1.5 TFSI - A3 / Golf - DSG

[Trailhead]

Hi all

I’m in the market for a new company car. My current car (A4 S-Tronic 190 TDI) is starting to cost a fortune in BIK so I’m considering the move to a petrol with a lower list price, with the A3 or Golf in 1.5 TFSI guise appearing a sensible choice tax wise.

Does anyone have experience of this engine in either of these cars? What do you think of it? Is it gutless?

I guess they see 35ish mpg whilst pressing on or down country lanes?

Thanks!

[Teebs]

I demo'd a Golf 1.5 Tsi DSG 130 for 4 days and 600 miles a few months back. On a 210 mile motorway trip, plenty of traffic but not exceeding 75mph I managed 53 mpg or so without really trying

The engines never going to be a rocket, but it seemed pretty good to me, the cylinder de-activation was seamless, auto box was fine and the Adaptive cruise was great in traffic jams and motorway use.

I've subsequently ordered an Arteon with the same engine / gearbox as a company car for circa 30k PA.

[Rutter]

My wife has the 1.5 in an A3 currently and its much the same and we've both had the previous 1.4 version of this before without any issue, its not going to set your world on fire but I feel it is a much nicer drive than the equivalent output 2.0 diesel.

I've currently got a superb with this engine and performance is adequate. gutless is a bit harsh considering its still 150hp and 0-60 in sub 9 seconds. I think your estimate of 35mpg in real world driving is about right, I get slightly less than that in the superb so the smaller cars should be able to beat that.

[va1o]

I'd tread carefully as the latest WLTP incarnation of the 1.5 TSI mated to the DSG 'box doesn't seem to work properly. I tried it last year in a new Q3 and couldn't believe how badly it seemed to drive. It was so unresponsive and laggy every time you pulled away or needed a quick burst of power. Quite well documented in this review - https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/audi/35-tfsi-s...

Shame as the engine in isolation is good, and the DSG gearboxes are usually smooth. Just somehow these two don't work well together.

I would suggest a Manual but there have been reports of them driving oddly too. So if you're set on the DSG the best option may be stepping up to the 2.0! I had that in an A3 40 TFSI Quattro recently and it drove spot on with very strong performance. 35mpg driven hard, 40s going sensible.

[Trailhead]

va1o said:

I'd tread carefully as the latest WLTP incarnation of the 1.5 TSI mated to the DSG 'box doesn't seem to work properly. I tried it last year in a new Q3 and couldn't believe how badly it seemed to drive. It was so unresponsive and laggy every time you pulled away or needed a quick burst of power. Quite well documented in this review - https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/audi/35-tfsi-s...

Shame as the engine in isolation is good, and the DSG gearboxes are usually smooth. Just somehow these two don't work well together.

I would suggest a Manual but there have been reports of them driving oddly too. So if you're set on the DSG the best option may be stepping up to the 2.0! I had that in an A3 40 TFSI Quattro recently and it drove spot on with very strong performance. 35mpg driven hard, 40s going sensible.

Thanks Va1o unfortunately this is a company vehicle so it’s all about keeping the CO2 low. Do you know if this issue is present in the 1.0 TFSI DSG?

[Trailhead]

Well, I bought one today and i collect on the last day of the month. Fingers crossed. Thanks for everyone’s help!

[Silenoz]

I've had an A3 with the 1.5 engine and dsg box since August last year. Absolutely love it, average mpg is 47 so far and it does everything I need.