I have worked out it'll cost me around £300 pa more to run the Tsi (less MPG and extra VED) ... thoughts please

You need a 3rd option. Keep the TDi order but when it arrives have it mapped or get a DTUK tuning box!

TSi like performance then but with £30 annual road tax, 45-50mpg and stronger residual values come trade in time!

This is my plan...

Doesn't seem like a lot of money. Have you accounted for slightly greater depreciation?

Either way, get the tsi if that's what your heart is telling you.

The TSi worked out much more costly for us. Tough call then

On a serious note I do 8-10k miles per year and before deciding between the tsi and TDI I did a few calcs based on returning 32 mpg for the petrol and 45 mpg for the diesel and by my reckoning it was about £500 in fuel alone. Consider also the fact that the diesel is a few insurance groups lower and a hundred pound a year less to tax and you might find its a bigger difference than you think and that before you take depreciation into account.

For parity though if you are considering it as a long term ownership prospect then a diesel vrs will need an expensive cambelt change at 4 years the the chain driven petrol won't need.

You need a 3rd option. Keep the TDi order but when it arrives have it mapped or get a DTUK tuning box!

TSi like performance then but with £30 annual road tax, 45-50mpg and stronger residual values come trade in time!

This is my plan...

That's exactly what I would do, and indeed have done...

You will have more BHP than the tsi and stacks more torque. I am extremely happy with performance of my car...

Do we also get to vote on the colour?

It would get rid of any DPF issues with that mileage if you went for the tsi.

Ask yourself whether the additional performance, smoothness and sound enhancement is worth the money? For me the answer was a definate yes, even though the I calculated my cost differences would be £500-£600 per year.

 

...and DTUK can do a very good job tuning the TSI as well (if that is your thing).

Are you sure it's only £300? The VED is £140 alone (1st year and £110 difference after). Also check the mpg threads for real world figures for the different engines. My tdi is way below quoted figures but on a decent run it's still good for 50 plus.

But... If the difference is that small then it's up to you. I'd have went for the petrol though, jut couldn't justify the mpg in my head purely as I was tying to "save" money!

I was in the same predicament when i ordered mine early december, i do around 12k a year, mostly for business use and have diesels for the last 4 years.

So i was fully geared for another solely thinking of maximum return, but then i came to the conclusion about 4 days after ordering, that i don't like diesels much, apart from the improved economy, so I've decided to go with the tsi, as i personally thought it seems like a fantastic engine, smooth, quiet, and effortless power, and it really didn't seem that bad at 50-70mph speeds for economy, which is where most my miles would come from.

 

You have to do what you want, don't let others tell you whats best, just do what feels right.

It would get rid of any DPF issues with that mileage if you went for the tsi.

I do 6k a year and have had no dpf 'issues' in 15 months of ownership. The annual mileage is not the primary consideration - its the type of journeys the OP does thats important. If he does mostly short stop start urban journeys then yes he would probably be better off with the tsi. There are in reality very few problems with the DPFs fitted to the VAG CR engine.

The TSI will also depreciate far more than the CR so adds to the difference in running costs already identified by the OP. If you want to see what the difference is likely to be ask about a PCP and see what the gfv and monthly payments are.

Mr G, have you test driven both as that would help you decide. Ultimately the TSI will be a faster, sportier drive but the CR is a very good compromise that can meet many people's needs most of the time. Its then a question if you want to pay the extra for that 'little bit more' or are happy with the CR that will cost you less to run. This of course assumes that the cost is your major consideration. I would consider the extended warrently with the TSI just in case they haven't solved the camchain tensioner problem yet. There are not that many failures but its a new engine if it happens to you. As above its down to personal choice-get which one you prefer. Good luck.

It would get rid of any DPF issues with that mileage if you went for the tsi.

There are no DPF issues with CR engine, I've do 5 miles each way to work everyday and in winter the engine never upto temp and I've never even had the DPF light come in once.

If you reckon it wont cost much more I'd go for the petrol every time.

 

I have the Diesel vRS and whilst it's a really nice car the performance is a little mouth and not so much trousers compared to the petrol.

My argument for the tsi over tdi was I have friends/Pals who spend the difference on cancer sticks and a lot of drink. I enjoy the difference with a better driving car.

Liking the input so far guys ... couple of points:

 

1. Why would the depreciation be worse on Petrol ... initial car cost is only £350 ish less, and a S/H buyer would have the DPF concern on a diesel ?

 

2. yes I have factored the VED in .... and the fact currently diesel is around 6p/L more.. I calculated petrol @ 35mpg and diesel @ 50mpg.

 

3. I will be buying the extended warranty whichever I go for.

 

4. I wasn't aware of cambelt on TDi and Chain on TSi, so that's a good bit of info

 

5. IS the DPF covered in the Warranty ?

If it's you pocket you're worried about the TDI all day long but that is the only plus point in my opinion. But don't take my word for it go and read the motoring press or YouTube road tests. They all point to petrol manual being the best of the bunch.

How many times, but WHAT DPF ISSUES!?

We should start a poll in this and the MK2 forum asking for owners of CR diesels if they have ever had an actual DPF problem (as opposed to a faulty sensor).

Sorry for shouting, but it seems I had to.

Liking the input so far guys ... couple of points:

1. Why would the depreciation be worse on Petrol ... initial car cost is only £350 ish less, and a S/H buyer would have the DPF concern on a diesel ?

They just are, it is a fact of life as those buying on the second hand market, particularly when you are considering selling people will be more mpg focused and the the thought that diesel brings with it longevity. As mentioned above ask your dealer about guaranteed future values if you were buying in PCP. This will at least give you an indication.

2. yes I have factored the VED in .... and the fact currently diesel is around 6p/L more.. I calculated petrol @ 35mpg and diesel @ 50mpg.

Good call on the figures, don't believe the hype of manufacturers figures.

3. I will be buying the extended warranty whichever I go for.

Good call, need to check but does this not also cover the roadside assistance? If so then if you are keeping the car for 5 years this will save you on AA/RAC/Greenflag etc.

4. I wasn't aware of cambelt on TDi and Chain on TSi, so that's a good bit of info

5. IS the DPF covered in the Warranty ?

Don't know.

Personally I have a diesel simply due to the fact that I cover 100 miles per day going to/from work. Talking to my boss the other day he mentioned that the office I work out my close in a year or so's time and would I mind working from home. Bugger I thought, I could have had a TSI :(

If your talking 5 years down the road I'm not sure depreciation difference would be huge and as you saybthe petrol is cheaper to begin with. As had been said you could get Pcp quotes on both to assess the differential or check mk2 prices as a comparison. If the majority of cars sold are diesels the petrol will be a rarer beast which may help it's value.

If you have an extended warranty then if there turns out to be a chain issue it'll be a bit of hassle but a warranty job so no big shakes.

Not sure if service interval is same on the cars, I'm guessing with your mileage it'll be on time based anyway.

I do about 12 to 15k miles a year, mainly to the train station (10 miles) or airport (35 miles) plus leisure trips. I've had some nice diesels in the past (Audi and Bmw 3.0 jobs) and test drove the diesel vrs but I always come back to petrol, always feel somethings 'missing' in a diesel (character? Though I guess they have there own), I also found the DSG box much better in the petrol.

I can't place what's is, it's not a power thing as I'm coming out of a 325bhp Insignia VXR, it's just one of those ersonal preference things I guess with a dose of use case thrown in. That said if I was still doing 25k a year I'd buy the diesel.

Not had a fault as such with the DPF on our current Yeti; according to SUK Tech anyway. However in cold winter weather it goes into overdrive with active regenerations (burning smell, idle at 1000rpm etc). Winter of 2011/12 it was regenerating almost daily for over a month; took it to the dealers a number of times but given back as no fault.

 

Worked out myself that the engine/exhaust must not getting hot enough to undertake a normal passive regeneration, even on my regular 36mile run to work on open A roads, so fitted a blank to the front lower grill which much improved things.

 

Therefore if I had a choice of petrol over diesel and it was reasonable cost effective to run, such as low annual miles, then that's what I would go for; as we did with our Monte Carlo.

 

 

TP

The TDI is a sheep in wolf's clothing & you'll be reminded every time you forget and put the hammer down.  Oh

 

Regards

T

I had a similar dilemma between vrs diesel/petrol, I do only 10k pa now with a weekly 80 mile return run on a dual carriageway which I'm figuring will do for dpf purposes. What swung it for me was the heated screen in the winter pack was only available on the diesel, how shallow am I! Picking it up March, should've been Jan but hey ho...

Heated front screen is available on both 

Slightly off topic but is the extended warranty only available to buy at initial purchase or can it be sorted anytime the car is under the first 3 year warranty?