The do I/don't I question of the day - 1.4TSI Estate...

[DangerousAL]

Evening All,

I've been a member of these forums for a while, but I believe this is my first post (I owned an 02 plate 1.4MPI Fabia back in 2010, and signed up shortly after that purchase - car sold early last year) and wouldn't mind marking this occasion of a first-post to sanity check a possible future purchase.

The wife and I have decided to retire our 10 year old Honda CRV and top of the list for a replacement is an Octavia Estate. Ideally we were looking for a lightly used car, but today have been offered a brand new 1.4TSI SE+ for about £15800 (0 VAT offer) and with a down payment (including trade in) of £4K. We are looking at a monthly of ~£250, and since it is PCP, final of ~£5K. The numbers are within our budgets...

...but I guess the questions I have - and would appreciate your thoughts on - do those numbers look competitive and would you go for the 1.4?! It drives really well, but have a sneaky feeling it might not be enough under the bonnet. We can't find a 1.8 SE+ for love nor money, and since we do less than 10K miles a year, a diesel doesn't make sense...

As I said, your thoughts much appreciated.

Cheers,

Al

[P&N]

Ideally we were looking for a lightly used car..... since we do less than 10K miles a year, a diesel doesn't make sense...

How new does it have to be? There are some pre DPF diesels around and the occational 1.8 elegance or L&K

how many years of £250, 3? thats 9k + £250*36 £21600, variable service will be 1 in 3 years 30k.what else do you get for your money?

[james_19742000]

For not much more I expect you could have a VRS version? As you are considering PCP then its surprising how much further up the spec ladder you can get compared with traditional finance, might be worth a look maybe?

Personally for me, PCP works, I never keep my car longer than 3 years, I always want new, I know that however I buy a car I will always have to have some sort of monthly finance scheme to fund it, so only paying finance on the bit that isnt deffered (OK with interest for the full amount) makes having a more expensive car possible, and with the current offers £500 deposit contribution, 3 years servicing, 3 years warranty etc it makes it safe predictable cost motoring. As long as you can get your head around all of that and knowing you will never 'own' the car then its a great way of having a nice car.

Good luck on whatever you do :-)

[james_19742000]

Oh and on a PCP you must consider the diesel, as it has a higher residual value so the higher purchase cost is offset, so you are only paying the monthly payment on the difference between cost of car and future value, I bet it wont be too far off the petrol cost, I know I have just swapped from petrol to diesel and my payments would of stayed the same to go to a brand new diesel as the car qualified for 0% VAT offer, finanace deposit contribution and free servicing, the only reason my monthly cost went up was because I got carried away with the ticking boxes on the options list!!!! :-)

[GroundHog]

The 1.4TSI engine is great and more than up to the task with this car. I had this as a hatchback but can't see why this would be much different in an estate. However if you often carry a car full of people or luggage then it does start to feel a little sluggish, but is still fine, and considering the mpg and tax level, it makes a great buy.

[DangerousAL]

Thanks for your thoughts. Still figuring out what we'll end up doing - the numbers in my original post have involved no haggling, and you've got to haggle!

[1.4tsi]

The numbers sound about right I got mine for 14,800 but it is the S, but I did squeeze in a dog guard, boot liner and rear parking sensors. Mine is the estate and the 1.4 has plenty of shove, like an old style non turbo 1.8, unless you really load it up or want to tow the 1.4 is plenty, believe it or not 1.2 is ok too. I am a regular overtaker but don't drive like a nutter.

[Eltel]

Totally agree with the comments posted above. I've got an octy hatch 1.4 TSI and the engine surprises every time I drive the car. Think old style 2 litre injected and thats what the car goes like, good economy, lower road tax due lower emissions and the 1.2 TSI is a good motor as well being not that much slower than the 1.4. lots of people have been surprised how the car goes when fully loaded, it won't spin the wheels when it accelerates, but like wise it won't struggle either.

[colsay]

Have a 2 year old 1.4 and engine and is great. Four up it will still pull on the motorway and has enormous torque which you don't expect from tiny cc. If you feel like using the revs it will shift. As previous poster, more like a 2 litre of a few years back. I think we have all been accustomed to making engine choices on cc but we should really look at power and especially torque; these new VAG engines are great.

Word of caution on the PCP. Did it once on a Mercedes and it was what I would class as a rip off - cost a lot. HP or loan if you can, makes more financial sense.

[DangerousAL]

I drove the 1.2 and was really surprised how good the little motor was - far punchier than the size would imply.

Looking at alternatives to PCP, I'm not overly happy throwing the best part of £12K on something that I may not have anything to show-for in three years...

[Gti Jazz Blue]

Is the 1.4Tsi based on the same base engine as the twin-charger unit in the Fabia vRS / Polo etc ? As that seems to be suffering with high oil usage in some cases.

Paul

[small]

It is not the twin-charger unit, it has a single turbo. I have a 1.4 and find it quick enough and it has a useful amount of torque, I run it on shell super unleaded and had it on a rolling road recently where it was registering 138bhp on accurate rollers, it has only done 6k miles so I'm sure it will loosen up a bit more.

[small]

I can't comment on the oil usage as mine has only done 6k miles but it is still at the top marker point and has not gone down since I have had the car.

I used to have a Golf 1.4 twin-charger and it used a bit of oil although I never had to top it up between services although I only did about 5k miles a year in it.

[Mr Grump]

I have been nothing but impressed with my 1.2 tsi Octy estate, good economy even though its still very tight (still not 2k miles) pulls plenty well enough for spirited driving and when you want to overtake. As mentioned, feels like a much bigger CC engine. The 1.4 has another ~20% more than the 1.2, so I don't think you will be dissapointed unless you are planning on towing.

[Captain Scarlet]

My Dad has an Octavia 1.4 tsi elegance estate and I've driven it many times. I think the engine is excellent and can make progress rather well if the need arises. Would never be as fast as my vRS, but is ok when up to speed. Even with people on board for family use it would serve you well.

Does or would it suit your lifestyle?