I'm thinking of looking for a 10-12 plate Octavia Hatch to use as an everyday car and bike carrying duties. I don't do enough mileage to go for a diesel so looking at petrols. Which is the better engine out of the 1.2 or 1.4 TSI models?. I think the 1.4 is about 20bhp more?. Is one more reliable than the other or are they very similar?. There doesn't seem to be a lot of 1.2's for sale!. SE spec is probably what I'm looking at for my budget.

We have a 62 plate 1.2TSi Octy as well as a 2.0TDi Passat and a Fabia. To be honest the Octavia is our car of choice for general fetching an carrying, it's our workhorse.

 

The engine feels strong and even on motorways is very capable. The only time I miss the power of the Passat is when overtaking at higher speeds on single carraigeways.

 

Around town the Octavia is actually our most economical car.

 

I've driven the 1.4TSi 125PS and yes it has a more grunt but not enough for us to shell out the extra money but it's not our only car.

 

The 1.2TSi and 1.4TSi have both had issues, the cam chain and tensioner was a problem on early 1.2TSi's but this was upgraded mid 2011. Someone will be along to give you the lowdown on the 1.4 soon I'm sure.

 

In the mean time here's a review of the 1.2

 

 

Lee