Petrol vs Diesel?

[handandy]

Just trying to get a feel for the differences in performance/handling between petrol & diesel Octavia VRs'ssss.

I presume the petrol would handle sweeter due to the lighter engine up front? Not sure about performance though.

Would the petrol be faster generally or would the extra torque in the diesel win?

I'm guessing fuel consumption would be around 30/35 petrol to 50/55 diesel?

Any comments?

[mattytemp]

A cr with remap could easily keep up even over take a standard tsi. But still a standard cr wouldnt be too far away from a tsi If you research here theres plenty on here.

[pipsyp]

Youre more or less bang on with your assumptions. The petrol is certainly outrightly a bit faster and maybe a little less nose heavy; more fun I suppose. The diesel counters some of this by being only a little slower in real world situations, thumping out considerably more torque and being alot more efficient and cleaner (generally cheaper to run) but it is more clinical in its approach. The diesel is generally more popular as it offers probably 8 to 9/10ths of the petrol experience without the heavier running costs of the petrol; as a consequence the diesels residual values are much better.

To be fair if I wanted a proper hot hatch id probably not bought a vRS as both the diesel and petrol cars in standard form are really warm hatches; got the vRS as I wanted a cheap big car that was quick but didnt need filling up once a week; diesel won out of course.

[pipsyp]

....in addition to what ive said above it is also really a case of horses for courses. If you dont particularly like diesels then the CR isnt worth considering. If you love diesels then the CR is the way forward.....though its worth noting the CRs are more petrol like in their delivery lacking the low end whizz bang of the older PD versions which made them feel faster than they probably were. If youre impartial the diesel is the sensible choice but if youre willing to accept the greater running costs of the petrol then thats a fine choice too.

[wurzel77]

About a 1 second difference in 0-60 times in the petrol's favour, but the running costs are dearer (although I have seen 40mpg on long motorway runs in my TSI). Having said that the purchase price is more expensive on the diesel (and there's a cambelt to think about), but as pipsyp said, the residuals are stronger. Plus you should factor in the fuel cost itself - diesel seems to be 6-8p more expensive per litre near me now.

[meta55b]

This has been the best and most sensible reply yet i've seen on here regarding the diesel/petrol best car. The 4 post above have been very fair and un-biased towards both engine's, pointing out the good and the bad of both. So please to any further post don't turn it into mines is better that yours, or a diesel not a sports car, as past post have turned into.

[vrs777]

The biggest difference is if you like to rev an engine and get pleasure from doing so.

Both are economical for their power, size of car.

Don't let people say the TSi TFSi engines lack torque compared to the Diesel. The TFSi/TSi produces lots of torque from low down and then all the way through the rev range. It's an engine that is far more pwerful than it's peak BHP suggests. Get in a 197bhp TFSi and then a 197bhp Clio RS and you will see what I mean. The torque and power is produced early and lasts to about 6000rpm, so you really get about about 4000rpm worth of full power/torque in each gear which you won't see in the low revving diesel.

But the diesel is about 2/3rd's the cost to fuel over the same distance. If a Journey is 400 mile and you use £70 in the petrol, the same journey will cost you £45ish.

[Gazman]

Down to driving style really, for me having a 1.8 TSI and yet coming from a diesel i do miss the low done torque, economy and more relaxed driving style of the diesel, but also appreciate the smoothness of my Petrol. I've had my car about 6 weeks now and Tbh think i should have maybe gone for a late TDI diesel although in all fairness am not deeply disapointed with my car choice.. things should look up for the Petrol when the weather gets a bit warmer and my economy improves..

Other thing is i still keep changing gear at 1500-2000 rpm and wandering where my 'Instant' power has gone..:-)))

[ryan-re]

Remember the mpg is entirely down to driving style etc etc

The Derv is rated at 48mpg on parkers but i see this/close to this often on A roads. Im yet to do a long motorway drive to see if I can get it higher.

I've got from a Civic 1.8 VTI-S to a 56 plate VRS diesel. Im saving around £120 a month on fuel as i've gone from one a week to once a fortnight trip to the petrol station. The Civic was 170bhp, 8 sec 0-60 same as the Octy but 122ft/lb of torque compared to the 260 in the octavia. The octavia is much quicker in useable speed, overtaking etc is much easier

Generaly its the same petrol vs diesel pro's and con's as all cars so you need to list what YOU want from the car and see which one ticks the boxes

[Dazzle daz]

Depends a lot on your annual mileage and the starting price of the car you want, i drove both petrol and diesel before buying and paid £1200 less for the petrol vrs than the diesel vrs that i had drove. (both same age similar mileage)

I enjoyed driving both but honestly preferred the petrol car as it felt a bit lighter and initially quicker off the mark.

I average about 8-9000 miles per year and i'm getting an average 29-30 mpg over the 4 months ive had it.

If my mileage went up a lot i would not hesitate to get the derv model.

[IMT]

Try both. I couldn't split them on paper. Petrol better at somethings diesel another.

What it came down to for me was the fact getting a diesel meant getting a black line and I wasn't keen on the black wheels or leather interior and could spec my Tsi as I wanted.

If you're not fussed about having the best drive that you can but still want a damn good one (in octy sense) and pay less for fuel then the diesel is for you.

My Tsi averages 30 mpg over its first 3 months. It has a real thirst in traffic though.

[ryan-re]

My Tsi averages 30 mpg over its first 3 months. It has a real thirst in traffic though.

this is why I went diesel. Even with it doing lots of short trips it still works out for me cheaper to run than the petrol. If I had the petrol i'd be using the same amount of fuel as my old civic

[stever750]

FWIW, a remapped TSI trumps the lot, and gets you into hot hatch territory. I've never driven a remapped CR170, but I suspect the gap widens in real world as well as 10/10ths performance once you do that, but of course not everyone wants to do that.

In standard form, I really think it just comes down to personal preferences. Some prefer the buzz of revving out a petrol, others like to surf on a crest of low down torque, it all depends on your own driving style, the type of journeys you make, and how important fuel economy is. They are both great cars, and both real bargains.

[M12MKD]

Petrol unless you are doing miles. Going on what you've posted I think that is the best option. Other than that the whole which is better, search been done a dozen times.

[Guest]

A remapped vRS CR is broadly on par with a standard vRS tsi/tfsi although ultimately through the gears the standard tsi/tfsi are a bit quicker. A remapped tsi is in a different league and would walk away from a remapped CR. I've owned all three and had the CR and tsi remapped. I didn't really get on with the CR and was disappointed with both the performance and economy. I managed 37mpg long term average. That's mainly because I drove it hard to extract the performance. The CR is a really good, smooth engine but I'm just not a diesel fan.

My advice, drive both on extended test drives and drive them properly and then buy the one you like best.

[littleade]

This is probably the best thread I've read on Briskoda so far for it's unbiased postings on the vRs petrol/deisel subject. I think it's reasonable to say neither option is perfect, both have their advantages and disadvantages so it's really down to individual choice and circumstance as to which one you have. I only bought the BL because it was such a good deal and I could have one in less that 2 weeks, while for a TSI that was other than bog standard spec I'd have to wait and pay more for a similarly spec'd car. I can appreciate why the TSI guys choose theirs though having had the TSI's little sister before and the overall petrol driving experience must have a huge grin factor, but being tight the running costs were an issue for me and little things like the same VED and better MPG than my 1.4 TSI (which is offset by the increased cost in derv) allowed me to swing SWMBO round to letting me have a new one, which I doubt would have happened if I'd wanted a TSI.

As pipsyp says if residuals are better on the CR it closes the gap on the initial cost difference issue too

For Ultimate Performance the TSI will win each time especially if it's been mapped. That's important to some but not others as the CR will meet their needs either most of or all of the time performance wise. Whether you prefer the petrol or deisel engine characteristics is again another consideration. Again it's horses for courses

Enjoy which ever you get, have a decent test drive in both to work out what's best for you

[Im gouki]

Well here's my two pence , the standard perfomance and handling is quite close. The only reason i went for the pertol over the diesel is mainly due to fact i;m a low mileage user. If i were doing 9000+ a year ....the diesel is a no brainer. Otherwise the petrol version wins out. As with most diesels unlike the rest of europe where diesel is cheaper than petrol , mileage really makes a difference to yearly running costs. Good hunting ,

[Booble]

Love my blackline and its suprisingly fast, not as pokey as a petrol mind - certainly not from the off, but once it gets to mid range the torque really kicks in and its fast. When I tried both the difference is there but not as much as I imagined. The 170 power from the derv really suprised me; I had a 150 bhp diesel vectra, and the difference is chalk and cheese, you'd swear it had at leat 80 bhp more - but that probably says more about the Vectra!

Once warranty runs out, I will get mine mapped and that'll be enough for me. I have DSG too and absolutely love it. Whether you go for diesel or petrol, they are fantastic value for money cars, I don't think there is anything out there that can touch it for the money. good luck.

[pipsyp]

This is probably the best thread I've read on Briskoda so far for it's unbiased postings on the vRs petrol/deisel subject. I think it's reasonable to say neither option is perfect, both have their advantages and disadvantages so it's really down to individual choice and circumstance as to which one you have. I only bought the BL because it was such a good deal and I could have one in less that 2 weeks, while for a TSI that was other than bog standard spec I'd have to wait and pay more for a similarly spec'd car. I can appreciate why the TSI guys choose theirs though having had the TSI's little sister before and the overall petrol driving experience must have a huge grin factor, but being tight the running costs were an issue for me and little things like the same VED and better MPG than my 1.4 TSI (which is offset by the increased cost in derv) allowed me to swing SWMBO round to letting me have a new one, which I doubt would have happened if I'd wanted a TSI.

As pipsyp says if residuals are better on the CR it closes the gap on the initial cost difference issue too

For Ultimate Performance the TSI will win each time especially if it's been mapped. That's important to some but not others as the CR will meet their needs either most of or all of the time performance wise. Whether you prefer the petrol or deisel engine characteristics is again another consideration. Again it's horses for courses

Enjoy which ever you get, have a decent test drive in both to work out what's best for you

Littleade same situation as me. Had a Fabia vRS estate and traded for a Blackline estate. Loved the engine and gearbox in the Fabia but never thought of it as a great handler. Also after a while of driving it daily felt the need for something more substantial.

Nearly bought a loaded ex demo 12 plate TSi DSG hatch but was Rallye Green and wife hated it. Then looked at an ex demo CR DSG hatch which was nice but felt the dealer wanted a bit too much for it and struggled to strike the right deal. Thought i missed the boat on the Blacklines so looked to factory order either a TSi or CR DSG estate to a nice spec and found that despite the CRs 1.5k or so higher list price due to the considerably better residual value after 3.5 years the CR was going to be cheaper to finance.

Lucky for me whilst having some warranty work done found that a number of the last 100 blackline estates were available and near enough did the deal on the spot. Saved about 2k on the CR DSG in the process with roughly the same cost of extras.

Now id never have spec'd Nav or Leather on a factory order but Im glad the car has them and I think id have to have both if I ordered another car. Having the DAB and cheap to add Bluetooth is also a boon.

If economics didnt come to play id have had a TSi no doubt about it; but I really dont think the diesel is in anyway its poor relation as youll certainly agree im sure

Edited 27 February, 2013 by pipsyp

[Fitz323]

I've owned a vRS PD that has been remapped by JabbaSport to 200bhp and 340 lbft and now I own a TSI vRS. I thought I'd be a bit let down by the petrol because it has less torque than my old PD but in my opinion it is a quicker car in all respects. The engine power band coupled to the DSG is a fantastic combo for all types of driving and for me personally it makes me drive far more relaxed than my PD but when you open the taps you forget how quick it can be.

I must admit the only reason I went for the TSI was due to a substantial loss of annual millage and if that was to become a consideration again in the future the CR would be top of the list.

[mattrixdesign2]

The Diesel is obviously cheaper to fuel, but its also cheaper on Tax and Insurance - not that it make a massive difference.

Its also worth noting the whilst its not quicker of the mark than petrol, I would argue diesel performance is better suited for driving here in the UK, i.e. plenty of pull in the mid range, thus quicker to overtake etc.

I reckon there is more fun to be had in petrol, but at a cost.

[booke23]

To the OP, some very good advice here.

If you don't care about running costs, but are purely concerned about driving experience, then test drive both and make your decision.

If you do care about running costs then it's hard to answer your question without knowing your annual mileage, and what age of car your are planning to buy, and how long you intend to keep it.

All these factors have large implications when deciding running costs vs residuals etc.

[ryan-re]

one thing i must say is people keep on about saying you need to be doing huge miles to warrant a diesel.

IME this complete rubbish. I dont do massive miles and my derv is still working out much cheaper than my previous car which did the same mpg average as people are saying they get from the tsi

[stever750]

A remapped vRS CR is broadly on par with a standard vRS tsi/tfsi although ultimately through the gears the standard tsi/tfsi are a bit quicker. A remapped tsi is in a different league and would walk away from a remapped CR. I've owned all three and had the CR and tsi remapped. I didn't really get on with the CR and was disappointed with both the performance and economy. I managed 37mpg long term average. That's mainly because I drove it hard to extract the performance. The CR is a really good, smooth engine but I'm just not a diesel fan.

My advice, drive both on extended test drives and drive them properly and then buy the one you like best.

I'd say a remapped TSI strolls away from many things on the road

Another thing for me is petrol means clean hands after filling up. I had diesel co cars for many years, and got so ****ed off having diesel all over my hands every time I filled up, and of course didnt always have a tissue to hand...

[silver1011]

I do 30,000 miles a year which forced my hand into buying a diesel vRS.

If I was doing much less mileage I'd get a petrol and pocket the £1,500 - £2,000 difference in purchase price and go on holiday!