Hi

Want to upgrade the wife’s car,looking at the Monte Carlo mk3 question is which engine is best the 1.2 or the 1.0 and info advice would be appreciated.

Humm, well I bought a new Polo for my wife back in 2015, and I picked the 1.2TSI 16V 110PS, so obviously I'd suggest the 1.2TSI.

I had a 1.2TSI Fabia and now have a 1.0 TSI Octavia.  Both are decent engines but I find the 1.0 quieter and nippier than the 1.2 even in a car as big as the Octavia.  Fuel consumption is about the same despite the difference in the size of the cars.  My preference is the 1.0TSI. 

I had a Fabia courtesy car fitted with the 1.0TSi engine and I was impressed with both the performance and economy in the short time I borrowed it.

This question has cropped up before and the general consensus from those who had experience of both was that the 1.2tsi was probably the smoother and slightly more tractable of the two, very little difference in performance but the 1.0tsi was more economical.

 

Like ShyVRS245 I had a Fabia 1.0 tsi courtesy car for a week and was very impressed by the excellent consumption and reasonable performance (my loaned version was the lower powered 5 speed manual).

Kicking myself a bit that I did not buy a new Fabia manual before they dropped manuals from the Australian market

I can't comment on the 1.2 as I've not been in one, but I can say I've been very impressed with the 1.0TSi (110 bhp) in my 67-plate Fabia. I have found it to be quiet, to offer strong and flexible performance, and to be very economical. I reckon a realistic 40+mpg in modestly busy town driving and high-50s to low-60s  on a longer run, depending on how heavy one's right shoe is. The six speed gearbox available with the 110 bhp makes excellent cruising for a car in this segment. 

 

I've personally covered approx 18,000 miles since buying the car in April 2019, taking the odometer reading to 26,000.