Golf 1.5 TSI EVO Engine , a good choice ? .. Alternatives ?

[Jao]

We have scrapped our trusty old Golf Plus 1.9tdi after 10 years of honorable service . We are now considering what our next car will be for the coming years.

It is instinctive for us to go for another VW as my wife likes to stay with what she knows and likes something that is a medium sized hatch. The new[ish] 1.5 EVO engine appears likely to be the top selling power unit for the VW group cars for the next five years at least and is the latest mainstream VW technology. All good so far until I read the numerous comments about Kangarooing when starting and stalling at junctions with this EVO engine, and the subsequent hit and miss software fixes that have followed VW's admission of some issues.

Any feedback of this would be appreciated before we sink 16-17k into one of these Golfs . [2019 model]

Any advice on better alternatives would be welcome and appreciated. I have also been considering the new Toyota Corolla 1.8 Hybrid , and a '67 Auris Hybrid as a cheaper option.

We do 10k miles per year 75% town / 25% motorway. , want a hatchback which is 1 reliable , 2 economical , 3 Petrol or Hybrid only , just maybe electric.

Thanks to all.

[Limpet]

Mrs Limpet had 19 reg Golf 1.5 TSi R-Line on long term hire as a temporary company car until the Covid lockdown.

The main issue with it was the horribly jerky on/off throttle behaviour, which was glaringly obvious when the engine was stone cold, to the extent that I would actually call it a bit of a pig to drive at low speeds for the first mile or so after a cold start. Any transition from on throttle to off (or vice versa) would produce an uncomfortable lurch, much as it did in the first generation of efi'd mainstream cars in the late 80s.

Once warmed, this either went away completely, or got so minor that it became unnoticeable. That said, at any temperature, it was a very easy car to stall. It needed more revs to get off the line smoothly than I was comfortable with from a clutch wear point of view. Familiarity seemed to help with this, but there's no denying that we both stalled this car more than probably all of our previous cars combined.

Despite all this, I thought it was a nice engine in most respects. Very smooth and refined, and felt lively enough in most situations. It did have some driveability issues as above, but I don't think they would be bad enough to put me off having one if I really wanted one of the cars it was installed in. It would be a good replacement for a diesel as it's quite torquey and effortless, and like many modern turbo fours, the top 1,000 RPM of the rev range is just extra noise (and fuel use) rather than any real performance. Driven "sensibly", it's a really nice engine, cold start behaviour aside.

Edited by Limpet on Thursday 11th June 10:39

[anonymous-user]

Limpet said:

Mrs Limpet had 19 reg Golf 1.5 TSi R-Line on long term hire as a temporary company car until the Covid lockdown.

The main issue with it was the horribly jerky on/off throttle behaviour, which was glaringly obvious when the engine was stone cold, to the extent that I would actually call it a bit of a pig to drive at low speeds for the first mile or so after a cold start. Any transition from on throttle to off (or vice versa) would produce an uncomfortable lurch, much as it did in the first generation of efi'd mainstream cars in the late 80s.

Once warmed, this either went away completely, or got so minor that it became unnoticeable. That said, at any temperature, it was a very easy car to stall. It needed more revs to get off the line smoothly than I was comfortable with from a clutch wear point of view. Familiarity seemed to help with this, but there's no denying that we both stalled this car more than probably all of our previous cars combined.

Despite all this, I thought it was a nice engine in most respects. Very smooth and refined, and felt lively enough in most situations. It did have some driveability issues as above, but I don't think they would be bad enough to put me off having one.

I nearly leased a Leon with this engine last year, and having read about the jerkiness from cold wanted to test drive one. Of course the dealer didn't have a 1.5 TSi and told me "they all drive the same" so I didn't order one as I knew it would annoy me and ruin it.

Anyway, a guy at work ordered one at the start of the year and I told him about the jerkiness but he assumed VAG would have sorted it out by now. First week of owning the car he told me "it does that annoying jerky thing from cold".....

[waynecyclist]

A TSB has been issued now with new software, much better to drive.

From what I understand it was to do with alternator load under cold conditions.

[Jag_NE]

I would take a look at a Focus. For your budget you could get into a high spec 2019 Titanium X / ST-Line or perhaps even a Vignale with a bit of a haggle.

[ZX10R NIN]

There are some great alternatives at your price point & I'd be taking a good look at them the 1.5 VAG has had issues but they are supposed to be resolved.

My first choice would be the Focus in Vignale trim:

1.0T 125

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

1.5T Manual 120

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

1.5T Manual 182

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

2.0T Auto this is the pick engine wise, with the 182/120 next:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Renault Megane GT Line 140 these are a nice car & come in under budget as well as being a nice place to be as well as Renault offering a 1K finance contribution at the moment.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Mazda3 GT Sport Tech although these are 2.0 N/A they're very good on fuel 120

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Sport Lux

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

V40 T3 R Design Pro Auro

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

R Design

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Peugeot 1.6T 308 GT well spec'd swift reliable & a nice steer

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

1.2T 130 GT Line

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Infiniti Q30 1.6T Luxe 150 Auto These are a a Mercedes A class with a better fit & finish

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

All the above are good cars but for me it's the Focus/Megane/Q30/Volvo/Mazda.

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Friday 12th June 09:52

[1 in x]

I have an 18 plate golf (I’ve had from new now at 28000 miles) with this engine. Not huge power but enough. Its my commuting car went for this engine 47 ish mpg without trying. Office is 15 miles away using motorway and also use it for site visits.

Cant fault it really.

None of these issues experienced .