Hi! I am currently looking for my first car, as I can't afford 1.8T, I have been looking at either 1.6 Petrol or 1.9TDI (90). I can't decide which one to go for, never had any expierience with diesels and to be honest, I am scared to go for diesel (don't ask why). My friend has 1.6 Octavia, but it is Automatic- not impressed with it at all. So how does 1.6L manual goes?

I know TDI is more 'tunable', but it is not what i want to do, i want to drive it till I'm 21 and then i can buy 1.8T

Thanks

Well the 1.6 will probably be cheaper to run should anything go wrong, what is your mileage every year? Saying that I don't think the tdi 90's have PD engines which does mean a bit less to go wrong.

The diesel will be a bit more poky with more tuning ability as you say but tuning and insurance on a first car don't usually go very well hand in hand.

1.6 IMO would be the wise thing to do whilst you save up for a VRS when you're a bit older. However the diesel would not be a bad choice but picking a lemon tdi would probably cost you a lot more to sort out as opposed to the 1.6 engine going wrong, no turbos to go wrong either on the 1.6

Edited 25 May, 201214 yr by Gtiracer

I am a former owner of an Octavia MK1, MY 2002, 1.6 petrol, 5-speed manual. The car was a very reliable one with average consumption 7.3 to 7.5 lt / 100Km at 130Km/h, almost fault free and reliable. Though as an MPI 8v engine it is not the quickest but it is in the middle. The car was powerful after ~2.500 to 3.000 rpm, very comfortable for long journeys, easy drive inside city, and if needed able to travel at 195Km/h for more than 100Km distance.

Very predictable faults, easy to maintain and workshops are keen on that engine since it can be found in a wide range of cars. It also has cheaper service cost due to 10w-40 oil.

maintenance isn't a problem, as dad is mechanic and I am studying engineering. Mileage will probably be 4-6k. Power isn't something I am looking for, but neither i want 'half and hour' 0-60mph time.

If I look at 1.9 with +/- 100k on clock, it costs near £2k, but 1.6 costs under £1k with under 100k on clock.

Is it hard to convert automatic to manual? I assume I need whole computer changed?

Take the 1.6 petrol then, manual is nippier than automatic, and it is not worth to tranform to each other. Have a little search for a manual.

Forgetting about converting an auto to manual.

For your requirements, I would go for a 1.6. Keep it nice and clean and original, and you'll get the best resale price when you're ready to buy your 1.8T.

Edited 25 May, 201214 yr by Longyear

You do have to think about the insurance as well. if its a first car, the 1.6 will be cheaper to cover than the 1.9 TDi. I know in IRL if you went for insurance on a 1.9 for your first car, they would laugh out the door. even a 1.6 some companies would refuse to quote (even as a named driver) as they presume that as a young lad you're gonna decide to park it in a field some day.

AS for converting to manual... no. it would cost you 3 times the price of the car in parts and time and energy to even try...

And as Longyear said, leave it standard, but it neat and clean, interior and exterior, and it will hold its value alot better than if you go playing with stuff on it. Anything you think about doing, cost it, then put the money in the bank until you've yer VRS and then do it to that instead.

on a different note, ive a 90brake TDi and its pretty sharp. more than enough poke for the average kinda driving and good mpg.

Edited 26 May, 201214 yr by mac11irl

Strange that as i always found deisels cheaper to insure?

I would go for the Diesel for definite!

Diesel engines are indestructible as far as i'm aware and all the work that's ever had to be done on my Fabia over the 11 years of it's existence have been on the wheels and the suspension.

Parts are cheap enough should you ever need them what with the whole thing being made of left over VW and Audi parts xD.

You'll have a lot more fun with the Diesel and when your trip computer tells you that £10 of fuel will get you 150 miles you'll start feeling like a clever consumer xD.

But that's just my opinion.

My Fabia is the first Diesel i've ever owned and I think it's turned me to the dark side to be honest. You can really feel the difference in how smooth the ride is when you're flying down the motorway at 70 and the engine is only running at 2000rpm xD

Strange that as i always found deisels cheaper to insure?

Over here, they dont care what fuel makes the gogo noise. all they see is "Big engine, young driver (under 25), big risk".

So even if you had a 1.9 sdi with 60bhp?

I'd have to check that tbh, but i remember being quoted astronomical money by loads of insurers for anything over 1.4L when i was looking around for my first car. Woudnt mind but i had 3 yrs no claims as a named driver on me mum's Getz at that stage!

Hy there.

I live in Romania and my brother brought me a 1.6 Octavia 75kw from London. He is currently situated in London.

I would go for 1.6 because from what my brother told me it has cheaper insurance.

Also the car runs great, as other memebers mentioned, after 2500 rpm the car has good power, and parts are easy to get, engine is not too complex so there will not be complex problems

Respect for the diesels but if you are doing only 6 k per year go for the petrol 1.6.

In 2800 km ( i guess it was 1600 - 1700 miles) from London to Romania, my brother had an average consumption of 40 - 41 mpg. To say that on Germany's highways where there was no speed limit he also drove constantly on 100 - 120 mph.

Cheers,