I've previously posted this on the forum so apologies to others who might have seen this before!

I've had my petrol vRS 2011 FL DSG model for over 7 months now and only use Shell petrol in it.

I've conducted detailed mpg tests on V-Power for many tanks and have now gone back to fuelling with their regular 95 RON and am getting EXACTLY the same mpg figures as above( 36/37 average doing a mix of urban & extra urban roads and up to 43 on a country road long run)

I went into the experiment with a totally open mind after hearing garage proprietors and some other people, either friends or forum users, swear that I'd get 'more mpg' from the high RON stuff..... all I can now say is 'no way' in my case.

I also became quite a 'saddo' and worked out that a diesel version of the car costs at least £1500 more than my petrol version and that as a full tank on a diesel should get on average 120 to 130 miles more than a full tank of petrol and that given the extra outlay cost for a diesel this would take me at least 66.66 tank fill-ups or 27,000 to 30,000 miles before I broke even. Then there is the cost of a full tank of diesel nowadays to take into account!!! Shocking.

I say, unless you're doing over 27,000 mls a year then get the petrol, it's very economical for such a powerful and wonderful car to drive. I can't fault it ...yet.

I've owned a mixture of diesels and petrol cars over the years but somehow have always preferred the petrol engine and its power delivery/quietness. This car's petrol engine has superb torque from very low revs right up to the end! Fantastic... and far from shameful fuel consumption too.

If this helps you to seal the deal

Just to provide an alternative view, my workings come out that the diesel is the cheaper alternative over three years from new from easily less than 10,000 miles per year. Don't forget that currently petrols hold far less of their value in say 3 years. I do this as part of my job as an accountant.

Buy a 8 month old low mileage petrol direct from Skoda missing out on the depreciattion as I did. Drive <12k miles per year and in a normal mix of traffic conditions motorway and A roads you will get 38-40 MPG on a decent run with no effort and that includes heavy acceleration and fast cruising around the legal limit. In cold conditions my 10 mile run to work is 32-35. Above 8-10c it increases to 38-40. You have had the oil burner... pun intended, have a test drive, ignore the petrol/diesel faction and make your own choice.

Test drive both, buy the one your prefer.

Edited 16 March, 201214 yr by RizzoTheRat

Petrol! It's more fun, cleaner and smoother.

Sod all this MPG rubbish. Buy the car to have fun. If you are worried about the bank or the planet then get a Prius.

Petrol will depeciate like a brick to start with, pause for a while at about 2.5yr then hit the floor again after 3yr :(

Still a great car for the money though.

I've said this elsewhere recently:

Honest John in the Telegraph (he and / or his website) is in receipt of thousands of letters weekly, most of which are asking him to solve motoring problems.

He has been saying for quite a while now that modern diesels are extremely complicated in order to beat emission regulations and that this makes them problematic and potentially extremely expensive to repair when they go wrong.

He now advises people to purchase petrol cars unless they are doing significant annual mileage.

With the added torque of a petrol turbo and the superb fuel consumption the TSI now provides, the choice should be a simple one unless you do mega miles.

Just my 2p.

Choice made petrol wins!!!

Deposit paid and collect on Thursday!!!!

Nice, all the best, judging by that price and miles we got royally fecking raped buying ours last year!

+1 !!

I've previously posted this on the forum so apologies to others who might have seen this before!

I've had my petrol vRS 2011 FL DSG model for over 7 months now and only use Shell petrol in it.

I've conducted detailed mpg tests on V-Power for many tanks and have now gone back to fuelling with their regular 95 RON and am getting EXACTLY the same mpg figures as above( 36/37 average doing a mix of urban & extra urban roads and up to 43 on a country road long run)

I went into the experiment with a totally open mind after hearing garage proprietors and some other people, either friends or forum users, swear that I'd get 'more mpg' from the high RON stuff..... all I can now say is 'no way' in my case.

That's because the TSI is tuned to run on 95RON. You will see very little benefit from running the higher grade fuel.

Good choice. Welcome to TSI ownership.

I know you've allready made your decision and it was the correct one

SWMBO changed from a mk1 Fabia vRS to a 2l vvti Petrol Rav4 with an annual milage of approx 10k per year, we have since moved house and now her annual milage is around 3k per year but the overall running costs are cheaper for the Rav than they were for the Fabia

MPG isn't everything, servicing/tax/tyres/brakes etc etc all play their part in the overall running costs of a car. If we didn't have a caravan I would be looking to change my Octavia for a Petrol Octavia later this year

Great choice, good looking car and colour.

Keep us posted how you get on with it.

That's because the TSI is tuned to run on 95RON. You will see very little benefit from running the higher grade fuel.

You're absolutely right about that.

I wish I hadn't bothered trying V-power in it however, it did prove something to myself and did put that demon, finaly, to rest!

Top choice and a very nice looking motor

Just a minor point - everyone rightly says it will cost more to buy a diesel (or you will have to go for an older / higher mileage one than a similar priced petrol) and that at a low mileage you will struggle to break even. But no-one seems to have considered that the diesel will not only be more expensive to buy, but also get a higher price when sold! So doesn't the resale value (to a degree) cancel out the additional initial cost?

Having said that, I'd go for the petrol too. Why buy a sports car that sounds like a van? And the petrol has great low-down torque so if you like the diesel engine "feel", the petrol will give you much of that too.

A big thing for me buying a car is resale value and in Ireland petrol cars are just dying off.

It's diesel for me 100% and I do around 18k a year.

So doesn't the resale value (to a degree) cancel out the additional initial cost?

Almost exactly. But if you're financing you'll be paying interest on that difference while you have it so it's not necessarily a neutral cost.

Up-date on mine's MPG..... Maxidot average (which is spot-on on mine after checking it over a long period of fill-ups) for mine over a 15 mile journey on main A road today was 45.4 !!!

It really does seem that as the car reaches 9000 miles it's loosening up nicely and also the warmer air temperature really makes a difference too.

That's because the TSI is tuned to run on 95RON. You will see very little benefit from running the higher grade fuel.

True. With the TFSI (petrol VRS), however, higher octane really does make a difference.

I posted this recently:

"Being a sad anorak type, I keep a fill to fill log. My journeys are mostly a commute near West London and occasional business trip.

MPG on 95 octane averaged 31.23 (cost per mile 19.61p) over 3 months (autumn/winter)

MPG on Tesco Momentum 34.45 (cost per mile 18.19p) over 2 months (winter)"

Edited 23 March, 201214 yr by El Dingo

Diesel V Petrol YAWN!

If you think you've bought the right car then you probably have. Enjoy! -)

What's resale value? Think I got £250 part ex for my last car, and £60 from the scrappy for the one before that

Just a minor point - everyone rightly says it will cost more to buy a diesel (or you will have to go for an older / higher mileage one than a similar priced petrol) and that at a low mileage you will struggle to break even. But no-one seems to have considered that the diesel will not only be more expensive to buy, but also get a higher price when sold! So doesn't the resale value (to a degree) cancel out the additional initial cost?

Having said that, I'd go for the petrol too. Why buy a sports car that sounds like a van? And the petrol has great low-down torque so if you like the diesel engine "feel", the petrol will give you much of that too.

Yes, resale values are also a consideration but again these vary depending on how long you intend to keep the car. Whilst Petrols appear to depreciate more don't forget that they also cost less to start with. SWMBO's fabia vRS lost approx 50% in the 3 years that we owned that, her RAV so far has depreciated approx 45% in the 2 1/2 years we've owned it but as its not a Hot Hatch it also won't have the stigma when a little older about being abused/thrashed (even if it hasn't been) which can also put people off buying a particular model.

At the end of the day so long as you are comfortable in your decision enjoy driving/owning your car and the figures are rarely thought about

Diesel V Petrol YAWN!

If you think you've bought the right car then you probably have. Enjoy! -)

Exactly! Life's just too short to drive a diesel.