I understand the fabia tdi is a lot faster than the sdi model.

If i'm looking at an early model what price/mileages should I realistically be looking at and paying?

I have noticed that some people seem to have had their fabia tdi's remapped?

Also If I'm on a budget is it also worth looking at a octavia tdi?, I do know however the insurance groups are quite a bit higher on the octavia.

I understand the fabia tdi is a lot faster than the sdi model.

If i'm looking at an early model what price/mileages should I realistically be looking at and paying?

I have noticed that some people seem to have had their fabia tdi's remapped?

Also If I'm on a budget is it also worth looking at a octavia tdi?, I do know however the insurance groups are quite a bit higher on the octavia.

Welcome

It depends on what size car suits your needs and the performance you expect.

Running costs on the Octavia will only be a bit higher than the Fabia and both

cars are good in their own right

It'll come down to what your budget is really as both can be had for next to nothing if you look around.

The advantage of the Fabia is that all of them come with the newer PD engines, whereas the Octavia used direct injection up until 2003 (I think) and then offered the PD130. Whether you pick SDI or TDI will be down to personal preference. The SDI is no slouch round town and you only really notice the missing power once you get onto the faster stuff. It is, however, very frugal. Insurance on the Octy won't be significantly higher than the Fabia and because the engines are similar, servicing will be about the same too, although you might want to check when variable servicing became available on the Octy....

Chris

If you might go for an SDI, don't test drive the TDI first; the SDI will feel awful by comparison.

I would go for the TDI over an SDI every time - it drives better, is less embarrasing when overtaking on motorways and fuel economy needn't be much worse than an SDI and will be good in any case.

My mum owned an SDI Fabia, and two cars after had a 1.4 TDI Polo (she had a 1.4 petrol Ibiza in-between, and the fact it was based on the older chassis was depressingly obvious!). Anyway, even though the Polo only had a handful of bhp more, it felt loads faster and had similar economy. But it probably wasn't actually much faster, and another thing to consider is that her Fabia had no problems mechanically, yet the Polo was on its third turbo by the time she traded it in. I'm not sure whether the 1.4 TDI engine was offered on the Fabia, but it's a bit swings-and-roundabouts choosing between it and the 1.9 SDI. The 1.9 TDI engine (in any guise) will be much better than the SDI, but as Bryan's said, if you're not really after the performance it might put you off the SDI when the SDI's really more what you're after...

I had a TDi Polo with no problems whatsoever.

I now have a 1.9TDi Fabia. The 1.9TDi is a lot quicker but the 1.4 was a great engine - it felt lythe and flexible and was only tax group B. The economy on the 1.9 is about the same but it's a group C. Not knocking it but it's a much heavier and more brutal engine.

Not sure what the 1.4 would be like in the heavier Fabia body (my Polo was 200kgs lighter than the Fabia).

IMHO the SDi is a dog and the TDi's are good. Only a test drive will allow you to decide what is best for you.

Thanks for all the Info guys, what seems to be the case is that because the Octavia was actually produced from 97/98 on they end up being cheaper even though some have lower mileages than newer fabias. Petrol editions of both are a heck of a lot cheaper, but I guess you pay for the economy.

If the Octavia is based on an older chasis, will I notice this in terms of handling? Which Golf Chasis is the Octavia Based On?

Which Golf Chasis is the Octavia Based On?

Golf IV for the Mk 1 Octavia , the Octavia II is based on the MK V (current) Golf.

Petrol editions of both are a heck of a lot cheaper, but I guess you pay for the economy.

Depends on budget though as well as miles you do. You might find that it makes more financial sense to buy the petrol if you do low miles, or it would take you x years to make the up the difference between the cost of petrol and diesel.

Handling on the Octavia and Fabia is about as bad as each other so don't use that to decide

Chris

The advantage of the Fabia is that all of them come with the newer PD engines

Apart from the SDi

Apart from the SDi

Now, who told me the SDi was just a TDi without the turbo So the SDi is a direct injection lump then?

Chris

The SDi is the older injection pump diesel without the turbo.

Only the newer (A5 chassis) SDi's are PD.