S3 Superb 4x4 270 petrol vs 190 tdi..... Thoughts?

[Stunts]

Hi all, posted in about to buy but had no responses, any thoughts please?

 

Hi all, long time, no post..... 

 

I find myself being booted out of my work company car scheme and I need a new vehicle (2nd hand) in November. I'm coming out of a Volvo S90 2.0tdi auto with Polestar tuning (slight increase in bhp and torque and gearbox flexibility).

 

I've had a Mk1 and Mk2 Superb and find myself drawn back to the model when it's my own money being spent. The crux of my question is, should I go for the petrol or diesel 4x4? I'll be paying for my own fuel so I'm kind of drawn to the TDI SCR engine, however, there are occasions that the petrol can offer decent fuel economy (I've read with interest the post regarding ownership of a 272 in the Superb pages). If it were your money, would you go petrol or diesel? I'm going to be doing around 18k miles a year. Currently my big Swedish Barge returns 39.9mpg - I like that figure.... Any advice welcomed :-)

 

Cheers

Stunts

[Nick_H]

280 here ... 3 mile commute to and from work in town.... 19-20 mpg. Holiday run to Cornwall ....43mpg..

 

Smiles per mile v 190 Diesel .... No comparison.

[Gizmo]

Mapped 190 and I get low 50’s, certainly no slouch.

 

190 is also £30 PA to tax.

[shyVRS245]

Superb Sportline 272 hatch owner for 8 months now and after 7,800 miles it does everything very well. Like Nick above it will do 12mpg at 160mph (Autobahn of course) or 49.3mpg on my 27 mile commute. Upto 730 miles range and no diesel Superb can live with the performance available and traction impressive whether the road is soaking wet or bone dry. Actual average so far 39.5mpg.

[Martin201]

66 plate mapped 190 4x4 sportline Oil burner to 18 plate 280 4x4 L&K. I can say the bum in seat feel was was sooo similar due to the diesel low down torque which averaged 37 mpg and on similar trips around 26/7 mpg in the petrol (never used 95 Ron )

[UndertheRadar]

Depends entirely on your circumstances. If you can afford to run the 272 easily and without compromise, then obviously i'd buy it. 

But if your getting no company allowance at all and given your 18k a year mileage, i don't think by any stretch of the imagination, that the 190 diesel yoke is in any way a bad choice. I haven't looked, so don't know if the 190 diesel is in a band that will cause you issues with fee's in certain city emission areas or the like. We don't have any "zones" over here (yet!!).

Edited 5 September, 2020 by UndertheRadar

[Gizmo]

14 minutes ago, UndertheRadar said:

. I haven't looked, so don't know if the 190 diesel is in a band that will cause you issues with fee's in certain city emission areas or the like. We don't have any "zones" over here (yet!!).

They are Euro6 so allowed everywhere. 
 

Tgey are also dirt cheap (£30) to tax, how much does the petrol one cost to tax? 

[gkr47]

22 minutes ago, Gizmo said:

They are Euro6 so allowed everywhere. 
 

Tgey are also dirt cheap (£30) to tax, how much does the petrol one cost to tax? 

 

Unless its pre April 2017 Road fund licence will be the same.

[AidanF]

13 minutes ago, gkr47 said:

 

Unless its pre April 2017 Road fund licence will be the same.

Yep, after April 2017 petrol or diesel both £150 a year, or £475 for first 5 years if original price over £40k.

 

[UndertheRadar]

8 minutes ago, AidanF said:

Yep, after April 2017 petrol or diesel both £150 a year, or £475 for first 5 years if original price over £40k.

 

I’m in the £475 category unfortunately. 
Although my last motor was five hundred and something, so it’s actually come down. 😄

[Stunts]

Thanks all, really good info. I feel a mapped TDI may suit me best. My company 'give' me 11p per mile for running a diesel. I'm also getting a car allowance but don't want to haemorrhage money on petrol (let's be honest, real mpg reports a lot less than 39mpg for the petrol engine, I know it depends on a lot of things and mentions above give 26-43mpg, but I'll drive it like I stole it), so it may well make sense to oil burn it. Alternatively I may end up going for an older Audi A7 3.0tdi...... :-)

[shyVRS245]

9 hours ago, Stunts said:

Thanks all, really good info. I feel a mapped TDI may suit me best. My company 'give' me 11p per mile for running a diesel. I'm also getting a car allowance but don't want to haemorrhage money on petrol (let's be honest, real mpg reports a lot less than 39mpg for the petrol engine, I know it depends on a lot of things and mentions above give 26-43mpg, but I'll drive it like I stole it), so it may well make sense to oil burn it. Alternatively I may end up going for an older Audi A7 3.0tdi...... :-)

Make sure you get a 4 x 4 diesel then as the front wheel drive will have no traction pulling out of junctions and onto roundabouts on even a damp road surface and you will quickly get bored of seeing the flashing TC light on the dashboard and wearing out the front tyres unless you like the smell of burning P7's.

[Mickey43]

Interesting thread, it's a question I'm starting to think about as I consider renewal.

[bigman1976]

My 272bhp has done about 35mpg over the time I’ve had it which is a mixture of 20 mile commutes and short journeys. On a run, it’ll do 38-40. However, I only do 11k miles per annum. 
 

With your projected mileage, I’d be tempted by the diesel. It’ll have plenty of mid-range urge and a remap should liberate a few more horses without ruining the economy. 
 

I don’t really understand the logic of buying a high power petrol model and then crawling round to get high mpg numbers. If you drive the 272 as it was designed, you won’t get much change out of 30mpg. 

[freelunch]

How often are you gonna put the pedal to the metal? My almost four-year average in a 220 bhp tsi is 36.5 mpg. But when I want to go, it has plenty of power. What is does not have is 4WD.

 

However, you can probably get a pretty good deal on a diesel.

 

Different strokes for different folks.

[UndertheRadar]

I've had 44mpg from mine on a good run. Today during shorter stints to drop off at school and run round the town for shopping, the old pig managed a whopping 25mpg.

[ChrisCh]

If you're doing lots of miles (>10,000/year) then get the diesel. If not get the petrol.

 

I do less miles so got the petrol and I'm very happy with it.

[Kamikazekid]

On 06/09/2020 at 08:47, shyVRS245 said:

Make sure you get a 4 x 4 diesel then as the front wheel drive will have no traction pulling out of junctions and onto roundabouts on even a damp road surface and you will quickly get bored of seeing the flashing TC light on the dashboard and wearing out the front tyres unless you like the smell of burning P7's.

100% agree. I wanted a 4x4 but due to my previous car dying I didn’t have time to be picky so ended up with a front wheel drive 190. Every time those wheels spin up (which is a lot) when I plant my foot down, I regret not holding out for a 4x4. I have considered putting PS4 or maybe even PS4S tyres on in the hope they might grip better. 

[Raymundo91]

I have the 280 sportline and my oldman has a 190 diesel and i have been driving his while we have been at work just so i can save the mileage on mine and i'm honestly not a massive fan. The car inside is lovely and comfortable but i don't like how it drives compared to the 280. I haven't drove it on long drives i.e motorways or anything which i probably wouldn't see any difference but around town it feels soo laggy and i always feel like it's in the wrong gear, it always downs shift when i try to accelerate just a little a then it jolts you and pulls like a train. Nearly been caught out a couple times on roundabouts as well with it. I'll admit it does shift when you get on it like. I tried it in "sports mode" and it made such a difference. The gearbox felt like, how it should do. Held gears better and just a better drive personally. I have been looking at a diesel one myself just for the fact i'm spending a fortune on petrol as my MPG is pants  but i'm not too sure now. maybe the 4x4 diesel but i would have to test drive that.

 

This is just my opinion and if you spoke to my dad he would tell you totally different and that it's the best car he's ever driven. He used to hate driving but he actually said over lockdown that he missed driving it. 

 

I think if you're going to be doing the high mileage i would defiantly go for diesel. I was doing London and back once a week for 6 month and it cost me roughly £500 a month. Was roughly 2K miles a month.

 

Hope this helps 

[Stunts]

Cheers Raymundo, most helpful :-)

[AJAMESR]

Have just switched from Octy3 VRS Diesel to a Superb 4x4 272. Totally agree with comments about the way the power is delivered. So smooth in the 272, paired with the 7 speed DSG it’s almost like driving an electric car. No stutter in gear change, no lag in the throttle response, & as mentioned above, no lag followed by a sudden lurch forward as the power comes on as I was used to in the Octy Diesel. It feels less dramatic than the VRS when u bury the boot, the torque of the diesel gives that momentary “pinned to your seat” feeling - whereas the 272 just gets the job done quicker but smoother. 
All in all I’d say it simply comes down to mileage covered. The Octy was way more economical & had a 190 Diesel been an option here in Ireland I might have considered it. Still great engines & not at all a bad option. 
I do low annual mileage (only 54k KM on a 4 year old VRs when selling it) & I wanted to get away from Diesel as I plan to hold this car for 3-4 years and I’m not sure how market value might be affected in diesel cars given the whole green movement ( a whole other conversation) - My experience so far is that high 30’s MPG is very possible in this car but I’d expect I’ll be seeing low 30’s on long term average as I won’t be too bothered about feathering it around when I’m in it. 
Also, consider how much you might save on the initial purchase of a petrol v Diesel engine. Take that amount and see how much petrol that would buy you. Let’s say you save 2000€ - that could equate to maybe 20,000KM (I’ve not taken any time to fact check that 😂)  - I certainly didn’t get the benefit of owning a diesel last time around. Never recouped the extra money I paid for diesel over the petrol as I just didn’t cover enough miles to justify it. 
I think u mentioned 18K a year. It’s not crazy mileage. Depends on the type of miles as well. City miles v Motorway miles. 
Anyway - close call for you I guess. There will be no clear right or wrong. And regardless of the engine, it’s a bloody nice cabin to be in. 

[MarkyG82]

On 07/09/2020 at 21:43, ChrisCh said:

If you're doing lots of miles (>10,000/year) then get the diesel. If not get the petrol.

 

I do less miles so got the petrol and I'm very happy with it.

 

This very much depends on how the miles are done. You can do 15k miles in a city and need a petrol or you can do 8k miles on the motorway so better with a diesel. Also depends how hard you drive. How long the journeys are etc etc. 

 

More to it than ">10k miles".

[Stunts]

Thanks again all, I'll be doing some motorway miles but mostly extra-urban (often travelling from Leighton Buzzard to Cambridge and back and same to Oxford, with smatterings of other similar journeys - no real sitting in traffic).

[shyVRS245]

Just done 574 miles in my 272 hatch with 145 miles left in the tank. Leicester-Newquay-Weston Super Mare-Leicester at 46.6mpg. Overall 39.9mpg after nearly 9,000 miles in 9 months. Very happy with the car and very pleased with the performance and economy.

[Kamikazekid]

What speed was you doing? And what about more mixed driving? I have a 190 diesel and long term average is 43. I don’t drive like a maniac, or with economy on mind. I just drive it how I want. That’s probably 80% motorway and 20% town driving. Previous cars I’ve owned with anywhere near the power of a 270, I used to get between 23-26mpg average over a tank. Either petrol engines have come a long way or the guys getting high 30s are the exception and not the rule. I’d love a 270. But it’s hard for me to justify double the fuel cost. Especially when it’s loaded with the family most of the time and I get ‘the look’ from the Mrs every time I put my foot down! 😂