Guys,

I have been looking at options etc, and notice the diesel vRS is only £300 ish more than the petrol. Usually diesels are ~£900 more.

 

Being a cynical old fart, I am thinking there is more to it than that, so are there any differences in spec or mechanicals (apart from the obvious power difference) ?

Dont think so, cars are by and large identical apart from the engines.

Interestingly the exhaust arrangement on the diesel is different, so for the first time other than looking at the rev counter there is now externally a way to tell them apart.

On the TSI both the left and right exhaust exits are real, on the TDI it has a standard steel twin pipe exhaust exit behind the left hand exhaust tip and the right is just an open void.

I can imagine the geeks out there when these things start to become a more common sight in our car parks will start "exhaust spotting" hahaa

The oil burner is missing fun.....

I had a mooch round one of these a couple of days ago. The taxi-spec exhaust backbox can easily be seen angled into the left hand trim finisher when you bend down to view it. I think it will be clearly seen when following one in another car. Not a good look imho. Call me vain but I doubt I'd buy one for that reason alone lol!

I had a mooch round one of these a couple of days ago. The taxi-spec exhaust backbox can easily be seen angled into the left hand trim finisher when you bend down to view it. I think it will be clearly seen when following one in another car. Not a good look imho. Call me vain but I doubt I'd buy one for that reason alone lol!

It's also worse in the winter, having had a 3.0 V6 Vectra with twin exhausts sitting at the traffic lights etc it is satisfying seeing the twin exhaust plooms rise from the rear of the car and just looks awesome when you floor it on a cold morning.

On the new diesel it will be embarrassing having '2' exhausts but only one has anything coming out of it on that same cold morning !

The obvious difference is around 2 seconds in the 0-60mph times, real twin exit exhaust and a lot more revs to play with.

In the diesel you apparently get a synthetic noise to make it sounds sporty, that doesn't sound quite right.

 

No doubt the diesel will be the bigger seller because people tend to focus on cash they take out of their pocket to pay for fuel.

 

I agree the price gap should a bit larger, as is traditional.

 

But I still think if you are going for the Octy3 VRS the petrol is the one to have unless you do lots of miles and work out how much cheaper the diesel will cost.  If you can afford the extra £20 per week on petrol, it'd be my choice.

The oil burner is missing fun.....

Have u drove one?

Also the tsi uses more oil lol

Usually diesels are ~£900 more.

 

i thought that too, then I had a look on the VW site out of curiosity as a friend mentioned he'd ordered a new Golf GTD. GTI starting price is £25,845 - and the GTD? £25,285. Surprised me.

The obvious difference is around 2 seconds in the 0-60mph times, real twin exit exhaust and a lot more revs to play with.

In the diesel you apparently get a synthetic noise to make it sounds sporty, that doesn't sound quite right.

No doubt the diesel will be the bigger seller because people tend to focus on cash they take out of their pocket to pay for fuel.

I agree the price gap should a bit larger, as is traditional.

But I still think if you are going for the Octy3 VRS the petrol is the one to have unless you do lots of miles and work out how much cheaper the diesel will cost. If you can afford the extra £20 per week on petrol, it'd be my choice.

If cash didn't come into the equation then petrol wins hands down. If the extra performance doesn't swing it then that faux exhaust on the diesel should.

However the cash does come into it, and comparing the two with a manual gearbox the diesel is 30% better on fuel (albeit from the manufacturers own figures), VED at the moment is £140 on the petrol vs £0 on the diesel. Insurance group is lower and the residuals will be better.

That £300 premium for the diesel isn't much agains the savings over a few years of ownership.

Decisions...

i thought that too, then I had a look on the VW site out of curiosity as a friend mentioned he'd ordered a new Golf GTD. GTI starting price is £25,845 - and the GTD? £25,285. Surprised me.

i thought that diesels are everytime costlier

Have u drove one?

Also the tsi uses more oil lol

 

The TSI engine in my car required exactly 1l of oil between services - so 1l in around 19k miles.

 

I agree with the other guy - don't buy the tractor!

You guys !

 

Firstly the lower price difference, I was wondering if it was something I had heard about the rear suspension. I can't recall details but something about some models of the octy had a better system ? 

 

Going slightly OT but, hey, you lot started it and I guess its allowed as I am the OP !

The petrol vs diesel debate, and I know this might not be financially sound, (neither is buying a new car, but that's by the by :p ) but reasons I am leaning toward the diesel are:

 

1. Only £300 more to purchase.

2. VED is going to be £30 vs  £140 (at current rates). 3 years ownership mostly puts paid to the additional outlay on the car with this alone.

3. I do (wrongly maybe) tend to focus on what how far I can travel on my fuel, even though I am not a high miler. For me an extra ~14+ mpg is a real sweetener as it is noticeable every time I visit the fuel station

4. I don't have any issues with driving a diesel, real world performance is just as good if you drive to how the engine works best IMO.

5. If you were so inclined, it wouldn't take long for someone to remap the diesel to the petrol power levels anyways.

 

I don't think the fake exhaust would bug me, but it wouldn't take a lot of sorting if it did ? A can of black vht paint and a bit of sheet ally would likely cosmetically improve things somewhat.

 

I just like the all round appeal of the diesel, quick enough and cheap to run were you notice it most.

Strange as it sounds, its also comforting each year to hand over a minimal amount to the government for a change 

I also know every time I visited the fuel station with the petrol, I would be muttering under my breath !

Looking at official figures, my driving style and journeys tend to put my real world MPG at about what Skoda claim for "urban" with my current car. On a petrol VRS that would give me 35 mpg.

A few years back, that would have been quite acceptable (I think my Alfa 156 did that on a good run), but now I have gotten used to driving more frugal cars that makes me wince

 

Suprisingly, I did some online quotes, and insurance is pretty much a non issue. Not only was there nothing much between the diesel and petrol vRS, its also not much between those and my current Octy !

I guess being north of 40 has some benefits

Edited 27 July, 201312 yr by Mr Grump

Biggest difference will be floor it in 5th or 6th gear at 2000 rpm and see which picks up speed better - The TDI will leave the TSI for dead.

 

TSI is a load more fun but you have to be in the right gear at the right revs.

Biggest difference will be floor it in 5th or 6th gear at 2000 rpm and see which picks up speed better - The TDI will leave the TSI for dead.

 

TSI is a load more fun but you have to be in the right gear at the right revs.

 

No - Petrol More fun than diesel - I was going to add a "fact" to the end of that sentence, but it really isn't required

There is a reason why all of the fun cars in the world run on petrol.

 

5. If you were so inclined, it wouldn't take long for someone to remap the diesel to the petrol power levels anyways.

 

 

In the meantime someone can remap the petrol so it once again leaves the diesel in it's dust

The petrol now outputs the same amount of torque as a MK2 CR TDi and over a far greater rev range, that point plus the fact it has 36 more horses than the diesel will make it much quicker beyond a doubt.

The oil burner is missing fun.....

But gaining many free miles in comparison.

The Wiesel VRS performance is more similar to 1.4 TSI rather than the 2 litre TSI and I would rather have a Elegence (or L&K) TSI than the lamb in wolf's clothing. Hopefully Skoda will bring the 180hp 1.8TSI to the UK which would demote the Wiesel VRS to drawing third (with the 1.4 TSI) quickest Octy 3 behind the proper TSI VRS and the 1.8 TSI superior quickness.

If diesel fuel was much cheaper in the UK as it is in the rest of Europe migh connsider as a motorway muncher but then why not have the 2 litre 150 hp wiesel, at least it does not pretend to be something it is not.

Still struggling to think of a 4 cylinder diesel engine I would enjoy driving (Ibiza Cupra diesel?, no shocking handling). Needs to be a V6 diesel at least to get decent performance from what I see.

Still struggling to think of a 4 cylinder diesel engine I would enjoy driving (Ibiza Cupra diesel?, no shocking handling). Needs to be a V6 diesel at least to get decent performance from what I see.

 

218HP, 332 LB/FT.  0-60  6.6 Seconds. 1995CC.  4 Cyl Diesel

 

2013 BMW 325D

 

Sounds like fun to me and not a struggle to come up with.

Buying a diesel for fun. 

I followed a 125d M Sport the other day and that thing was seriously quick for a diesel

At 10 mpg difference (debatable) and 10 pence per litre difference, statistical person doing 12,000 miles a year would save about £340 out of roughly 2 grand annual fuel bill by driving vRS diesel. Difference in tax would be easily nulled by difference in annual maintenance costs. Provided insurance is the same, typical UK driver would be saving £30 a month by choosing diesel vRS at the cost of reaching motorway speeds slower and faking petrol engine notes and dual exhausts.

In regular lineup, picking 67mpg 150hp diesel over 53mpg 140hp petrol at £1750 purchase difference and only £220 annual fuel savings every 12k miles, even before you adjust both for real life mpg, in British conditions diesel never recoups the initial costs and makes no sense.

218HP, 332 LB/FT.  0-60  6.6 Seconds. 1995CC.  4 Cyl Diesel

 

2013 BMW 325D

 

Sounds like fun to me and not a struggle to come up with.

 

0-62 in 6.9

 

Over 30K without any options.

 

Rated at costing 62 pence per mile and does less than 50 mpg

 

Slower accelerating and top speed than an Octy 3 TSi VRS. 

 

Next suggestion?

I followed a 125d M Sport the other day and that thing was seriously quick for a diesel

 

About a roomy as my Fabia VRS.

Biggest difference will be floor it in 5th or 6th gear at 2000 rpm and see which picks up speed better - The TDI will leave the TSI for dead.

 

TSI is a load more fun but you have to be in the right gear at the right revs.

Have you seriously just written that ? So the Tdi can be in the 'right' gear but the petrol can't ?

Having had a 'play' against my mates blackline the Tsi just pulls away easily at all speeds, especially the lower gears when he has to change up earlier. When he is in 5th/6th I still had 4th/5th and had the power and revs to spare......if you can go out and try it !

Get used to looking at his exhausts though