Octavia VRS - which one - Petrol or TDi?

[thunderbelmont]

Mrs Thunderbelmont's poxy Zafira is going to be replaced by an Octavia VRS.

Looking at the choice, the 2.0L Turbo Petrol, or the TDi?

I'm no lover of the sound of 4-pot diesels, but I am a lover of the large sack of torque.

I prefer the cheaper service costs of the petrol

I like the economy of the derv gobbler.

Oh woe is me. Which one?

I know Skylinecrazy - the R32.

[insanojackson]

diesel = ghey

[AlpineWhite]

insanojackson said:

diesel = ghey

diesel = sensible choice if you're doing big miles....

[pilchardthecat]

insanojackson said:

diesel = ghey

insanojacksons Profile said:

MGTF owner

Pot, kettle, etc

[cailean]

Depends on whether the car will be new. New VRSs have the VAG CR diesel, pre mid-2008 have the PD diesel engines. The CRs are smoother but have less of the torque you like. Discussed a lot on briskoda.net

[OnTheOverrun]

Choose the diesel for MPG, the petrol for everything else.

This is PH, so obviously the petrol.

[Bullett]

I drove both varients and found the petrol vastly superior, the TDi just felt gutless and whilst the petrol could do with more power it was very much the better car.

I picked it up at the start of March and I'm very happy overall. Have averaged 38 on a long run and I'm sure you could easily get over 40 with a lighter foot or a re-map (on the list).

[matchmaker]

Petrol.

[MonkeyHanger]

<10k per annum, Petrol. >10k per year, Diesel.

I have the 2.0TFSi petrol after several years with an "old" 1.8T and it's a damn good car.

[thunderbelmont]

Mileage is on the cusp at 10K/yr

All of the tests I have seen prefer the TDI for mid-range on-the-roll acceleration, but the TPi wins 0-60.
Mrs Thunderbelmont isn't interested in 0-60, but is interested in how much mid-range grunt it'll have to drage the hossbox.

The leaning on that is towards the TDI, and I'm sure it could find a re-map......

It'll be the earlier engine, as I reckon anything newer than 2008 will be out of the budget.

It'll be Race Blue, that's for sure!!!

[insanojackson]

pilchardthecat said:

insanojackson said:

diesel = ghey

insanojacksons Profile said:

MGTF owner

Pot, kettle, etc

ha ha

since i had the tf i have had an ep3 civic type r, and fn2 civic type r and my current scirocco plus the weekend mx5

[DP83]

From what i've read the 170CR diesel engine is pretty good. I've got a Leon FR TDI on order as a new company car with the same engine

Given the choice, i would have gone for the petrol (just because it's faster, really), but they're picking up the fuel bill so diesel's are preferred. Can't complain, and looking forward to getting rid of the stbox astra i've inherited from my predecessor (seriously, who the fk would choose a vauxhall astra 1.7cdti "Club" given a choice?)

[rockandrollmark]

insanojackson said:

pilchardthecat said:

insanojackson said:

diesel = ghey

insanojacksons Profile said:

MGTF owner

Pot, kettle, etc

ha ha

since i had the tf i have had an ep3 civic type r, and fn2 civic type r and my current scirocco plus the weekend mx5

If it were my choice I'd go for the diesel. Both are good cars, but neither is an out an out sports car, so might as well save the pennies where you can.

Edited by rockandrollmark on Monday 12th April 02:42

[sherman]

If you are going to be pulling a horse box alot of the time buy the diesel. You will be glad of the extra torque.

[alock]

The following assumes the cars are geared perfectly to be at maximum revs at their top speed and zero drive line losses as they'll both be about the same. This might not be 100% perfect but it's good enough. Maybe some owners could chip in with actual gear ratios?

Anyway lets take a typical example where diesel should excel in give-and-take motorway driving...

Petrol: 206 lbft from 1700-5000rpm. Geared for 6500rpm at 148mph.
Therefore doing about 2600rpm at 60mph which equates to 102 wheel bhp.
Therefore doing about 3000rpm at 70mph which equates to 117 wheel bhp.
Therefore doing about 3500rpm at 80mph which equates to 137 wheel bhp.

Diesel: 258lbft from 1750-2500rpm. Geared for 4500rpm at 139mph.
Therefore doing about 1900rpm at 60mph which equates to 93 wheel bhp.
Therefore doing about 2300rpm at 70mph which equates to 113 wheel bhp.
Therefore doing about 2600rpm at 80mph which equates to 128 wheel bhp. (this is slightly optimistic as I've assumed it's still generating peak torque)

The petrol will therefore be faster (it's lighter as well) in typical every day driving although it might not feel faster due to a smoother power curve. The diesel might appear more relaxed due to lower cruising rpm.

I would take the petrol for my own car or the diesel if it's to be a family car.

[MrLou]

MonkeyHanger said:

<10k per annum, Petrol. >10k per year, Diesel.

I have the 2.0TFSi petrol after several years with an "old" 1.8T and it's a damn good car.

Personally I'd say the payback point for diesel is much more than 10k miles, probably nearer 20k+.

Petrol: 10k at 35MPG = £1558.66
Diesel: 10k at 45MPG = £1212.29

So, at 10k a year you save less than £350, which is gobbled up by higher purchase and servicing costs of the diesel car. Even at 20k a year the saving is only around £700, which I reckon is marginal.

Diesel will, probably, hold value better and is marginally cheaper to tax.

It's a close run thing, economically, even at 20k a year.

Edited by MrLou on Monday 12th April 11:55

[agxster]

MrLou said:

So, at 10k a year you save less than £350, which is gobbled up by higher purchase and servicing costs of the diesel car. Even at 20k a year the saving is only around £700, which I reckon is marginal.

Edited by MrLou on Monday 12th April 11:55

How much more does the diesel cost to service then the petrol?

[anonymous-user]

I would go for the petrol, I would much rather have a smooth quiet petrol in a hot hatch than a tractor engine.

[MrLou]

agxster said:

MrLou said:

So, at 10k a year you save less than £350, which is gobbled up by higher purchase and servicing costs of the diesel car. Even at 20k a year the saving is only around £700, which I reckon is marginal.

How much more does the diesel cost to service then the petrol?

It would depend on how long the OP is thinking of keeping the car. In the first three years I guess there'd be little difference, probably not enough to make it a decision point.

Once the car is over three years, and out of warranty, I'd expect it to cost more to maintain than the petrol. Modern diesels with, for example, particulate filters and dual-mass flywheels, have more to go wrong, hence likely a higher cost over time.

I'm not saying that it's a massive difference, but I think there will be a higher cost with the oily one.

[CaptainSlow]

As someone that has had both (PD Diesel version) I would firstly say that you won't be dissapointed with either.

The petrol version was slightly faster and obviously revved higher, however as with most high powered fwd cars there was an element of loss of traction if pulling away quickly. The diesel version felt better at higher speeds, it seemed to pull a bit more. Both are quite tunable.

Make sure you get one with cruise, xenons, jumbo box, parking etc. Orignally the 18" wheels were an option with 17" as standard. I love race metallic blue.