Octavia estate diesel engine size.

[Bassthang]

I currently drive an 05 Octavia Elegance estate, 1.6 litre, petrol engine, 5 gear manual.

My previous car was a 2 litre TDI 6-speed diesel Passat. Compared to the Passat, this Octavia is very underpowered. I have to rev it a lot more, and it's hopeless going up hills. The fuel economy is also nowhere near as good, with 35-45 mpg on most journeys, and not much better on long motorway trips.
But during the pandemic it's been fine for my uses.
However, when we start travelling around again (usually to hilly places like mid-Wales), I'd like something that can cope with the hills and that I don't have to rev up too much to pull away at lights.
What I don't know is whether the poor performance is because it's (a) petrol-engined (b) only 1.6 litre or (c) because this example is not running right and needs some attention.
I'm looking at replacing it this year, and the obvious thing to do is to find a 2litre, 6-speed diesel version, as that should deal with (a) and (b) straight away. These are somewhat harder to find than the petrol and 1.6 versions though - and more expensive.

So my question is for those who drive Octavias: is a 1.6 litre diesel better than a 1.6 petrol?
Or is it the better gear ratios of the 6-speed models that improve the pulling-away performance?
Or should a 1.6 petrol be performing better than I'm seeing, and maybe I've just got a bad one?

I'm looking at other makes of estate car too (Mazda6, for instance), but I've started to like the Octavia, and I have heard that Skoda's reputation for reliability is good (whereas VW's has plummeted recently). I'm also limited by a distrust of electric parking brakes (another reason to spurn VWs which have gone over to electric parking brakes with many reports of serious problems - there are recent Octavias that still have a proper manual handbrake on them).

[Phil-E]

I've driven that engine in a Golf hatchback before... I can only really describe it as underwhelming. Hopelessly wheezy performance, no grunt at any revs and fuel economy was awful too.

 

So it basically comes down to it being a very old tech engine with not much going for it.

 

It doesn't come down to engine size. The 1.6 TDI is leaps ahead of the petrol. It has a decent amount of grunt to it.

 

To compare the two engines:

 

1.6 FSI                            1.6 TDI

115ps (6000rpm)         105ps (4000rpm)

155nm (4000rpm)       250nm (1900rpm)

 

So the key there being the torque. In the diesel it achieves peak torque from 1900rpm compared to 4000rpm. And it has 100nm more than the petrol.

 

I'd also be asking if you really do need a diesel though. The 1.6 comes with a DPF that doesn't like short journeys all the time. So if you're only doing the odd longer journey a petrol may still be the better choice.

 

In which case a 1.4 TSI may also be a consideration. I've been on holiday a few times in ours with 3 adults, a dog, a boot FULL (estate too) and 3 bikes on the tow bar. Not once did it feel underpowered and didn't need to downshift on motorway hills. Handled some mountain roads with ease too.

[Bassthang]

Thanks for the detailed reply, Phil.
So, basically you're saying that the newer petrol engines are better (for the same size engine) than the older petrol engines? That's good news, as it opens up more possibilities to consider.

I admit that I really like diesels: the ability to pull away in almost any gear is very handy (although perhaps it encourages sloppy driving!), but at the end of the day, it's reliability, economy and ease of driving that are top of my list, so I should look into all the options.

 

Regarding the journeys: I tend to do shopping trips of about 35-40 miles round trip on quiet, country roads, but we also make one or more longer journeys (often on motorways) in a week, so that should give the DPF chance to regenerate at high revs (sorry if my terminology or understanding of DPFs is incorrect, but this is new to me). I avoid driving into the city as much as possible - I hate it! - but I need a CAZ vehicle as I do at least one trip into the Brum CAZ each week for rehearsal/recording. If it weren't for the CAZ requirement, I would have a much larger selection of cheaper vehicles to choose from. As it is, it's a bit of a balancing act!

[Phil-E]

I've only had a really quick look at that. But from what I can see you need a Euro 6 diesel? Is the 1.6 TDI not a Euro 5 or even 4?

[Bassthang]

Not sure, but I've set my AutoTrader saved search to filter out anything not ULEZ (which isn't always the same as CAZ, but close enough). That is currently just giving me 2litre models (which I'd prefer, as my old Passat was that size). I'm getting a bit confused with it all now. . .

 

[paulski]

My 2016 2.0 tdi is euro 6 emissions compliant and would go into all zones listed on the .Gov site. (£30 car tax too) 

 

Pulls like a train, with 150bhp and (I think) 340nm of torque which is spread over a longer rev range. You can stamp it in 6th and it will overtake and want more 

 

I don't feel that given your weekly longer distant journeys would give the dpf any issues, it should take care of itself and actively  regenerate when it needed to. I do 500-600 miles a month of mixed A roads and B roads. Get 50mpg or more and it usually does an active regen at least once per tank full which is very normal. 

[Bassthang]

Thanks Paulski. This sounds like my sort of car!

[Jiffi]

I could sell you my Octavia 2013 2.0tdi CR Elegance dsg 43k miles