Hello, I am currently the happy owner of a mk1 Fabia VRS and am thinking of changing to a larger car, like an Octy or a Jetta maybe.

Can anyone on here advise as to their experiences with the 1.4 and 1.8 TSi engined Octavias?

Performance, economy and reliability are the main points I would like feedback on if possible.

I would like to retain the drivability of the Fabia VRS and most of the economy where possible.

Thanks for any info you can share

I have a pre-FL 1.8TSi hatch and if I were going out tomorrow to buy another car I'd choose exactly the same - you'd love it.

I had a Mk. 1 vRS and this Mk. 2 TSi is far better.

Boot like a truck, plenty of go, but economic too.

Edited 3 July, 201213 yr by ednmra

1.8TSI seems to be well loved on the site.

1.8 rocks. There was a comparison on some czech site of 1.4, 1.8, and 2.0 tsi and 1.8 was the most economical on mixed driving. A quiet and willing engine.

Wish I'd bought a 1.8TSI instead of my 2.0TDI now...

Wonder if a dealer would straight swap...

1.8 TSI does seem to be a gem. Mate of mine has the A3 1.8TSi black edition. Brilliant car and excellent on fuel. He went from an RS4 to that and seems happy enough so it can't be that much of a slug. Besides there's always Mr Chippy from Chipsford should you get bored....

Have you discounted diesel as I love our Fabia, but also love my new PD170 Octavia!

Picking up 1.8 TSI tomorrow, previously had MK6 gti, short time with Octavia 2.0 PD and MK1 petrol vrs so looking forward to seeing how it compares. Was looking for something petrol, practical, affordable and with a bit of oomph.....think this fits the bill perfectly but time will tell!

I used to have a Mk1 Fabia Vrs, (Diesel as they all were and I loved it.) I've now got a 1.8Tsi Octy in Elegance spec. You will really like the 1.8 and you will probably end up by concluding it's the best 4 cylinder petrol engine you've ever driven. You won't get diesel economy, although it's pretty good and you won't be able to help yourself from flooring it from time to time, which doesn't do much for the economy! Overall, considering the size of the car and the performance it's pretty good. Long runs from one end of the country will produce really amazingly good economy for a petrol.

You'll feel at home in it right away as regards driving position etc., but one thing that you will find slightly annoying is the rather small glove compartment after the Fabia, which had one of good size, with a further space under a lift up bottom. My wife complains about it all the time and misses her lift up bottom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The gear change indicator is just a gimmick, shame Skoda didn't just stick to using it as a feature to just tell you what gear you are in at any one time. It does do that - but the arrows just complicate things. Gear change is excellent, with a shortish throw gear lever. It's about the same feel and precision as the Mk1 Fabia Vrs. I also like the seperate digital display for kph - this results in a lovely uncluttered speedo with just mph on it.

I've had my 1.8Tsi for over 2 years now, absolutely no issues at all, it goes like the proverbial and sits nicely on the road. A really good comfy car, that you can sling round bends if you want to. I nearly bought a Vrs Octy, but decided on the 1.8 because of reduced insurance and petrol costs amongst other things. I don't regret the choice I made. One of the things that make this particular engine noteworthy is the rather unusual ratio between the bhp and the ft lb torque figure.

It's 160bhp and about 185ft lb of torque, low down in the rev range. Most petrol cars tend in very general terms to have a ft lb torque figure that's roughly about the same as the bhp figure. This engine is producing a lot of low down torque by petrol standards and that's why, if you are coming from a diesel, you'll appreciate that.

I paid exactly £15k to the penny, on the road for my 1.8Tsi just over a couple of years ago. Amazing package for the price.

Wasn't there a claims on this site that they were finding that the 1.8TSI engined cars were actually 180bhp not 160?

Wasn't there a claims on this site that they were finding that the 1.8TSI engined cars were actually 180bhp not 160?

Don't know if that has been proved but they certainly feel as gutsy as the Mk. 1 vRS which was also a 1.8 turbo with supposedly 180 bhp.

I imagine the Mk. 2 is a bit heavier too, so it has a lot of grunt, but as said above it possibly gives that impression because the power comes in relatively low down for petrol.

I don't think I've ever taken mine up to 5000 rpm in all the time I've had it, you just keep feeling you want to change up earlier.

Mine had stock before remap of 172PS, and 265Nm, so about 11HP and 11 lb/ft more then claimed.

Wish I'd bought a 1.8TSI instead of my 2.0TDI now...

Wonder if a dealer would straight swap...

+1. It was not available for the Scout in NZ though :-(. For my mileage, the TSI would have been far more suitable (and fun to drive). No DPF regens to worry about..

Threads like this really do make you wonder why they are dropping it. For those who don't want to go the whole hog to vRS, it is a godsend.

I can only think it is because they have something really magic up their sleeves to replace it.

How about a 200 bhp 1 litre, with 250 lb torque and 90 miles to the gallon running on rainwater? ..................No? Oh well, next year maybe........

Edited 4 July, 201213 yr by ednmra

1,8 TSI is an absolute gem and that comes from some with both petrol VRSs, Fabia and Octavia.

The 1.8 TSI DSG L&K is an stunning car, only slightly slower than the VRSs but much better on fuel than the Octavia VRs and about the same as the Fabia but runs on 95, or even 91. octane fuel.

Did mainly motorways and got the 43 mpg average and tended to drive at around the legal limit.

Just shame about the 60K warranty as I would have kept it to 100K at least.

Hope they come up with a 1.6 TSI or the VVT version of the 1.8 TSI that Audi has would order one like a shot.

Edited 4 July, 201213 yr by lol

Yeah, reading the comments here, I really wish I'd thought a bit more about my position when I wanted shot of my previous car. Though my current car was a bit of a bargain so I can't complain too much

Thanks for all the information folks - looks like I need to book a test drive