Swap my VW EOS 2.0 TDI for an Octavia Estate 1.6 FSI?

Hi Guys,

I am about to embark on a bit of a life change and want to make sure that I have the right car for the job. At present I drive a 2007 VW EOS Sport 2.0 TDi DSG with 134,000 miles on the clock. I've owned it for 2 years and it has been a great car. It's silver with red leather, really nice. Great condition and no mechanical or bodywork issues. My main concerns with it are the intermittent leaky roof (common EOS issue) and the high mileage of the engine and DSG transmission.

I am about to take a 12 month sabbatical from work, so will be living with zero income for a year while I spend time with my new young family and travel a bit. I want to avoid having any unexpected bills from the car.

I've never really liked turbos, and want something a bit bigger that can transport smaller items of furniture, bikes, etc.

I have seen a 2005 Skoda Octavia Estate for sale locally, it's a petrol 1.6 FSi DSG, looks nice spec and in good condition and has only done 60k miles, 1 previous owner. My EOS is worth about £6k and I can get this for about £3k, so as I see it I am freeing up 3k of capital and getting more space and theoretically a simpler and more reliable car.

I don't do a lot of miles so don't need a diesel. I really don't like cam belts, so want an engine with a cam chain that won't need changing, and no turbo, so no risk of that failing. On the flip side, I've read some scary things about problems with the 1.6 FSi engines and premature valve failure and EGR problems, especially related to using 95 RON petrol.

One other factor is that we have a small caravan (Eriba Puck) which we tow a few times a year. I have a tow bar on the EOS, and would need to get one added to the Octavia. It is a classic tiny caravan and weighs about 700kg, so I know that both cars can tow it, but I'm not sure how well the 1.6 FSi DSG will cope, I'm sure it won't be as strong as the TDi.

I don't want to make the wrong move, but this looks like quite a logical thing to do in my position.

Would appreciate your thoughts.

Edited 5 February, 201511 yr by skodarobin