I'm about to change my Octavia Mk1 and upgrade to a Mk2 Octavia. I'm looking to get a Diesel Elegance estate (Approx 2005/06/07) but I see they come with both 105 and 140 bhp engines.

Are there any advantages/disadvantages with either of these engines?

I've currently got a 90bhp Ambiente estate so am not used to loads of power, but am used to good economy. 140 bhp sounds appealing, but does the economy take a hit? I'm assuming if I go for 105 bhp it will have similar or slightly better performance than my current car (which I'm quite happy with!)and similar fuel economy.

I'll be keeping the car for several years and with my budget (around £6k) the car I'll be buying will likely to fairly high mileage already so I'd really appreciate any hints or tips on these two engines.

Many thanks in advance.

The 1.9TDi PD engine is better than the 2.0TDi PD, have a look on Honest John's website and on the whats bad page its detailed there.

I have a 105ps engine and I find it quick enough with alot of torque, plus with that its averaging 63mpg!

I've just recently bought it too, paid £5295 from a local Skoda dealer with 91k on it, FSH too and it immaculate.

The best PD units are mid-period 1.9s with solenoid injectors. Avoid the later piezo injector engines and avoid the 2.0 PD at all costs because of the likelihood of oil pump drive failure - especially in N-S installations. The earliest PD engines had a rather complex and flaky fuel cooling system which is also better avoided.

Edited 22 March, 201115 yr by iCraig

I complained about that on the Honest John site being misleading as it has little relevance to the Octavia - the 2.0 PD140 in the Octavia doesn't have piezo injectors nor suffer from the oil pump drive problem - but they took no notice!

Personally I much prefer the 2.0 140 to the 1.9 engine in the Octy.

I complained about that on the Honest John site being misleading as it has little relevance to the Octavia - the 2.0 PD140 in the Octavia doesn't have piezo injectors nor suffer from the oil pump drive problem - but they took no notice!

Personally I much prefer the 2.0 140 to the 1.9 engine in the Octy.

Hmmmm, really? Bugger as that was one of my deciding factors on the 1.9! Anyway its a bloody good engine and 105ps is fine for me.

Hmmmm, really? Bugger as that was one of my deciding factors on the 1.9! Anyway its a bloody good engine and 105ps is fine for me.

The 1.9 is reckoned to be more reliable than the 2.0 generally, but for me the difference wasn't enough to make me choose it over the 2.0.

From what I can gather its the lack of balancer shaft on the BKD engine in the 2.0 PD Octavia that saves it from the oil pump drive problems that can aflict the 2.0 PD in some of the larger VAG cars.

Thanks for the replies, I was just trying to get a feel for both engines to see if one or other was a dog or not and to see what the economy was like.

Thanks for the replies, I was just trying to get a feel for both engines to see if one or other was a dog or not and to see what the economy was like.

I seem to average in the low 50s MPG with my 2.0 140, I would have thought the 1.9 would get 5-10 MPG better than this. If your main concerns are economy and longevity the 1.9 might be the one to go for.

I have an 140bhp CR Elegance and for what I use it for which is going up and down the motorway its ideal. It sits at 2300ish revs at a steady 82ish and doing that i get an average of 49mpg (worked out using full tank calculations). It depends what driving you tend to do but I prefer to have a powerful engine working not too hard than a small engine working at nearly full capacity

I've had 2 1.9 105bhp Octavias and driven the 2.0 140pd. I personally like the 105, its fast enough, plenty of power, good economy, and you can fit a single mass flywheel when the dual mass one eventually packs up...

This is all usefull stuff.Many thanks.

I'm quite happy with he power of my current car, but am tempted to have a bit more oomph. Having said that, this car has been stuningly reliable over the last 6 years, and there seems to be a hint of unreliability or potential problems in some of the replies above regarding the 140bhp engine and I can't afford large repair bills. Hmmm.

If I were you I'd take them both for a test drive and see which one you prefer...

My 2.0tdi BKD engined octavia has 372,000kms on it, it has loads of grunt and if I try, I can get 60mpg from it.

Who is this Honest John fella ??!!??

This guy, have a look under whats bad.