Ibiza 1.2 DSG - issues?
Discussion
The missus is fed up of the crap auto gearbox in her 500 Twinair. It's slow to respond, dim witted, and generally rubbish.
Being limited to small-ish cars (but she now wants a 5 door, a bit bigger than the 500) with auto boxes at the ~£10k mark, we're down to the Fiesta 1.6 auto and the Ibiza 1.2 DSG.
I know early DSG boxes had issues, but do the later cars still suffer? The car she's seen is a 13 plate if that helps.
And I suppose that the Fiesta's "old-tech" torque converter with an NA 1.6 will be a bit thirsty compared to the twin clutch of the DSG 1.2 turbo Ibiza, but can anyone offer any real-world MPG reports for either?
She's not that arsed about having new, fancy-pants tech. But as long as it isn't overly thirsty, doesn't break, and most essentially that the gearbox is smooth and has a creep function when moving off (she hasn't been driving long and finds it helpful for manoeuvring), she'll be happy.
Any input appreciated, thanks.
Being limited to small-ish cars (but she now wants a 5 door, a bit bigger than the 500) with auto boxes at the ~£10k mark, we're down to the Fiesta 1.6 auto and the Ibiza 1.2 DSG.
I know early DSG boxes had issues, but do the later cars still suffer? The car she's seen is a 13 plate if that helps.
And I suppose that the Fiesta's "old-tech" torque converter with an NA 1.6 will be a bit thirsty compared to the twin clutch of the DSG 1.2 turbo Ibiza, but can anyone offer any real-world MPG reports for either?
She's not that arsed about having new, fancy-pants tech. But as long as it isn't overly thirsty, doesn't break, and most essentially that the gearbox is smooth and has a creep function when moving off (she hasn't been driving long and finds it helpful for manoeuvring), she'll be happy.
Any input appreciated, thanks.
I understand the DSG 'boxes require regular servicing (i.e. oil changes every 30,000 miles or so...I think the clutches must be a wet-clutch type?). Worth keeping in mind. Autop boxes are usually good for 100,000 miles between services unless a manufacturer states otherwise (B<W for example dont state any servicing but honda do state servicing). I had a fiesta auto as a hire car in jersey, thought it was quite good.
I ran a 2011 Ibiza 1.2 DSG for 18 months/17k miles. I had the 105bhp TSi engine, I assume yours will be the same(?)
The gearbox is good, 95% of the time you never notice it, which I guess is one of the major selling points in an auto. It did have a few niggles which I couldn't get on with:
- There was no creep function, foot off the brake you had to touch the accelerator to move, which could be a little jerky.
- It had a tendency to judder if you caught it out, particularly when slowing to a stop at a roundabout for example then deciding to go for a gap, it would stutter between 1st and 2nd.
- There was one occasion where it lost drive and dropped from 7th into neutral. Shifted the lever to N then D again and all was well, never happened again. This happened on a very cold (~ -10C) morning.
It was a very good all round package though, the 7 speeds made more of the 105bhp on offer so it often surprised me. Try and avoid big wheels and sports suspension is my biggest piece of advice, SEAT have an awful habit of stiffening the suspension so much it crashes across even the smallest imperfections in the road - Fiesta would trump it in this area I'd imagine.
ETA - I had turbo issues with my engine, which resulted in a new turbocharger being fitted after only 11k miles, maybe best to ensure a decent warranty on any purchase.
The gearbox is good, 95% of the time you never notice it, which I guess is one of the major selling points in an auto. It did have a few niggles which I couldn't get on with:
- There was no creep function, foot off the brake you had to touch the accelerator to move, which could be a little jerky.
- It had a tendency to judder if you caught it out, particularly when slowing to a stop at a roundabout for example then deciding to go for a gap, it would stutter between 1st and 2nd.
- There was one occasion where it lost drive and dropped from 7th into neutral. Shifted the lever to N then D again and all was well, never happened again. This happened on a very cold (~ -10C) morning.
It was a very good all round package though, the 7 speeds made more of the 105bhp on offer so it often surprised me. Try and avoid big wheels and sports suspension is my biggest piece of advice, SEAT have an awful habit of stiffening the suspension so much it crashes across even the smallest imperfections in the road - Fiesta would trump it in this area I'd imagine.
ETA - I had turbo issues with my engine, which resulted in a new turbocharger being fitted after only 11k miles, maybe best to ensure a decent warranty on any purchase.
I had a Skoda Fabia 1.2 (105bhp) DSG. Take the engine and gearbox out of the equation and it was a good car for space, build quality, equipment. However that engine/gearbox combination was the worst I've had in a car. On the move the gearbox was fine, changing between the top gears on A-road spirited drives just fine. However around town it was a hateful thing. The lag between pressing the accelerator and the car taking up drive was awful, even more so if you were still moving slowly at say, a roundabout when you needed to slip into a gap. In start-stop traffic it was jerky.
Please do a test drive in town traffic and not just a blast down a dual carriageway. I also had the turbo issue on the TSI engine that seems common and needed a dealer visit for a couple of days whilst they fixed it.
Before this I had a Octavia 2.0TDi DSG (6 speed wet clutch as opposed to the 7 speed dry clutch in the Fabia) and it was a whole lot better for slow speed performance, but even then it did hesitate more than say a traditional torque converter auto box.
For me all DSG gearboxes are out, be them Skoda, VW, SEAT, Audi or other makers equivalent technology such as Ford's Powershift gearbox. I now own a Mazda and a Honda, both petrol automatics and both are a dream to drive around town.
I'd give the Fiesta 1.6 auto a good going over before you ever decide to go for the Ibiza, but that's just me. Good luck with whatever you go for.
Please do a test drive in town traffic and not just a blast down a dual carriageway. I also had the turbo issue on the TSI engine that seems common and needed a dealer visit for a couple of days whilst they fixed it.
Before this I had a Octavia 2.0TDi DSG (6 speed wet clutch as opposed to the 7 speed dry clutch in the Fabia) and it was a whole lot better for slow speed performance, but even then it did hesitate more than say a traditional torque converter auto box.
For me all DSG gearboxes are out, be them Skoda, VW, SEAT, Audi or other makers equivalent technology such as Ford's Powershift gearbox. I now own a Mazda and a Honda, both petrol automatics and both are a dream to drive around town.
I'd give the Fiesta 1.6 auto a good going over before you ever decide to go for the Ibiza, but that's just me. Good luck with whatever you go for.
This isn't relevant to the discussion really (sorry) but my mum has a 500 Twinair with the auto and I think it was programmed by a learner on their first lesson. It holds gears way too long both on the up and down and since it's a 2 cylinder it's way too easy to labour even in auto or manual guise. Also poor for efficiency. The car averages 47.7mpg...
thatdude said:
I understand the DSG 'boxes require regular servicing (i.e. oil changes every 30,000 miles or so...I think the clutches must be a wet-clutch type?). Worth keeping in mind. Autop boxes are usually good for 100,000 miles between services unless a manufacturer states otherwise (B<W for example dont state any servicing but honda do state servicing). I had a fiesta auto as a hire car in jersey, thought it was quite good.
Yeah, I've read that too. She doesn't do much mileage so that's not really enough of an issue to put her off. Good to hear the Fiesta was decent though.Dyl said:
I ran a 2011 Ibiza 1.2 DSG for 18 months/17k miles. I had the 105bhp TSi engine, I assume yours will be the same(?)
...
Thanks for the reply....
Yep, it's the same engine she's looking at.
WRT the gearbox, then, that's very useful info, and I reckon it's enough to put her off. Creep is essential to her this time around, the lack of that is part of the problem wit her Fiat.
runboy said:
I had a Skoda Fabia 1.2 (105bhp) DSG.
...
Again, useful info, cheers....
It's certainly looking like the Fiesta is going to be the choice now then. She should ave kept her Cooper D auto which, for some reason, she sold for this bloody Fiat...
JakeT said:
This isn't relevant to the discussion really (sorry) but my mum has a 500 Twinair with the auto and I think it was programmed by a learner on their first lesson. It holds gears way too long both on the up and down and since it's a 2 cylinder it's way too easy to labour even in auto or manual guise. Also poor for efficiency. The car averages 47.7mpg...
Yep, all of that is an issue on hers. Holding gears way too long, labouring (especially in Eco mode, which is just staggeringly bad), slow gear changes. Ours is also averaging 39mpg!Thanks all for the input, I think it's safe to say the Fiesta is going to be the winner here.
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