 1.4 8 valve but unsure as it didn't have a 1.4 sticker on the boot and according to what car magazine only the 1.4 was avaialble in 59 reg year) and the fabia is a much better drive even though the fabia still has plenty of body roll as standard. The 1.2 3 cylinder has maximum torque at only 3000 revs so unlike most other petrol engine you don't need to rev it very high to get decent pull. 0-60 may be slow but it never struggles even on full load of 4 passengers.

Edited 6 October, 2010 by fabia55

[Mike Wrightson]

reinfeld: If you'll be driving in town most of the time, I would go for the 70bhp 3cyl engine. It'll make mincemeat of town driving and can still do a long trip. I have a TSI and love it a lot, but if I was buying a car for town use, it would be the 3cyl.

[WipeOut]

I had a similar decision this year. The £500 difference didn't really bother me. All I wanted was a small run around for town driving with the occasional short motorway journey.

I test drove both, the 70bhp 1.2 3 cylindeer and the 85bhp 1.2.

I preferred the 3 cylinder, thought it was much more fun. I didn't like the turbo lag with the tsi. There is less to go wrong on 3 cylinder and it's simpler design. After 1500 miles the engine is starting to loosen. It's economical and powerful enough to carry the family. My other car is an Octavia 1.8 tsi, and it's no where nears as fast, but more than adequate and more fun to drive!

[seboni121]

town driving get the 3 pot , it it will get tired on those long motorway journeys,you might have a headache as they will make a bit of a din,ive gone for the elegance 105 1.6cr tdi simply we have a lot of hills here and the 3 cylinder petrol or diesel greenline would labour and swallow fuel like it was running out!