Petrol VRS V Diesel VRS

[brownfox]

It seems you will need to drive the petrol sedately to achieve decent fuel consumption in that case whats the point of a VRS, it makes sense if you dont care then its a no brainer.Otherwise have the best of both worlds buy a diesel even when thrashed there still good on fuel consumption.It is simple realy if you want to drive fast and love performance it will cost you one way or the other.If you want a top speed 185+ 0-60 under 3 secs average fuel consumption 50 mpg ZZR1400, Hyabusa is all you need, you just get wet when it rains.Seriously if you are a speed freak buy a used performance bike,and a cheap car with good fuel consumption, because basically most performance cars are very slow next to a bike.

[Chronicbint]

But then bikes are seriously compromised in other aspects.

[Nathanio]

It seems like every VAG you buy has common faults these days. They're quite a way off Japanese stuff for reliability now.

 

The whole Japanese reliability stuff is imo not true these days. It may have been 90s through early 00s but not anymore. Mazda has terrible reliability on their TDI engines, last gen Civic and Accord aren't that reliable either. My father in law had a Accord (V Plate so 98/99?) and was always nothings gone wrong; but then the 'apart from....' would come out. 

 

Lexus is the last bastion of reliable Japanese cars.

 

I was in the same situation when I bought mine whether to go for diesel as my previous few cars had been diesel. I do about 20k miles per annum (did 24k last year) but ended up buying a petrol - facelift tsi engine. Was cheaper to buy second hand than the same spec diesel ( I know diesel will hold its value slighlty better when I come to resell it) , road tax isn't that much more for the petrol, diesel fuel costs more than petrol, potential dpf and/or dmf issues with diesel if your planning on keeping it long term which I am. On motorway run mine will average 40mpg easily (its remapped as well). Petrol is far more fun to drive which was the biggest deciding factor.

 

This is why I have moved back to petrol from 8 years of TDI ownership. Every diesel related problem (DMF, rocker, turbo, EGR) I had go wrong on my 140 Octavia. I spent at least £4500 on just repairs in 4 years of ownership (on a 55 plate car costing £8500). 

 

I have just brought a 1.8TSI Superb and to get a similar spec and mileage in Diesel would have meant an extra £4000 or twice the mileage. Easy choice imo. £4000 is the first 2 years of fuel paid for.

[MattyD]

Some people prefer the way diesels drive to be fair. I just sold my mk2 vRS TDi. That had the DPF delete and a stage 1 map on it. Was a genuinely fast car and I can compare it to a Leon FR TFSI so same car as the vRS and it was easily as fast and fun to drive.

[littleade]

IIRC the diesel would be a PD in which caes I would go for the petrol. If its the tsi engine check the cam chain tensioner has been replaced recently or get it done by the dealer as part of the negotiation/allow for this if buying private. There's not that many that do go, but thats no comfort if you happen to be unlucky. You'll just have to suffer the relatively poor mpg figures when you give it some, but don't forget unleaded is cheaper than diesel anyway so will offset this a little. Good luck

[Redboy]

Petrol. If you don't do more than 10-12K. Mine is a MkII TFSI.No problems in 57K bar sticky cruise switch. Cleared in 5 mins. 40Mpg on motorways at 70-75. Yes you can do more on motorways but the managed motorways are forcing drivers who want to avoid points to stick to the limits. You can fit huge loads in and on back roads have some fun. Crucially for me you can hang on in 3rd and get past traffic safely. As for drinking fuel I'm sure if you thrash any car consumption suffers. I think it's a fun family car.

[neil_f]

I agree, modern diesels are a lot more complicated than they used to be in a bid to make them smoother, quieter and less/no smoke. Used to be that diesels always handled high mileages better...not so sure that is the case now.

[mikey vrs]

If your doing a minimum of 400 miles a week then id say go for a diesel,i have a petrol vrs & get around 400 miles to a tank (sometimes less) & to have to fill up at least once a week could get very expensive,I dont know how much the road tax is on the diesel but its £250 on the petrol. Id be tempted to keep your mk1 if its as good as you say & run it into the ground,it wont be worth much now.

[Leon-y-k]

With my 2.0tsi dsg, I usually get a 40-42mpg run to work and thats with a few squirts now and then! If I drive fast to work I get around 37mpg on fast a roads.

 

I used to have a TDI 1.9 but I just didn't get along with it, always had petrol...tried a diesel and went back to petrol!  

[Aspman]

I tried both before buying waaaay back in 07.

 

Honestly there isn't that much in it. Petrol maybe a bit crisper to drive but the tdi is fine car too.

In the end on paper they worked out almost exactly the same for me so I decided I wanted a 200hp car.

 

I've had mine for 6yr and 72k. Faults I've had in that time are  -

 

Sticky cruise (needs done again actually) - £5 (can of contact cleaner and a cotton bud)

Teeves Mk60 ESP - £300

Sawtoothing rear tyres - £300 (£50 alignment + 2 new tyres)

Rust on sills  - £10 not that bad, just keeping an eye on it with zinc primer and a touch up stick.

Brake bulb - 20p

Front wipers - £15

 

If you drive in town or like to drive hard you will pay for a lot of fuel, a lot of fuel, a lot of fuel.

IF you can hold back the urge you can get very reasonable mpg from the TFSI, 38mpg at 70mph is quite possible.

 

You will lose more money in depreciation with the petrol. Don't let any dealer over charge you on the forecourt. They don't want big petrol cars without a German premium badge. Get a good deal when you buy because you won't get one when you come to trade in.

 

Tax is painful.

Cam belt service hurts.

Insurance seems very cheap.

 

The TFSI engine seems to be pretty bulletproof. Arguable the diesels are less reliable (could be said for all modern diesels). Anecdotally it also seems more reliable than the newer TSI petrol.

 

Now the Teves is replaced my only worry with the car is the aircon compressor which is another well known weak point. But it's common to both engines.

[kylelcfc]

I tried both before buying waaaay back in 07.

 

Honestly there isn't that much in it. Petrol maybe a bit crisper to drive but the tdi is fine car too.

In the end on paper they worked out almost exactly the same for me so I decided I wanted a 200hp car.

 

I've had mine for 6yr and 72k. Faults I've had in that time are  -

 

Sticky cruise (needs done again actually) - £5 (can of contact cleaner and a cotton bud)

Teeves Mk60 ESP - £300

Sawtoothing rear tyres - £300 (£50 alignment + 2 new tyres)

Rust on sills  - £10 not that bad, just keeping an eye on it with zinc primer and a touch up stick.

Brake bulb - 20p

Front wipers - £15

 

If you drive in town or like to drive hard you will pay for a lot of fuel, a lot of fuel, a lot of fuel.

IF you can hold back the urge you can get very reasonable mpg from the TFSI, 38mpg at 70mph is quite possible.

 

You will lose more money in depreciation with the petrol. Don't let any dealer over charge you on the forecourt. They don't want big petrol cars without a German premium badge. Get a good deal when you buy because you won't get one when you come to trade in.

 

Tax is painful.

Cam belt service hurts.

Insurance seems very cheap.

 

The TFSI engine seems to be pretty bulletproof. Arguable the diesels are less reliable (could be said for all modern diesels). Anecdotally it also seems more reliable than the newer TSI petrol.

 

Now the Teves is replaced my only worry with the car is the aircon compressor which is another well known weak point. But it's common to both engines.

 

 

Thanks for that.

With the air con compresser, would the car run fine if it was to go? As air con for me isn't the end of the world

[Auric Goldfinger]

, but the R36 is as fast in a staight line with armchair luxury

 

 

Flat cap, Cigar and Slippers

[Aspman]

Thanks for that.

With the air con compresser, would the car run fine if it was to go? As air con for me isn't the end of the world

 

Good question. I don't know the answer :peek:

[07 vRS Taxi]

Thanks for that.

With the air con compresser, would the car run fine if it was to go? As air con for me isn't the end of the world

yes, if it sezies up the pulley disengages and turns free.

[flat-eric]

I do 46 miles each way (92 miles daily) in my pd 170 vrs and achieve a healthy 52.5mpg all day long.

 

low 40's when gunning it though but still get around 550 miles to a tank without driving like a nun!

[stever750]

Cardiff to Walsall to Dunton. First leg no cruise, M50 so made "good progress" which btw is much much quicker than a 320d. 2nd leg cruise set to just over 70.

Petrol vrs + shark.

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[firestormwest]

I went from mk1 vrs to fl vrs petrol, both remapped. Petrol consumption in fl is same if not slightly better than mk1 average about 33mpg.

The fl is a more refined, comfortable and faster car...handles really well BUT the mk1 drove like a hot hatch and felt sporty.

I have lowered, spaced, uprated front and rear arb but still does not feel as sporty as mk1.

In saying that I do love the fl and would suggest going for a diesel would be a step to far from what you like about the mk1.

[firestormwest]

I went from mk1 vrs to fl vrs petrol, both remapped. Petrol consumption in fl is same if not slightly better than mk1 average about 33mpg.

The fl is a more refined, comfortable and faster car...handles really well BUT the mk1 drove like a hot hatch and felt sporty.

I have lowered, spaced, uprated front and rear arb but still does not feel as sporty as mk1.

In saying that I do love the fl and would suggest going for a diesel would be a step to far from what you like about the mk1.

[pipsyp]

If you want a reasonably quick car with half decent tuning potential but accept as a consequence it will cost you reasonable sums to run then the petrol is the way forward.

As far as Im concerned the diesel is not as enjoyable and dare I say it quite so good as the petrol but for those willing to compromise it offers a very decent lick of pace and is in reality considerably more frugal and overall cheaper to run.

One of the issues I do have with the more powerful TSi cars are that whilst they go well their efficiency isnt at all remarkable. My old Fabia vRS would rarely better 300 miles from 55 quids worth of unleaded and (whilst not entirely accurate) over the course of 11k miles the MFD reported the car barely bettered 31 mpg. Yes I drove it relatively hard at times but the times I saw 40mpg on the gauge were few and far between and a few heavy uses of the throttle smashed that figure to pieces.

At the end of the day you can only drive so quickly on UK roads without risking the wrath of the law or putting lives at risk; the diesel with its real word sub 8 sec 0-60 and 140+ top speed is way fast enough but capable of producing 10+ mpg average more than the petrol at pretty much any given turn.

That said i'd probably buy a MK3 TSi given the chance :-)

[mr_awol]

Are petrol cars really that much more to run in the grand scheme of things?

TFSi yes. Newer TSi engines, maybe not.

I've owned petrol and diesel mk2s and as a rule of thumb I'd say the petrol did 3/4 of the miles per tank of the diesel, and as the petrol was only fed super there was little to no difference in fuel costs. Petrols are also generally quite partial to a litre or three of oil between services.

My petrol gave me a long term average of 23.5mpg in the end, but that's with a ten mile commute. On a 1100 mile run at c85 (indicated) on the motorway and a little bit of running around before the trip back it made almost 33mpg, calculated from brimmed tanks.

[stever750]

My average economy according to the trip comp is 33.6 over the last 11000 miles or so. A friend used to own an 06MY 530d and only got around 35mpg over its lifetime. Performance pretty much the same and frequently driven with equal lack of sympathy.

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[mr_awol]

Don't think my trip computer will store that many miles, although I wouldn't trust it too much anyway. My fuel app keeps tabs for me and gives a much more accurate result.

[monkeyalan]

TFSi yes. Newer TSi engines, maybe not.

When did the TFSi get replaced with the TSi? Not had a definitive answer on this. Seems to be a lot of confusion since the VRS MK2 has always had a T FSI according to Skoda literature!

[Redboy]

About 2009 with LE pre-facelift TSI engine and then full facelift model in 2010. FL owners might give you precise update.

[monkeyalan]

The one I just bought is a FL. Collect it tomorrow. All Skoda info calls it a T FSi. Even the dealer and the final FL brochure. That's why it's confusing me! The trip computer says it averaged 29mpg with the previous owner over 1.5 years. But I'm guessing most of that was town driving.