Hi chaps,

Contemplating my first skoda purchase, and I've been poking round trying to find out as much as I can. I was interested in a comment from the Telegraph's Honest John in their online review of the Octavia diesels - he reckoned that the 1.9 was the one to go for, because he felt that the 2.0 had too much power at slow speeds - nothing at all when you first put your foot down, then it snaps your head off when the turbo finally catches up! I've come across this with a borrowed Honda Civic diesel, and it didn't make for a very enjoyable drive. Has anyone found the same problem with the 2.0 diesel, or it Honest John talking rubbish?

thanks for you thoughts

Hi and welcome to Briskoda.

I've currently got a 1.9tdi Fabia and have ordered a 2.0tdi Octavia. I don't think the issues Honest John has with the power are true really. I found the 2.0tdi just as easy to drive as the 1.9tdi, and that was around here where it's hilly and you have to stir the gearbox a bit more.

The 2.0tdi has a very different power curve, that's for sure, but it's still a cracking engine.

It depends on how you drive it.

If you bury the throttle at low revs (under 1500 in first or second for example) then yes , you will get no power then a sudden surge once the turbo kicks in at 1800. The same can be said of a lot of TDIs including the 1.9 - it's just that the surge is less noticable.

Quite why you'd want to do this is a bit of a mystery though. When you are driving normally this isn't an issue at all , and if you use less throttle the surge will obviously be more gentle. As long as you remember that this is a turbocharged car and drive it accordingly , then it's excellent.

I've now done 10000 miles in mine and am very pleased with it.

Performance is great and the economy , which was my main concern , has turned out to be better than I'd expected. On my Mk1 Octy 1.9 TDI I could typically get about 60mpg on my drive home from work with an absolute best of 62.

I now typically get 57mpg with a best so far of 59.5 - usual average over a tankfull is about 52 , 2mpg down on the Mk1.

Not bad for a car of that size

Welcome to Briskoda

It appears Honest John doesn't know how to drive. The 2.0 is a cracking engine.

Ultimately the choice depends on whether you want better fuel economy, or a faster car. Nothing wrong with the 1.9 but it lacks that extra oomph.

Interesting, thanks - I kind of hoped you might say that. I've been offered a one year old 2.0 Ambiente with lots of extras (climate control, parking sensors, fog lights etc) with about 10k on the clock for about

Another one who thinks that HJ needs driving lessons here, mate.

The only time that even might be an issue is if you're deliberately trying to smoke someone up!