I have owned a PD 140 - remapped to 180,( Fabia vRS) & found that the kick is not as bad as people make out once you learn where it comes in & how to use it safely.

I personally found that it was very useful for getting out of situations where the use of this can be employed ( i.e i had to use this on more than 1 occasion where a lorry in lane 2 on the M'way started to wander out to lane 3 while i was just over half way down the length, overtaking, I cannot say I would be as confident in the current Octy CR - although a 99 decibel stiebel air horn is very effective in telling lorry drivers your there )

Although the CR may not actually be slower, its a perception.

My personal preference is the PD as you get the full sense of acceleration.

I had a PD170 Leon FR before upgrading (that's what it feels like) to my CR170 vRS.

On the Leon I had the stutter problem, but it was the failing injector, and threat of 3 more that could fail that forced my hand when I made the switch in May. I had a Revo remap on the Leon, and loved the car. The kick of power was immense. But it was that same kick that often led to the ESP light coming on.

You certainly know you're driving a diesel with the PD170. In fact I took a mate out when I first bought the car and he asked for a 32p ticket. Cheeky git, and also showed how long it had been since he'd been on a bus. But when I was outside of the car and could hear it running I could totally see where he was coming from.

First impressions when I got the Octy were that it felt slower, but then I was driving it without a remap. I lasted a week before I wanted the power back and made the trip to Awesome GTI for another Revo. Remap done and I was a happy boy once again. True, there is no longer the kick of power that came with the PD170, but for me the smoother power delivery means a much better overall performance, and none of the knocking as the car struggles for grip that I got in the Leon. The car sounds more like a petrol from inside and out. In fact when it was on the dyno at Awesome it was hard to tell it was a diesel!

In my experience the fuel economy is also far better on the CR170. I was averaging about 38MPG on a regular tank's worth of journeys. I'm now getting at least 45MPG in the Octy. I'm not driving any more economically, in fact I'd say I was driving it harder than before.

I would never go back to the PD170 now. It's CR170 all the way for me, but each to their own.

I love the urgency of the PD but have driven a CR and the power is there more smoothly but I still prefer the PD punchiness.

I think the verdict is "each to their own" - you'll never get a definitive answer