How long has this engine been around in the VW family for and does anyone know what the future looks like for a well maintained 1.2 12v engine.

How long has this engine been around in the VW family for and does anyone know what the future looks like for a well maintained 1.2 12v engine.

You might want to take a look down the page and check out another thread about engine life. All I know is that the 1.2 is supposedley "Maintenance Free" and that some major engine components need never be touched

It was released in 2002 so don't know how many high-mile models there are around yet but it has been designed so that the timing chain or tensioners don't need changing for the whole life of the engine, but they don't say what that is!

The smaller the engine the higher the stress on the components as a rule of thumb.

Our fleet of 1.0-16v Nissan Micra's each racked up 100k miles in just over a couple of years. They were still running as well as the day they left the showroom so I'd expect a newer engine to be as good if not better, given correct maintenance. These cars also had very hard lives (including 2 learners!!!)

Chris

Yeah, Chris has made a good point - whilst smaller engines are under more stress, even the smallest modern engine can be expected to last 150K+ under proper maintenance. The days of 100K being the end of an engine's life are long gone.