Hello

This is my first post. I'm looking at getting a mk3 octavia se with the 1.4 tsi and the dsg.

Any views of this is a good move? Are the transmissions reliable now? Do they still need servicing every 4 years? And is the 1.4tsi also reliable?

I've been burnt by diesels in the past so I'm going back to the petrol way......

Many thanks and i look forward to your reply.

Its a good combination of engine/gearbox and so fast to change gear too, very relaxed when driven respectfully however, goes like a scolded cat when ask to.

 

Don't even start looking at my fuel consumption figures, you will never drive like I do unless you go on a few track days.

 

Some of the other owners will no doubt chime in soon.

 

Take it for a test drive and see for yourself.

Just bought a new 1.4 tsi, & I'm massively impressed. I've got the manual but it's very capable.

Sent from my XT1039 using Tapatalk

Just bought a new 1.4 tsi, & I'm massively impressed. I've got the manual but it's very capable.

Sent from my XT1039 using Tapatalk

+1 (also manual though)

+2 (manual). Goes like a hot Fiat from the 70s!

+3 (also manual). Spotting a theme here?

I had an Octy II with 1.4TSi & DSG and it never gave me a moment's trouble. I now have the Octy III with same spec and again after almost 2 years no problems. It has the grunt to overtake without any hesitation and is a quiet engine. The DSG works seamlessly & I would never return to a manual box.

Others won't agree but its a personal choice & what suits you. As a precaution though knowing that DSG can be expensive to repair if things go wrong I went for the 5 year warranty.

I'm probably gonna buy a 18-24 month old vehicle. I may go manual.

Can't risk the costs of a dsg failure.

I'm probably gonna buy a 18-24 month old vehicle. I may go manual.

Can't risk the costs of a dsg failure.

 

Very prudent, prob better safe than sorry. The engine is a cracker, I just took it up the same steep hill  that I used for my test drive on the 1.2 Yeti. The Yeti coped really well I thought for such a small engine but the 1.4 was in a different league, it just shot up the hill. Day 2 and I'm really impressed. 

I love my 1.4 TSI manual.  Cracking engine.  Powerful when needed.  Economical if driven sensibly.

 

I avoided the DSG for the same reasons as you mention - uncertainty over its long-term reliability.  My MPG is probably towards the upper-end of what can be achieved (at almost 47 MPG), as I can time my commute to miss the worst of the traffic and tend to drive pretty gently most of the time.

Mine is a 1.4TSI DSG.

 

DSG is pretty reliable these days, but you are right about the potential cost downside in the event of a significant problem occuring. That's why I took out the 5 years warranty on mine when I bought new. That option is obviously not open to you.

 

Engine is excellent and avoids all those cam chain issues which seem to dog VAG. But the engine can appear to be very noisy - not when you are in the cabin, but when you lift the bonnet up. I thought I had a cam chain issue when I first collected the car, but "they all do that" (really!). Its fuel injector chatter and there are several threads about this on both this forum and elsewhere. I only mention this because if you are buying second hand you might be put off by the racket when inspecting the engine bay and think the engine is shot.

 

Been very happy with the 1.4TSI engine and DSG - the rest of the car I'm not so much a fan of.

 

PS: Forgot to add that the manual TSI is one VED band higher than the DSG version, so you pay additional VED with the manual. Not significant but is an odd quirk of this engine/gearbox combination. 

Mine is a 1.4TSI DSG.

 

DSG is pretty reliable these days, but you are right about the potential cost downside in the event of a significant problem occuring. That's why I took out the 5 years warranty on mine when I bought new. That option is obviously not open to you.

 

Engine is excellent and avoids all those cam chain issues which seem to dog VAG. But the engine can appear to be very noisy - not when you are in the cabin, but when you lift the bonnet up. I thought I had a cam chain issue when I first collected the car, but "they all do that" (really!). Its fuel injector chatter and there are several threads about this on both this forum and elsewhere. I only mention this because if you are buying second hand you might be put off by the racket when inspecting the engine bay and think the engine is shot.

 

Been very happy with the 1.4TSI engine and DSG - the rest of the car I'm not so much a fan of.

 

PS: Forgot to add that the manual TSI is one VED band higher than the DSG version, so you pay additional VED with the manual. Not significant but is an odd quirk of this engine/gearbox combination. 

 

unless you buy new and spec 16 inch wheels in which case it drops down to band C  (until they abolish that in 2017)

I think it depends where you drive - if you have to drag round central London or similar most days I think the DSG would be best rather than treading continually on the clutch.

Otherwise I am happy with manual, though a little bit notchy when cold.

 

p.s. the new road tax bands apparently will only be applied to new cars first registered in 2017. Yippee! (Mine's £30 per year now.)

Edited 8 July, 201511 yr by ednmra

I have a 3 month old 1.4 TSi DSG. It averages around 46mpg real-world, is quiet, smooth, punchy when you want it to be and has just the right amount of muscle for what is a sizeable bodyshell.

DSG? I suspect most of the early bugs have been ironed out of a system that has been in production years, and many of the concerns that get bandied around track back to earlier versions used in combinations which didn't work well. Provided it's used, not abused, and looked after properly I doubt very much that you'll have any problems. Remember that DSG in the modern era started out being thrashed about in Porsche's 956 sportscar programme and you begin to realise that it isn't fhe fragile weakling some people think.

it does have its own character traits, making noises different to those that come out of a conventional viscous clutch auto at low speed, and straining at the leash a bit in a traffic queue crawl, but you get used to that easily. Otherwise, it is a remarkably quick and smooth shifter which achieves the notable feat of being more economical than the manual.

Just go for it. And if it gives you peace of mind do what I did: buy on a three-year PCP.

I had a 1.4TSI with DSG - my third 1.4 TSI & DSG combo although the other 2 were the twincharger variant (Scirocco and Fabia vRS).  Total combined mileage of about 150k miles and only "issue" was an occasional juddering going round corners slowly when it couldn't decide if it wanted 2nd or 3rd gear but it only did it turning into my road at home.  Apart from that, the European DSG7 box is fine.  Any problems seemed to revolve around the DSG6 (wet clutch) version and the DSG7 made in China.

 

The Octy III was fine - even when towing a caravan through France.  Will be having another but currently undecided if it'll be a Seat or Skoda badge on the front of the car.

 

Lower emissions/tax with a DSG is probably down to the extra gear over the manual as opposed to a "quirk".

 

The Octy III was fine - even when towing a caravan through France.  Will be having another but currently undecided if it'll be a Seat or Skoda badge on the front of the car.

 

Lower emissions/tax with a DSG is probably down to the extra gear over the manual as opposed to a "quirk".

 

I had a couple of almost new Seat Leons as hire cars last year, one had water sloshing around in the headlights and was constantly misting up, the other wasn't sealed properly around the rear door causing my rear seat passengers to comment on how cold the car was - due to the wind whistling in through the gap. 

 

Put my right off Seat. Both cars under 5k miles on them.

Another question to you guys! Hatch or estate?

My current car is an Vauxhall signum. Before that an omega saloon and before all of them I had a hatch and saloon mondeo.

Is the road noise a lot louder on the estate compared to the hatch?

estate, it just looks better as an estate in my view. I had 2 hatches before but switched to the estate and never regretted it

I got the estate because it has more rear headroom than the hatch, and we are a tall-ish family.  The fact that it (IMHO) looks better was a bonus!  Also, the retractable load cover is more useful than the removable parcel shelf to me, as carrying an unexpected bulky item does not leave you with the "what do I do with the parcel shelf" dilemma.  I didn't notice any obvious noise difference between hatch and estate on my roadtests - but it may be there.  My estate is noticeably noisier if you forget to pull the load cover back after unloading.

I personally think the estate is the one to have....a touch more practical, to my eyes looks better and the extra it costs over the hatch is reasonable and it will likely retain the extra value anyway.

If I had to be brutally honest, a quiet car the O3 is not. Its not particularly well insulated so road and wind noise at speed can be quite pronounced...also with a diesel motor its more vocal than it ought to be. With a petrol not nearly as bad.

I would just recommend unless you really want it to lay off the sports suspension and big wheel options as whilst they look good do nothing but compound the problem.

I find my Elegance 2.0 TDI estate with standard suspension and 17's is OK and strikes a good balance between noise and capability. 16's on a standard suspended car make it a bit quieter still and further improves the ride but at the detrement of the handling as you go to 55 section 205 wide tyres on 16" wheels.

SE spec looks like it has all the things I need. Plus 16 inch tyres are a lot cheaper. My current cars rolls on 125/45/17 and it's quite crash over the route I commute.

SE spec looks like it has all the things I need. Plus 16 inch tyres are a lot cheaper. My current cars rolls on 125/45/17 and it's quite crash over the route I commute.

SE spec looks like it has all the things I need. Plus 16 inch tyres are a lot cheaper. My current cars rolls on 125/45/17 and it's quite crash over the route I commute.

Agreed - the only thing I miss is it only has a single disc CD player, but mostly I use the radio anyway!

I thought I'd miss the Cruise Control, but I don't. 

I have no problem with the basic 16" wheels and suspension, and the ride is very good on decent roads, and acceptable on the bouncy castle ones around here.

No problems with road holding/handling, but then I'm not belting round Brands Hatch, am I. I find the ride reasonably quiet too.

Good fuel economy, great road tax (for now), and oddly easy to clean.

none of the cars have a CD player these days unless you shell out for the columbus upgrade

 

SEL has a 16 inch wheel option too now. decisions decisions  (I know I agonised over the SE SEL choice a few weeks back! In the end the extra offers on the SEL swung it but now they've been removed I reckon I'd go SE but would add smart link to overcome the lack of CD player)

Bought a new 1.4 DSG Elegance in Feb, very pleased with it.