Which model? Htp? Sdi?

[Tecwyn]

Looking into getting us a fabia, love another vrs but this may not be viable for insurance purposes.. so what would you guys recommend as a suitable reliable runner? Not worried about speed etc... petrol or diesel? Sdi ? ...it needs to be able to last few years 

 

Thanks

Edited 8 November, 2017 by Tecwyn

[sepulchrave]

PD100 Elegance is the best bang for your buck. More reliable than a VRS and cheaper to run and insure, not as quick but can be remapped to keep up.

[Tecwyn]

I was told the htp engine are reccomended as they have a chain? I know they are slow but thats not a worry. 

[bigjohn]

The htp has not been a great engine - it's fragile 

 

The sdi and tdi's especially the pd100 are great and are capable of starship mileage

Edited 8 November, 2017 by bigjohn

[Tecwyn]

Would sfi be a better bet? No turbo so no bills.. 

[bigjohn]

1 minute ago, Tecwyn said:

Would sfi be a better bet? No turbo so no bills.. 

 

The sdi very slow /noisy but economical and runs for ever, it has old fashioned (but simple) mechanical injection, They usually have a single mass flywheel (good!) 

 

The pd100 suprisingly nippy (lots of tourque) and also economical. It does have a the complexity of a turbo and usually a dual mass flywheel however in PD100 guise these have been very reliable. I had the pd100 in a 2003 Skoda Superb and sold in 2015 with 160k miles. It's now done 200kmiles(under new ownership) and it's still on it's original clutch (&flywheel), battery and exhaust. 

 

 

[sepulchrave]

Don't ask if you're not going to be happy with the answer! 

 

The PD100 is hands down the engine with THE LEAST problems mentioned on this forum, and it has a SMF, not a DMF. I honestly cannot remember when someone last had a problem with one.

 

The SDI has a mega-reliable engine but a very unreliable gearbox.

 

The 1.4 PD isn't bad but there have been a few problems with oil pumps which completely write off the engine.

 

So in order of drivetrain reliability:

 

Diesels: PD100 > PD75 > SDI > PD130

 

Petrols: 2.0 > 1.4 MPI > 1.4 16V > 1.2 12V > 1.2 6V

 

All the rest of the running gear is the same, Elegance has the nicest equipment as standard.

[Tecwyn]

So a 2007 1.9 tdi ambiente 100pd is a goid choice? Does it have a smf?.. whats the difference?.. ( im mechanically thick )..

[sepulchrave]

6 hours ago, Tecwyn said:

So a 2007 1.9 tdi ambiente 100pd is a goid choice? Does it have a smf?.. whats the difference?.. ( im mechanically thick )..

 

Yes, yes and a DMF is better for performance, comfort and economy but not for reliability.

[garethw]

What @sepulchrave is not pointing out is that is that on mark 1s if you want low mileage car most of those are now going to be saloons.

Because the prices have almost bottomed out you really are just buying on condition and service history not the age.

Also there is the issue of how much motorway driving you are going to do i.e. a PD100 is way better suited to the motorway and fast A-roads than town driving IMHO.

On short journey the PD100 is giving 38mpg compared to 52mpg for the SDi.

[Tecwyn]

Mainly town driving but the odd 500 mile trip north maybe twice yearly.. so woukd the sdi be better for us or the htp? 

[bigjohn]

Not htp, sdi will give you great service.

 

My lift share had an sdi Seat Ibiza (same oily bits) and it was a great car - 65mpg was the norm.  The only downside was  it was a bit on the noisy side at tickover. The only problem was a waterpump failure at 170k miles 

 

Actually didn't seem too slow in that size of car 

 

Edited 9 November, 2017 by bigjohn

[VWD]

I find the 1.4tdi not too bad for poke, and good on fuel, but poor on rev range. The only problem is that it needs a weekly thrash to keep the EGR /fuel shutoff clear of the rubbish that gets in there on a low mileage engine. The problem ( possibly it's peculiar to mine)  is brake fade when pushing on and using brakes a lot. I've often wondered if /what if ,Skoda had put out a 100hp version with Vrs brakes ( at least on the front)?

[bigjohn]

8 hours ago, VWD said:

I find the 1.4tdi not too bad for poke, and good on fuel, but poor on rev range. The only problem is that it needs a weekly thrash to keep the EGR /fuel shutoff clear of the rubbish that gets in there on a low mileage engine. The problem ( possibly it's peculiar to mine)  is brake fade when pushing on and using brakes a lot. I've often wondered if /what if ,Skoda had put out a 100hp version with Vrs brakes ( at least on the front)?

 

I never had this issue with the pd100 fitted into my old Superb - I once had an Engine Management Light pop on as the vacuum setup running the Antishudder vlave/Turbo variable vanes sprang a leak. This is usually the rubber pipes but in my case it was one of the hard vacuum pipes had worn through because of vibration. Was fine after that. I did about 15,00 miles a year though. My pd100 did have a DMF but I never had a problem with it - probably because it was the lower powered pd"100". It always seemed to do 50mpg tank to tank and this was a big car.

 

The 1.4pd is a 3cylinder version of this engine (I think it has the same cam belt etc...) and is a reasonable engine . it feels rougher but can have an achilles heel - in that it's fitted with a balancer shaft that is driven by the same chain that feed the oil pump. There are lots of forces on this chain and it eventually fails with predictable results (NB This is different on the newer 1.4CR)  

[Breezy_Pete]

We've had very little trouble with the missus's 12-valve HTP (05-reg).  EGR valve, one coilpack, and starter solenoid wire the only engine-related failures I can remember in the 5yrs we've had it (bought at 98k, now on 153 or something like that).  Economy is nothing to shout about, 41mpg is calculated average over every tank of fuel we've put in. The super-fast warm-up would be an attractive feature for 'mainly town driving' especially in winter.  Come to think of it, the starter solenoid wire is universally troublesome and not the fault of the engine, so that shouldn't really be in the list.

 

 

 

Edited 10 November, 2017 by Wino

[JWvrs25]

9 hours ago, VWD said:

The problem ( possibly it's peculiar to mine)  is brake fade when pushing on and using brakes a lot. I've often wondered if /what if ,Skoda had put out a 100hp version with Vrs brakes ( at least on the front)?

I must add that the VRS brakes (288mm vs 256mm on the non vrs) are not really any better. My old HTP had tiny 239mm discs and they were perfectly adequate for that engine even if you were driving it fast. You just had to push the pedal a bit harder. I would say your brakes needed changing as opposed to there being a fault with them.

@Tecwyn as @Wino says above, the HTP arent that bad and do warm up fast! I had one for only a year but it ran very well with only a few sensor issues. Torquey low down and performance was reasonable when pushed hard. Was happy on the motorway occasionally. Yes, the fuel economy was not brilliant but not terrible either. I got up to 49 on a run, and 39 round town. AFAIK the 1.4 mpi is lower than this.

I would probably avoid PD if you are not doing much out of town driving. The economy will be poor when cold and it will need a good run regularly to clear the 'soot' out.

I would go for SDI if you aren't bothered about speed or refinement but want the economy, or HTP if you aren't as concerned about fuel economy and want something more nippy round town. My HTP gearbox failed so i cant say its any more reliable than the SDI boxes.

 

[VWD]

My ecomomy is excellent on all types of driving. I am old school and believe in "good progress" ,and it gives me circa 50MPG despite town slogging or higher speed roads. On the cold aspect- my MPG is roughly the same winter or summer. My only problem has been on years when I only did circa 2k that the EGR/fuel switch had sticking problems. I was chatting to my friendly MOT man lastMOT,and I mentioed the EGR problem and my cure- a blast to next town and cheaper fuel. That would have been his solution,. But, OH- there's nothing like thelook on boy racers face, when my Furby turbo kicks in and Fiesta yoof goes backwards.

[Tecwyn]

Thanks everyone, appreciate your opinions... ive decided that im going to start the hunt for......

a 1.2htp sport ,the best of everything for me.. sports interior and looks and decent enough engine...

[Tecwyn]

Well no any decent sports around so this is the plan.. 

 

seen a few very nice sdi 1.9 so plan on fitting vrs wheels and steering wheel and run it for a while.

anything you guys would reccomend doing , not really looking for power, more cosmetic.. i already have parts left from my old vrs...

 

wind deflectors

original side cup holder

rear ash tray cup holder

symphony cd aux kit

 

i have the number plate vr51 own...

VR5 1 OWN... wont look right so may sell it and buy a fab one from dvla (£500) 

 

cheers

Edited 14 November, 2017 by Tecwyn