1.4 or 1.5 ?

[harrylime]

I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on an Octavia estate tsi. I'm torn between a used 1.4 or a new 1.5 

Has the throttle hesitation issue been sorted on the 1.5? I'm thinking about a DSG, this would be a new experience for my wife and I would not want to complicate things further whilst maneuvering in the drive etc. If a new car won't set off easily and smoothly I don't see the point in buying one

Edited 16 July, 2019 by harrylime

[Tilt]

From what i've read Harry, 1.4 seems best..........

 

I want to swap from diesel to petrol as not doing much distance anymore in my new job. I like the sound of the 1.4 150 and I too want DSG.

[classic]

Can’t comment on the 1.5 but I really like my 1.4 (140) manual.

Its an excellent engine, 55k miles, no issues, doing 15 to 20k miles per year.

Driving it to Italy in a couple of weeks😎

[MoggyTech]

1.4 if you can get a decent used car with that engine. Peach of an engine, but do your homework on the 7 speed DSG and how to avoid killing the clutch pack, it's a dry clutch so prone to heat damage if you abuse it.

IIRC The 1.5 "I'm really a kangaroo " issue was with manual gearbox. It's 100cc more but the same power output, and I hate active cylinder technology coupled with VVT. The camshaft setup is just crazy complex, with oil pressure driven VVT sprockets, and solenoid operated cam lobe slides and locking. So more to go wrong, and of late VAG have been excellent at building stuff that goes wrong. 

[logiclee]

1.5 seems to be more pain for no gain when compared  to the 1.4.

 

Maybe a very slight improvement in economy.

[AllanDJ]

I've got the 1.5 engine in my car, it has temporarily lost power for seconds a few times but dealers couldn't find any issue when they checked the car over. 99% of the time the car runs very well but the engine setup is definitely on the complex side with the cylinder deactivation system, there doesn't actually seem to be any software update to "fix" the car as mine is running the latest software anyway. Saying that it is nice to watch it drop to two cylinders and see the fuel consumption briefly showing as zero or 300 mpg when the car is coasting or going downhill! It doesn't even feel all that lacking in power either, even with half the engine taking a nap. I've averaged around 50 mpg overall with the car since I got it in March, that's with a mixture of town driving and rural driving. I'd have to say that I'm very impressed with the fuel economy, given the woeful mileage I was getting from my Yeti 1.4, which with similar driving was averaging in the low 30's mpg all the time. As for kangarooing, I'd say after getting used to the car that the car will be a tad jumpy if you are not giving it enough throttle when pulling away in first gear, I would assume that the car is tuned for economy so might stutter a bit at low revs in first gear. Accelerate just a little bit more and move straight into second gear, no problems then.

[xman]

I'd hazard a guess that your Yeti 1.4 would have been the old heavy EA111 cam chain 122ps engine. Yeti has the aerodynamics of a brick.

 

The Octavia III has the newer MQB compatible EA211 cambelt engines including the 1.4 (but without ACT). Much better engine.

 

For me, problem with buying second hand is history is always a bit of an unknown even with a so called FSH. (How has previous power treated it, has it had or got undocumented problems, lousy/sloppy servicing, hidden damage etc etc)

Edited 16 July, 2019 by xman

[AllanDJ]

7 minutes ago, xman said:

Yeti 1.4 would have been the old heavy EA111 cam chain 122ps engine. Yeti has the aerodynamics of a brick.

 

The Octavia III has the newer MQB compatible EA211 cambelt engines including the 1.4 (but without ACT). Much better engine.

 

For me, problem with buying second hand is history is always a bit of an unknown even with a so called FSH. (How has previous power treated it, has it had or got undocumented problems, lousy/sloppy servicing, hidden damage etc etc)

The Yeti certainly didn't have good aerodynamics but it was a cheap car to rent on PCH and kind of fun too. Engine power was 150ps though but it was probably still an older/ different engine to the Octavia 1.4 engine.

 

I had a mark 3 Octavia before the Yeti with the 1.6 diesel engine which averaged in the low to mid 50's mpg in and around town and easily 60 plus mpg on longer drives. That's why I'm impressed with the 1.5 engine averaging 50 mpg.

[xman]

Personally, me, I won't risk buying a 1.5tsi engined car until they revise the engine (if ever), the two Octavia III's I drove as courtesy cars showed problems - one (manual) over revving when manoeuvering, the other DSG, engine juddering/not smooth when moving in slow moving traffic.

 

I will probably however try out a 1.0tsi and see if I like it next time I buy.

[logiclee]

I've owned Yeti's and Octavia's with the same TSi engine. The Yeti is a good 10mpg less economical.

[AllanDJ]

7 hours ago, xman said:

Personally, me, I won't risk buying a 1.5tsi engined car until they revise the engine (if ever), the two Octavia III's I drove as courtesy cars showed problems - one (manual) over revving when manoeuvering, the other DSG, engine juddering/not smooth when moving in slow moving traffic.

 

I will probably however try out a 1.0tsi and see if I like it next time I buy.

As I was saying above, I think the issues are probably more to do with the engine design which I'm sure must run on a very lean mixture of petrol and air. Thus at low speeds/ revs it is barely running at all and inclined to be rather less than smooth if you don't give it enough throttle to keep it moving. My car is a manual version, never had the over revving issue with it. The DSG juddering sounds much like my experience with the manual version if the engine revs are low, it isn't easy to drive smoothly at very slow speeds with this engine but we're talking here about 5mph or less, Anything faster than that and the car should be running at higher revs and with more fuel going through the engine. 

 

 

To squeeze out the best fuel economy out of mine I've been running it in Eco Mode most of the time which seems to make it more likely to drop into two cylinder mode more often and even running it this way it feels far more powerful than my old Yeti did, with in theory the same power output from its 1.4 engine. The Yeti wasn't fault free either, its 1.4 engine had a very bad habit of taking a nap when you wanted to pull away. Car in first gear, foot on throttle and very often quite a gap before the engine actually responded at all. Well probably only a few seconds but it seemed a long gap when you were trying to get out at a junction with oncoming traffic heading rapidly towards you! The 1.6 diesel engine was far from perfect either, great at motorway speeds and totally gutless at low speeds, not much sign of having a turbocharger at all when pulling out of junctions driving with this engine version. Perfection in engine design is a rare thing methinks!

[MoggyTech]

The thing I loved about my now departed 1.4Tsi DSG Octavia was the economy and the performance, not two words you normally see in the same sentence. At 70 mph on the motorway, it would return between 54 to 60 MPG depending on traffic conditions.

Yet if you planted your foot for overtaking, or just some B road fun in sports mode, it was in warm hatch territory and the DSG never seemed to get confused as to what gear you wanted next.  Spirited driving still gave high 30's MPG.

 

Handling was fair but road noise was pretty bad with that torsion beam rear suspension. What was a real pain was low speed crawling in tailback traffic. It was better to use it in manual shift mode, or even sports mode. The DSG had to be treated with sympathy due to it's rather poor reputation for being a bit fragile.

 

Then came Euro 6 emissions and all the extra guff that came with it. The latest 1.5 ACT engine is lean burn at low speeds, and VAG hasn't mastered how to map the ECU to balance lean burn, and smooth power delivery without making the average driver look like a learner all over again. Hesitation from traffic lights is bad enough, but at busy junctions or joining roundabouts it's positively dangerous. This is why I sold the Octavia and bought the Ioniq hybrid. 79 MPG and similar but consistent  power delivery  was a no brainer.

[fergiet]

Had the 1.5tsi SEL dsg for 18 months now. Just love it, no issues at all. It's quick, smooth and relaxing to drive.

When you need to overtake it picks up very well.

Just back from a drive back from outside London and both ways we averaged a fraction under 50mpg.

Best car we have owned and it's our third Octavia.

 

[TDIum]

The 1.5 is more advanced than the 1.4 and will definitely be more economical in use. Don't know why anyone would get a manual gearbox when the DSG is so good now. 

Stop worrying and embrace the future 😎

[logiclee]

57 minutes ago, TDIum said:

 Don't know why anyone would get a manual gearbox when the DSG is so good now. 

 

Because the reliability of the DQ200 is a big worry for owners buying out of warranty.

[Ootohere]

The 1.5TSI DSG's behaviour some are experiencing with in Warranty / NEW cars is an issue.

Cutting out/loss of drive is safety critical and life threatening and the 'Updates' are coming too slow for those that are driving loan cars just now, or rejecting or trying to cars presently, 

and in some cases they just take the financial hit and punt the lemons as some have here with Karoq's. (Krocs of sh!te.)

[TDIum]

All the more reason for buying a new 1.5 over a used 1.4

I thought the problem with 1.5 was only with manual gearboxes? 

Edited 17 July, 2019 by TDIum

[logiclee]

8 minutes ago, Roottootemoot said:

The 1.5TSI DSG's behaviour some are experiencing with in Warranty / NEW cars is an issue.

Cutting out/loss of drive is safety critical and life threatening and the 'Updates' are coming too slow for those that are driving loan cars just now, or rejecting or trying to cars presently, 

and in some cases they just take the financial hit and punt the lemons as some have here with Karoq's. (Krocs of sh!te.)

 

 

To be honest after two decades of VAG products and 13 Skoda's I'm at the stage were if friends and family asked about a 1.4 or 1.5 my advice would be to not buy a MQB Skoda of any kind.

I've never seen the forums so full of issues and I've had the same experiences.

 

We've had problem childs in the past on certain models and engines but MQB seems to be a reliability disaster.

 

Lee

[Ootohere]

@TDIum

Not only a Manual Issue, that is the kangerooing, but that can affect DSG's as well, then the DSG software issue with Software from last year to still now.

There is the 2009-2012, Synthetic oil issue, the 2012-2014 DQ200 with Mineral Oil issue. The 2014/15 to 2017/18 slipping clutch ongoing issues and TPI's, 

and then the Pre & Post gpf engine DSG 2018/19 issues and software updates.

Vorsprung Durch Technik, they wish.   

VW need hybrids introduced quick to help them solve issues, or just to kick the can down the road for a while.

 

Presently Models are being discontinued as the next tougher WLTP / RDE testing really is a problem for the VW Group.

[benterrier]

I thought the days of splutter misfire petrol's had long gone with carburettors, distributers and HT leads. shocking!

[logiclee]

7 minutes ago, Roottootemoot said:

@TDIum

Not only a Manual Issue, that is the kangerooing, but that can affect DSG's as well, then the DSG software issue with Software from last year to still now.

There is the 2009-2012, Synthetic oil issue, the 2012-2014 DQ200 with Mineral Oil issue. The 2014/15 to 2017/18 slipping clutch ongoing issues and TPI's, 

and then the Pre & Post gpf engine DSG 2018/19 issues and software updates.

Vorsprung Durch Technik, they wish.   

VW need hybrids introduced quick to help them solve issues, or just to kick the can down the road for a while.

 

Presently Models are being discontinued as the next tougher WLTP / RDE testing really is a problem for the VW Group.

 

You forgot about the gear leaver "Error Leaving Workshop" fault. That has been an MQB issue and a fix has not been sorted yet. OK if you are in warranty but around £800 if not.

[teescom09]

20 hours ago, harrylime said:

I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on an Octavia estate tsi. I'm torn between a used 1.4 or a new 1.5 

Has the throttle hesitation issue been sorted on the 1.5? I'm thinking about a DSG, this would be a new experience for my wife and I would not want to complicate things further whilst maneuvering in the drive etc. If a new car won't set off easily and smoothly I don't see the point in buying one

The 1.4 seems to be the better engine, probably less strangled. Personally if I was buying a car to tow I wouldn’t go near a dual clutch auto unless it’s under warranty for the period of ownership. Lot of strain on those clutch packs and mechanisms as a whole. But then I wouldn’t if not towing either. No co-incidence  Manufactures like BMW and Ford are moving away from them. Manuals are best by far👍

 

I have a dual clutch auto in the fleet and it just had new clutch packs fitted at 90k Would have been traded as a none runner if it hadn’t luckily caught the last month of extended warranty. 

[teescom09]

1 hour ago, benterrier said:

I thought the days of splutter misfire petrol's had long gone with carburettors, distributers and HT leads. shocking!

You’ve not heard of the catalogue of coil  pack failures in the past, predominantly VAG cars?  

[teescom09]

2 hours ago, logiclee said:

 

 

To be honest after two decades of VAG products and 13 Skoda's I'm at the stage were if friends and family asked about a 1.4 or 1.5 my advice would be to not buy a MQB Skoda of any kind.

I've never seen the forums so full of issues and I've had the same experiences.

 

We've had problem childs in the past on certain models and engines but MQB seems to be a reliability disaster.

 

Lee

MQB is just the chassis platform, can’t really play a roll in reliability. Thats the mechanics/electrics which are just updated versions of old. I think you will find they are very reliable at least as much as anything else out there and probably more so than the older generations with the likes of coil pack failure, timing chain issues, inlet clogging, dpf issues, gearbox problems etc etc.  Not heard anything significant from VW or Seat either. 

Edited 17 July, 2019 by teescom09

[benterrier]

11 minutes ago, teescom09 said:

You’ve not heard of the catalogue of coil  pack failures in the past, predominantly VAG cars?  

One of the reasons I stick to DERV.