Soda Fabia Tsi vs mpi

[Theclarinettist]

Morning all, long-time lurker but first post, so thanks in advance for any help received.
I'm looking to buy a 17-reg Fabia SE, with the intention of keeping the car for 5+ years.
Question is, 90hp 1.2 Tsi with turbo or 75hp mpi non-turbo.
My current thinking is to go mpi and live with the lower power in the expectation that the engine is simpler and more reliable as the vehicle ages.
I have the option to buy either at a similar price of £9k, both ex-loan cars with under 15k miles.
Thanks again in advance for your opinions.
David

[kieranblenk]

I have a 1.2 TSI on a 17 plate, albeit a 110bhp model. I used to have a 1.2 HTP 70 (similar to the newer MPI) on the old shape and the comparison is night and day. The lower powered model is woefully slow unless all your miles around town. Seriously, go for the TSI - it's a much better unit and more economical as you don't need to thrash it.

[Nickp82]

kieranblenk said:

I have a 1.2 TSI on a 17 plate, albeit a 110bhp model. I used to have a 1.2 HTP 70 (similar to the newer MPI) on the old shape and the comparison is night and day. The lower powered model is woefully slow unless all your miles around town. Seriously, go for the TSI - it's a much better unit and more economical as you don't need to thrash it.

Wholly agree.

[Pica-Pica]

My wife has a 1.2 TSi 89 ps four pot. Great engine, great car, it is an older ‘13 plate and 40k miles. Very few problems, very light gear change and decent torque. Good for towns and motorways.

[Theclarinettist]

Thanks for the reply. My concern is a turbo motor when the car is 5 plus years old. I tried a 60hp polo and it seemed OK around town. I'm not the fastest driver!

[anonymous-user]

Unless there’s a specific design fault with that engine, which seems unlikely given it’s been around a while and is well proven, there should be no issues at all with turbos at that age.

If properly serviced they should go on and on. There will always be an issue here or there, just like with anything mechanical, but turbos have been resolutely mainstream for a long time now and we’re not seeing tons of premature failure horror warnings as many predicted.

TL;DR don’t worry about it, get the better engine. It’ll be easier to sell on than the gutless MPI too.

[Pica-Pica]

Theclarinettist said:

Thanks for the reply. My concern is a turbo motor when the car is 5 plus years old. I tried a 60hp polo and it seemed OK around town. I'm not the fastest driver!

The turbo is unlikely to be an issue. Around town, and elsewhere, you will appreciate the torque pick up from low to middle revs, irrespective of how fast or slow you drive.

[Theclarinettist]

Thanks all for the responses. I tried the mpi today, most noticeable was a slight vibration at idle and also it revs quite high when driving at 70. These two things bothered me more than the lack of power. Now to find a suitable tsi!