I do between 7k and 10k miles a year, will be having a DSG, 60% of my mileage is done on B roads, 25% on A roads and the remainder motorways so which would people advise 1.2 petrol or 1.4 diesel?

Petrol

Petrol definitely.

Cheers chaps

Petrol. I can see diesel becoming a liability.  I have 6 speed manual and love it. very economical . Personally  i am a little wary of the DSG . still seem to be having problems.

Petrol for your mileage. I do 25k per year so diesel is necessary for me at the moment until petrols have caught up fully on fuel economy...

Edited 1 September, 20169 yr by Octy09

alkip, as the guys are saying, petrol! It's the only one to have with those miles. And the petrol TSI's are nearly as economical as the diesels, depending how you drive. I've just ordered a new 1.2tsi 110ps with the DSG auto box and they are brilliant. No problems with them now. It's a very refined gearbox and very clever. Buy with confidence. 

The next question is whether you really need the extra oomph (and associated cost) of the 110 engine, or if the 90 will be enough.

We're due a 110 hatch next week, my wife only went for the bigger engine for piece of mind on the motorway as that's where the majority of her driving is done.

Petrol. Diesel is suitable then 15k miles.

I like having the extra oomph of the 110 as and when I need it or feel like it. Still get nearly 50 mpg.

I like having the extra oomph of the 110 as and when I need it or feel like it. Still get nearly 50 mpg.

The TSI 110/DSG combination is pretty sweet and will happily wind the needle around the tacho, or trickle around town to order. Still finessing the procedure for pulling away cleanly...too many years with a big, torquey Volvo D5 and auto box; think, stomp, gone but getting there. Hill hold still brings a little smile and the Panoramic Roof delights me whatever the weather.

Hi

 

Both my wife and I have got MK3's with the DSGbox,  they are the smoothest Auto Box I have had to date.

I have had 2 other Skoda cars the last one was a Yeti that covered 75.000 miles all faultless DSG's, only changed it cos the boot was rather small I now have the Fabia estate

My wife originally had an auto Citigo wow what a piece of crap, the auto box on that was close to being dangerous it would randomly take 2 3 second to select gears.

In my old life  (over 30 years) I must have had 25+ automatic company cars from Rep mobiles to top of the range BMW's none of the could hold a candle to the DSG box.

 

Take it from me the petrol 1.2  110 Fabia with the DSG box is a joy

Cheers folks, yes I want the extra oomph so a 110 is preferable.  Prior to the hateful, boring, life sucking CRV I had an Octy vRS CR DSG but was doing more miles in those days.

 

I'll not be buying new and do have some other contenders in the frame but really appreciate the feedback

Petrol. My 61 plate Octy just had major issues with egr valve and dpf .no more dervs for me.

With that driving profile, have a look- or even better, a test drive -on the 90 hp 5 speed.

With that driving profile, have a look- or even better, a test drive -on the 90 hp 5 speed.

Need an auto pfaff, I have a bad left leg so it's a lot easier however, I will test drive some 90's as well as 110's

Petrol DSG. Diesel's with DPF and EGRs require a regular 30 minute motorway run to allow them to self-clean. 7 spd DSG in our Fabia is everybit as smooth as the 6 spd DSG in my diesel Touran.  The trick with both 6 and 7 spd DSG boxes seems to be to release the footbrake gently a split second before you want to go allowing the clutch to engage, the car to start rolling and then press the throttle. The old torgue convertor technique of booting the throttle can lead to a jerky start with the DSG. the DSG often starts off in D2 and a heavy right foot initiates D1 and a slight delay. Its also worth using S mode, I use it when approaching roundabouts and on twisty country roads as it hangs on to the lower gears a bit longer and it avoids having to use kick-down.

Yes, petrol.  I had owned diesels exclusively for 20 years, but was forced to change to petrol as I needed DSG.  My 1.2TSI (105) is a joy to drive and seems ideally suited to DSG.  Modern diesels are complex things and unless my annual mileage were over 15k, I would not consider one.

The Euro 6 1.4TDI 3 Cylinder might be considered modern by some but there is nothing complex or even refined about them.

Just noisy diesel burners that do not do anything like the official MPG figures,

but then they are done inside temperature controlled buildings going no place other than on a rolling road.

Great info folks thanks very much

In defence of diesel, I have now had two DPFs diesels, a Fabia 1.6 CR 105ps and my current Polo BMT 75ps 1.4Tdi. I do about 10000 miles a year and only for one week a month do I drive on the motorway and that is only for 7 mins between junctions and (touch wood) I have never had any DPFs problems. Mind you my Polo has given me plenty of other problems!

 

But saying that if I was going to have another small car it would be a petrol. If I was looking at Octavia/Civic/Yeti/V40 it would be diesel.

Petrol all the way.

Had a 1.4TDi DSG as courtesy car while our 110 manual was in with the dealer, & really didn't like it all. Very unrefined Tractor like engine, & the DSG was shifting way to much for my liking.

Mrs G has a 15 plate  Petrol 1.2 SE-L Manual in white. I's a dream to drive and sits nicely at motorway speeds. Very good MPG 

 

It's a doddle to drive.

I have a 1.2 SEL manual. I drove the 90 manual before ordering mine. I like the extra oomph. Years ago I had a 75bhp golf II which was horribly underpowered. The Fabia III and Golf II are a similar weight. My Fabia III replaced a Fabia I 1.9TDI 100 which was pretty swift given the torque of that engine. I was not going anywhere near a underpowered car again. The 110 may be overkill but it is a bit of a pocket-rocket. And at motorway/fast A road speeds in 6th it is fine. If you can, go for the 110. You have already concluded DSG so I think the decision is relatively straightforward.

Thanks for the comments and info

Edited 9 September, 20169 yr by alkip