I'm always keeping an eye on car ads, if I'll find one anywhere near me, I'll do that, just for curiosity. Talking about diesel cars, I fell in love, a few years ago with the 1.6 TDI on a MK2 Fabia (2008, I think, not sure though). It was light, quick and the handling was awsome, compared with a 2012 Focus hatchback with 1.6 TDI, which I've found as being rubbish.

I'm sure the 1.6 tdi is a great drive but I have sort of lost confidence in vw since their post-2005 cost cutting and the ensuing failures - none of which have they owned up to. The trouble is, if they don't admit to having manufactured fault-prone engines in the first place, they can't easily tell us they have now fixed all the problems. At least BMW are fixing the 2007-on timing chain problem for free which makes me more likely to buy another one. The reality seems to be that you can't tell if an engine is fault prone until it has been in manufacture for a long long time, by which time you can only buy old ones. Both of my kids have 2005 SDI in a Polo and a Fabia. Hardly quick cars but they both compare favourably to the 997cc 40hp ford anglia I started off with - top speed about 75, and about 33 mpg.

My second car, which is way more fun to drive than my Fabia IMHO, is a three cylinder 800cc 2004 Daewoo Matiz with about 70.000miles on clock, which is still able to average 63mpg and 85-ish mph. Too bad it has a really problem with rust, but other than that, it's pretty awsome to get away from the stop light and over run some other cars, with double the power and torque.   It has no power steering, no a/c, no ABS, nothing. I've put it on a dyno as well, just for fun, it does about 40bhp at ~6000rpm.   I don't have the charts with me right now.

Edited 7 August, 201510 yr by Alexandru

Alexandru, I didn't read most of your unpunctuated wall of text, but my TDi is at 120_000 miles and still on the original glow plugs and injectors. No way would an octane engine manage that on the original HT system, and moderns like, say, a Furbie have HP fuel pumps and injectors like diesels do.

My Classic 1.9sdi,year 2000 ,has a mileage etc computer fitted ,by the previous owner when he bought it new. You could choose what extras you wanted on purchase,so its not down to what models have what fitted . My mileage around town is 50 to 55 mpg.60 to 70 on a run. A full tank (brimmed by depressing  lever in tank nozzle, gives me 600 to 630 miles.

I don't think the "classic" has that indicator thingy

see my post below please

By the way - if anyone knows how to retrofit the trip computer to a base Classic - I would like to know how.

 

At he very least I realise I would need to fit a stalk with the extra buttons (reset etc.) and I believe the Control Unit above the VAG Com port would need to be upgraded from 6Q2 to either a 6Q1 or 6Q0. What else ??

see my post below please

Allow me to rephrase that

"I don't think the non optional extra classic model was fitted with that"

By the way - if anyone knows how to retrofit the trip computer to a base Classic - I would like to know how.

 

At he very least I realise I would need to fit a stalk with the extra buttons (reset etc.) and I believe the Control Unit above the VAG Com port would need to be upgraded from 6Q2 to either a 6Q1 or 6Q0. What else ??

Cluster?

I was looking at the feasibility of this on my Polo, and went off the idea when it appeared that the cluster ('combi-instrument') is different part number for 'multi-function indicator' versus not. May be just programming, but may well be hardware diffs too?

Yes indeed, the guides I read indicate you can retrofit cruise if your convenience control unit (fitted just above the OBD port in a rhd Fabia is either a 6Q0 or 6Q2 but, if its a 6Q2 then that would also need to be swapped for either the 6Q0 or 6Q2 - my question was about the implications for such a swap - does it stop anything else from working...

I'm talking about the the clocks unit, not the one near the OBD port. The one that has the digital display where the data would be shown.

How easy would it be to retrofit the little multi-function display with MPG counter? Is it as simple as swapping in a set of dials that has the screen and plugging in the display to the engine management, or wouild you have to fit the MPG calculator (whatever form that comes in) as well?

How easy would it be to retrofit the little multi-function display with MPG counter? Is it as simple as swapping in a set of dials that has the screen and plugging in the display to the engine management, or wouild you have to fit the MPG calculator (whatever form that comes in) as well?

...and code the new clocks to the car...

I have the same need but had come to think I would not need to change the speedo binnacle, just the wiper stalk and the convenience control unit which I have since been told would need some re-coding when changed.

But this is speculation as I haven't done it myself and would welcome hearing from anybody who has - retro fitted the trip computer to a Classic that doesn't have it.