Buying advice - which engine?

[Tarquinius]

Hello

I'm new to this forum as I'm currently considering buying a used Octavia. I wanted to ask some advice about my choice of engine...

I'm looking to buy an used Octavia hatch - likely a SEL or SE Tech, with a manual box - most likely a 2017 or 2018 model (post-facelift)

I have narrowed my choice down to a 2.0 TDi or the 1.4 / 1.5 TSi. (I do about 10,000 miles / year - generally on long runs / motorways, so could justify either). I quite fancy a petrol, buy am drawn by the fuel economy of the diesel !

I'd be grateful if anyone could offer any advice on:

• Is there much to choose between 1.4 and 1.5 TSi petrols ? Are these 2 engines similar? (I think I read once that there were reliability issues with one of these engines?)
• What is the gearing like on the petrol v. the diesel? How many mph per 1000 revs does the petrol / diesel give in 6th gear?
• I wondered whether anyone can give any advice on how the petrol drives v the diesel ? Which is the most fun and easiest to drive?
• Is either the petrol or the diesel much quieter or more refined - and the more relaxed motorway cruiser?
• Does the additional weight at the front end affect the handling of the diesel v. the petrol ?

Thank you in advance - any advice is very much appreciated !

Tarquin

 

[Crasher]

I think all the Diesel’s will be EU6 but check and the only petrol engine I would have is the 1.8 or 2.0 litre turbo, the 1.4 and 1.5 struggle to cope with such a big car. Seeing a 9300 mile 1 year interval service record is nice, especially on a chain cam engine.

 

[BobTroll]

Hello

I'm new to this forum as I'm currently considering buying a used Octavia. I wanted to ask some advice about my choice of engine...

I'm looking to buy an used Octavia hatch - likely a SEL or SE Tech, with a manual box - most likely a 2017 or 2018 model (post-facelift)

I have narrowed my choice down to a 2.0 TDi or the 1.4 / 1.5 TSi. (I do about 10,000 miles / year - generally on long runs / motorways, so could justify either). I quite fancy a petrol, buy am drawn by the fuel economy of the diesel !

I'd be grateful if anyone could offer any advice on:

• Is there much to choose between 1.4 and 1.5 TSi petrols ? Are these 2 engines similar? (I think I read once that there were reliability issues with one of these engines?)
• What is the gearing like on the petrol v. the diesel? How many mph per 1000 revs does the petrol / diesel give in 6th gear?
• I wondered whether anyone can give any advice on how the petrol drives v the diesel ? Which is the most fun and easiest to drive?
• Is either the petrol or the diesel much quieter or more refined - and the more relaxed motorway cruiser?
• Does the additional weight at the front end affect the handling of the diesel v. the petrol ?

Thank you in advance - any advice is very much appreciated !

Tarquin

I can't advise which version you should buy, because I have not driven the 2.0 TDi or the 1.4. TSi petrol versions, so I can't compare. However, I can tell you about my experience of the 1.5 TSI SE Technology 5dr Estate, 110kW. My car was described as a 2017+ model and the date of first registration was 29 October 2019. The vehicle was previously a demonstrator and I purchased it in September 2020, when it had with very low mileage.

Since then, I have enjoyed 14 months of trouble free motoring. My usage has been similar to yours, and has included monthly round trips of almost 200 miles each way, up and down the M6, plus a small amount of town driving. The adaptive cruise control is really excellent, not only on the motorway, but also on other roads, It detects heavy traffic and maintains a safe distance from the car in front, without any need to disengage the cruise control. The car is certainly not under-powered and on a run, I have achieved real mpg of around 54 mpg. Even when I allow for town driving in cold weather, and with some very short runs, fuel consumption has rarely gone below 40 mpg.

I can't tell you whether the petrol or diesel engine would be quieter. However, my petrol version is really quiet and I can't complain about handling. I don't think the weight of the engine is an issue. Another major advantage is the wheel size. My car has 16" alloy wheels with 205/55/16 Michelin energy saver tyres. The absence of low profile tyres probably contribute to the smooth ride. The estate model has a cavern of a boot area and a further major advantage is the full sized, steel spare wheel (which is preferable to a space saver or a repair kit, which would probably be no use for anything more than a get you home remedy, following a slow puncture).

So overall, I am very happy with the car. I hope that helps.

 

[Tarquinius]

Thank you Crasher, that’s great advice and helps me with my choice.

I have found a 1.5 TSI SE L manual hatch for sale at £12k that is 3.5 years old and decided to go for it. Nearly 70k miles, but I’m hoping that will be fine.

Unfortunately it has 17 inch wheels and low profile tyres, so I’m a tad concerned about the ride quality - but we’ll see when it’s delivered next week. If it comes to it, then I’ll replace them with 16s from eBay - which is what I did when I owned an s-max that came with 18s, which I replaced with 17s …

I’m really looking forward to getting the car, it’s great to know that you are happy with yours

Thanks

 

[Crasher]

The only annoying common fault we are seeing on these engines is turbo failure causing either boost delivery or high oil consumption.

 

[BobTroll]

Thank you Crasher, that’s great advice and helps me with my choice.

I have found a 1.5 TSI SE L manual hatch for sale at £12k that is 3.5 years old and decided to go for it. Nearly 70k miles, but I’m hoping that will be fine.

Unfortunately it has 17 inch wheels and low profile tyres, so I’m a tad concerned about the ride quality - but we’ll see when it’s delivered next week. If it comes to it, then I’ll replace them with 16s from eBay - which is what I did when I owned an s-max that came with 18s, which I replaced with 17s …

I’m really looking forward to getting the car, it’s great to know that you are happy with yours

Thanks

That sounds great.

Will your car have a spare wheel? If not, I would seriously consider purchasing a spare. The recess beneath the floor of the boot of my car is just large enough to hold a full sized, 16 inch spare wheel.

I would never rely upon a puncture repair kit, which is why I purchased a spare and jack for my wife's vauxhall corsa. I'm so glad I did because 6 weeks later, she suffered a blowout.

 

[Hopeful]

Thank you Crasher, that’s great advice and helps me with my choice.

I have found a 1.5 TSI SE L manual hatch for sale at £12k that is 3.5 years old and decided to go for it. Nearly 70k miles, but I’m hoping that will be fine.

Unfortunately it has 17 inch wheels and low profile tyres, so I’m a tad concerned about the ride quality - but we’ll see when it’s delivered next week. If it comes to it, then I’ll replace them with 16s from eBay - which is what I did when I owned an s-max that came with 18s, which I replaced with 17s …

I’m really looking forward to getting the car, it’s great to know that you are happy with yours

Thanks

I've got bad vibes about small engines in big cars as I assume they've had to work hard, so I'm glad you're not looking at one of the 1.0L cars. Here's a chart of the power curves, derived from Skoda data.
You can see that for RPM up to about 3800, the 2.0TDI has more power than the 1.5TSI.
After that, the 1.5TSI gets into its stride and the TDI runs out of puff at about 4500

I bought the 190TSI, as it has similar low RPM power characteristics to the 2.0TDI at low revs, then just keeps getting more frisky after the TDI peaks at 150PS at 3300. I tend to potter about at low rpm, but I want decent accelleration when I put my foot down.

If you potter about at low RPM (and do the miles), the 2.0 TDI is a better choice.
If you like to keep the revs up, the 1.5 TSI might be a better choice for you.
Drive both and decide. (I found the 2.0TDI dull as ditchwater, TBH.)

 

[The Hood]

My 2.0 TDI Yeti s doing 70 mph at 2000 revs. Who in their right mind would rev a car that highly (4500 rpm)? If it could rev that high it would be doing 157 mph. I hope I never buy a car that you have driven.

 

[Hopeful]

My 2.0 TDI Yeti s doing 70 mph at 2000 revs. Who in their right mind would rev a car that highly (4500 rpm)? If it could rev that high it would be doing 157 mph. I hope I never buy a car that you have driven.

Are you okay, @The Hood?

 

[Tarquinius]

The only annoying common fault we are seeing on these engines is turbo failure causing either boost delivery or high oil consumption.

So, my car gets delivered this morning
1.5 TSI manual SE L

Thank you for all the very helpful replies above

Re the problems with turbo failure: is there a way that I can tell if a the turbo is on its way out? (I will obviously either want to either reject the car, or insist that the dealer fixes it, if there is a problem)

At what mileage do the turbos tend to give up? (My car has done 70k)

I’ll inspect thoroughly on Is there anything else I should look out for specifically?

Also, of interest, how reliable is the DSG gearbox on more modern cars (eg since 2017 / 2018) ?

I have bought a manual Octavia, as I was put off a DSG because the box went in my last car (a Mondeo Powershift - which is similar to a VAG DSG) at 120k miles - it would have cost more to fix than the car was worth!

Was I right to steer clear of a DSG, or are the modern ones now quite reliable? (I may consider one next time round!)

 

[Hopeful]

So, my car gets delivered this morning
1.5 TSI manual SE L

Thank you for all the very helpful replies above

Re the problems with turbo failure: is there a way that I can tell if a the turbo is on its way out? (I will obviously either want to either reject the car, or insist that the dealer fixes it, if there is a problem)

At what mileage do the turbos tend to give up? (My car has done 70k)

I’ll inspect thoroughly on Is there anything else I should look out for specifically?

Also, of interest, how reliable is the DSG gearbox on more modern cars (eg since 2017 / 2018) ?

I have bought a manual Octavia, as I was put off a DSG because the box went in my last car (a Mondeo Powershift - which is similar to a VAG DSG) at 120k miles - it would have cost more to fix than the car was worth!

Was I right to steer clear of a DSG, or are the modern ones now quite reliable? (I may consider one next time round!)

I hope the pick-up goes well and you enjoy your new car!
No idea about turbo failure, but I'd expect noise and some smoke. But take that with a pinch of salt.

The DSG question is one I faced myself. Alarmed by many stories of DSG problems, I was determined to buy a manual diesel.
The car I actually bought was a petrol DSG. There follows an opinion.

I think DSGs are now pretty reliable, so long as you get the "right" DSG. The younger the better, seems to be a good rule of thumb.
Early DQ200 "dry clutch" gearboxes tend to be a big bill just waiting to happen. The "wet clutch" boxes seem to be better, but I have seen grumbles about early DQ250 boxes. I suspect reliability is impacted by how you drive them. (Maybe taking them over 2000rpm destroys them? )
DSGs need servicing in line with Skoda's schedule (every 4 years or 40k miles, whichever comes first, see attached), but other than that, the modern DSG is excellent. I think as they become more popular, repair costs will come down.