Test reviews of 1.8 TSi 180PS DSG 7 gears engine as in L&K

[sussexvet]

Thinking of buying the new Octavia L&K with the 1.8 TSi 180PS 7 speed DSG engine.

I have been trying to find road test reviews for the new engine in the recently released L&K Octavia but without any success.

I'd appreciate it if any of you motor heads could lead me in the direction of finding such reviews as this engine appeals to me rather than the diesel.

Also has anybody seen a test review of the Octavia L&K sine it's launch a short while ago.

[Bogwoppit]

Same engine and gearbox fitted to a Leon Fr if thats any good :

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/first-drives/seat-leon-sc-fr-18-tsi-180ps-dsg-first-drive-review

 

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/seat/leon/63494/seat-leon-sc-fr-18-tsi

[sussexvet]

Same engine and gearbox fitted to a Leon Fr if thats any good :

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/first-drives/seat-leon-sc-fr-18-tsi-180ps-dsg-first-drive-review

 

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/seat/leon/63494/seat-leon-sc-fr-18-tsi

Thanks for giving the links to the 1.8TSi 180PS road test in the Leon Fr.

 

Both of these reports support my current choice of this engine in the L&K Octavia.

[pipsyp]

Good car but a shed load of money for an Octavia. I wouldnt go for one unless I negotiated a significant discount.

Genuinely if I were going this route a 1.4 TSi DSG Elegance with a handful of options if needs be makes much more sense. Just IMHO.

[sussexvet]

Good car but a shed load of money for an Octavia. I wouldnt go for one unless I negotiated a significant discount.

Genuinely if I were going this route a 1.4 TSi DSG Elegance with a handful of options if needs be makes much more sense. Just IMHO.

No way am I going to pay list price. Several online brokers are managing to obtain discounts above 10% and even up to 14%.

I particularly like the look of the 1.8 TSi engine with 180PS which I believe is only available in the L&K.

[pipsyp]

No fair enough.

Just I think with the L&K youre paying a huge premium for another 40 ponies (and no more torque) and toys that arguably arent necessary.

Still think a 1.4 TSi Elegance isnt alot less car but would expect now that model has been around a while you'd attain just as good if not a better discount on one.

If I were looking at 19-20k for an Elegance or 25kish for a 1.8 L&K I know what id be going for. The L&K is a nice car and the 1.8 is no doubt a bit feistier than the 1.4 but its definitely not 5k more car. 1.4 is far from slow either.

If I were in any way looking at performance then as you were looking at originally the vRS TSi would be the better choice.

Edited 25 July, 2014 by pipsyp

[Yeti_Man]

Remembering of course that its not just the engine that's different (and better imo), bigger brakes perhaps? Better rear suspension setup. Ive driven the Leon with the third gen 1.8TSi and its nicer than my gen 2 one in the Yeti - its a cracking unit imo and does give more than the 1.4TSi when you need it to.

 

A fair few brokers are already slowing over 3.5k off the L&K 1.8TSi btw.

 

After a fair few back to back test drives id personally agree with EVO's findings on the Octavia...

 

"What's it like to drive?
 
The 1.8 TSI is the best-driving Octavia partly because it has the most power, delivered with smooth urgency and a quick throttle response, but mainly because it has the best mix of crisp, natural steering, an absorbent ride and tidy, precise handling. That's the combination of accurate rear suspension and a relatively lightweight engine at work, making this Octavia a grippy, deft device to fling through bends. By comparison the torsion-beam cars feel looser around the straight-ahead and have a more fidgety ride."

[pipsyp]

Engines a bit better yes. Multi-link suspension.....say thats 50/50. The torsion beam cars are far from dire to drive and have the added benefit of being many kgs lighter than their multilink equivalents......i guess the only reason the lower power 4x4's have multilink is that the torsion beam was incompatible with 4wd otherwise they'd have been similarly afflicted.

288 v 312mm brakes....sure theres a difference but its not massive.

The 1.8 engine is sweet but to offer it only in L&K spec is a massive oversight. I dont dislike L&K spec but it is massively overpriced and even with 3.5k off youre still looking at a 25.5k car which still isnt value in my mind, not when a 1.4 TSi Elegance which is still plenty quick and well equipped enough can be had for alot less money.

Be an Elegance or vRS for me, L&K at that money would not be in the running...still be are all different and if the OP wants a 1.8 L&K and is prepared to spend 25k on one then thats absolutely his choice.

Edited 25 July, 2014 by pipsyp

[themanwithnoaim]

Great engine or not, its still brown inside.

[macaaron]

I can only recommend 1.8TSI + DSG, I have it since february '14 and am truly happy with it. In tests it outputs ~200PSI (180 claimed) and ~300Nm torque (280 claimed as it's 4x4). It does 0-100km/h in 7,0 or less (claimed 7,4) due to having more power then claimed by Skoda.

Here's the dyno from 1.8TSI DSG 4x4:

[sussexvet]

No fair enough.

Just I think with the L&K youre paying a huge premium for another 40 ponies (and no more torque) and toys that arguably arent necessary.

Still think a 1.4 TSi Elegance isnt alot less car but would expect now that model has been around a while you'd attain just as good if not a better discount on one.

If I were looking at 19-20k for an Elegance or 25kish for a 1.8 L&K I know what id be going for. The L&K is a nice car and the 1.8 is no doubt a bit feistier than the 1.4 but its definitely not 5k more car. 1.4 is far from slow either.

If I were in any way looking at performance then as you were looking at originally the vRS TSi would be the better choice.

I accept your observations so will do my homework before making a final decision.

[sussexvet]

Remembering of course that its not just the engine that's different (and better imo), bigger brakes perhaps? Better rear suspension setup. Ive driven the Leon with the third gen 1.8TSi and its nicer than my gen 2 one in the Yeti - its a cracking unit imo and does give more than the 1.4TSi when you need it to.

 

A fair few brokers are already slowing over 3.5k off the L&K 1.8TSi btw.

 

After a fair few back to back test drives id personally agree with EVO's findings on the Octavia...

 

"What's it like to drive?

 

The 1.8 TSI is the best-driving Octavia partly because it has the most power, delivered with smooth urgency and a quick throttle response, but mainly because it has the best mix of crisp, natural steering, an absorbent ride and tidy, precise handling. That's the combination of accurate rear suspension and a relatively lightweight engine at work, making this Octavia a grippy, deft device to fling through bends. By comparison the torsion-beam cars feel looser around the straight-ahead and have a more fidgety ride."

Thanks for a great appraisal of the 1.8TSi engine. I think you have confirmed my non technical view that it is a winner by any stretch of imagination.

[normanLinux]

I think the Laurel and Hardy makes sense in 1.8 guise if paying cash.

 

The 2.0 diesel is actually lower lease costs than 1.4 elegance with Xenons and a couple of other (standard on L & H) options.  Unfortunately, the 1.8 petrol is lunatically more expensive to lease.

[sussexvet]

I can only recommend 1.8TSI + DSG, I have it since february '14 and am truly happy with it. In tests it outputs ~200PSI (180 claimed) and ~300Nm torque (280 claimed as it's 4x4). It does 0-100km/h in 7,0 or less (claimed 7,4) due to having more power then claimed by Skoda.

Here's the dyno from 1.8TSI DSG 4x4:

I thought I had sent a reply to your posting but it does not appear to have gone through.

I am not a technical person so is it possible for you to explain the dyno graphs you have put on the forum.

Thanks

[johnabrahamsen]

I'm very happy with the 1.8TSI as well. Pulls ok for a light car as the Octavia, and I would'nt be suprised if the engine outputs a little more than listed as stated. Dyno's are famous for inaccuracy though, so I wouldnt put too much into it. Especially when you derive the engine HP from the wheel HP .

 

The dyno graph is pretty easy to read. At the bottom you have the RPM listed from 1000 to 7000. The blue line is torque, which you read on the left side. So you can see that it actually provides its max torque all the way from 2000 to 4500. The red line is horsepower, which you read on the right side. By reading the graph you can e.g see that at 4000 rpm the engine is putting out 280Nm torque and 165ish HP.

[readerr0r]

We get the 1,8TSI Elegance here, I've test driven it a few times and have been pretty impressed (I'm getting a RS though). Don't forget its 0-100km is the same as the old Mk2 FL RS! Our standard spec + tech pack would be pretty close to the L&K I think so this review should be fairly spot on.

 

http://www.caradvice.com.au/286237/2014-skoda-octavia-review-132tsi/

 

http://www.motoring.com.au/reviews/comparison/skoda/octavia/skoda-octavia-medium-sedan-comparison-2014-44383

Edited 28 July, 2014 by readerr0r

[PUFPAF]

I can confirm what the colleagues above have said

I also tested the launch control, it needs some preparations but with amateurish measurement 7 seconds 0-100 sprint is easily achievable (at least by the speedo).

[sussexvet]

We get the 1,8TSI Elegance here, I've test driven it a few times and have been pretty impressed (I'm getting a RS though). Don't forget its 0-100km is the same as the old Mk2 FL RS! Our standard spec + tech pack would be pretty close to the L&K I think so this review should be fairly spot on.

 

http://www.caradvice.com.au/286237/2014-skoda-octavia-review-132tsi/

 

http://www.motoring.com.au/reviews/comparison/skoda/octavia/skoda-octavia-medium-sedan-comparison-2014-44383

Thanks for the road test reports which were helpful.

[WAUOla]

Good car but a shed load of money for an Octavia. I wouldnt go for one unless I negotiated a significant discount.

Genuinely if I were going this route a 1.4 TSi DSG Elegance with a handful of options if needs be makes much more sense. Just IMHO.

I can't claim one or the other on the UK market, but we made some considerations...

 

The 1.8T is a rock solid engine, end of story. However, in everyday usage, be aware that both 1.8T and 1.4T are listed as 250 Nm of torque from 1500 revs and up. The 1.8T naturally keeps a wider range of that high torque, but for a baby-carrier I doubt we're often running above 3500 rpms (in favor of 1.8T over 1.4T), so even with a DSG 7-speed it's lovely driving either way.

[PUFPAF]

We get the 1,8TSI Elegance here, I've test driven it a few times and have been pretty impressed (I'm getting a RS though). Don't forget its 0-100km is the same as the old Mk2 FL RS! Our standard spec + tech pack would be pretty close to the L&K I think so this review should be fairly spot on.

 

http://www.caradvice.com.au/286237/2014-skoda-octavia-review-132tsi/

 

http://www.motoring.com.au/reviews/comparison/skoda/octavia/skoda-octavia-medium-sedan-comparison-2014-44383

 

If I'm not mistaken the 0-100 of the new 1.8 TSI (180bhp) is the same as Mk1 VRS and faster than Mk2 and Mk3 VRS TDI. However the Mk2 and Mk3 VRS petrol is supposed to be slightly quicker than the 1.8 TSI