1.4 HDI VS 1.9 SDI

[Jack2199]

Hi everyone,
I really need some help. Next academic year I have to travel to Uni from london to Brighton and I am looking out for an economical diesel that is cheap to insure. I have checked my insurance on several cars and have narrowed it down to a 2005 1.9 polo Sdi and a 2007 citroen C3 1.4 8v HDI.

The 1.9 Sdi is claimed to return around 57.6 mpg combined while the 1.4 hdi c3 is said to return 64.2.
Which of these do you experts think will be more economical and reliable in the real world (considering the hdi is a turbo).

I currently drive a 2005 C3 1.4 petrol and put in new suspension struds and mounts 10k miles ago. I plan to swap them on to the new citroen (If I land up buying one). I do a lot of car DIY work.😀

Any views and suggestion will be much appreciated.
Thanks a lot.😀

[ZX10R NIN]

The HDI will be the better car as the turbo will make it a more relaxing drive the 1.9sdi will have to be worked harder both are reliable so for me it'd be the C3.

[TCX]

No contest,real world 1.9 polo
But will you be travelling?

[littleredrooster]

Having driven both, the 1.9 VAG engine with no turbo is a horrid, turgid device, but the 1.4 turbo unit is lively and sweet and feels much quicker, & unless you're flat-out on motorways most of the time, will be way more economical.

[Jack2199]

Thanks a lot for your replies, very helpful information, much appreciated. 😀

I did not think that there would be a lot of difference in the driving characteristics between the sdi and hdi? Considering that they both have almost similar specs on paper?
1.9 Sdi = 64 BHP & 92 lbs/ft
1.4 Hdi = 70 BHP & 110 lbs/ft

But I am clearly wrong😂 it looks like a small increase in BHP n torque make a huge difference in driving.

Yes I will be travelling 3 or 4 days a week for a year!😓

Also, forgot to mention that the cars I am looking at have around 100k on the clock.
Through my research I believe that the HDI's are capable of doing around 200 k miles without major problems while the sdi are capable of much more than that, if maintained well. Is that true?

Also what real world efficiency figures am I looking at?

I am not a rough driver at all. I cruise on the motoway at 60 mph and in my current c3 petrol, i hardly ever cross the 3k revs. In city I shift up at 2.2k. 😀

[Phunk]

The SDi lump is horrendously slow, 0-60 in 18 seconds or something. I had one in a Fabia and would have to drive everywhere flat out to just keep pace with traffic and I’d still get out dragged by grannies in Honda Jazz’s on motorway on ramps.

I only averaged about 45mpg too

[SCEtoAUX]

Don't buy a diesel.

You want Japanese and petrol. Honda Jazz or a Toyota Yaris for example. Neither will go wrong whereas any marginal saving on fuel costs will be eclipsed by the repair bill on the european cars.

[ZX10R NIN]

SCEtoAUX said:

Don't buy a diesel.

You want Japanese and petrol. Honda Jazz or a Toyota Yaris for example. Neither will go wrong whereas any marginal saving on fuel costs will be eclipsed by the repair bill on the european cars.

Why not? He's a student every penny counts & the majority of his commute is A Road/Motorway perfect for a diesel.

Not every car is perfect even a Yaris all have the potential to go wrong & cost money, OP do your checks & you'll be fine.

How much were you looking to spend OP?

[martin mrt]

I have had an SDI Mk2 Caddy and it was gutless, truly terrible. Recently had an HDi C2 Van it was an absolute hoot to drive but felt somewhat flimsy

If you can stretch to a TDi polo/Ibiza or Fabia, I’d buy one of those instead

Currently fixing a C4 HDi, it’s cost peanuts and I’m very very taken with it which has surprised me

[Jack2199]

ZX10R NIN said:

SCEtoAUX said:

Don't buy a diesel.

You want Japanese and petrol. Honda Jazz or a Toyota Yaris for example. Neither will go wrong whereas any marginal saving on fuel costs will be eclipsed by the repair bill on the european cars.

Why not? He's a student every penny counts & the majority of his commute is A Road/Motorway perfect for a diesel.

Not every car is perfect even a Yaris all have the potential to go wrong & cost money, OP do your checks & you'll be fine.

How much were you looking to spend OP?

I am looking to spend around £1000

Yes I do check my car regularly. I also do basic car repairs my self, like suspension components, timming belts etc.

I did calculate the savings between my current petrol c3 and the diesel. It sums up to around £600 a year (considering fuel and road tax)

[Jack2199]

martin mrt said:

I have had an SDI Mk2 Caddy and it was gutless, truly terrible. Recently had an HDi C2 Van it was an absolute hoot to drive but felt somewhat flimsy

If you can stretch to a TDi polo/Ibiza or Fabia, I’d buy one of those instead

Currently fixing a C4 HDi, it’s cost peanuts and I’m very very taken with it which has surprised me

I was looking at the TDI's but unfortunatly they are a bit more expensive to buy as well as a lot more expensive on my insurance.

How manny miles have you clocked on you C4? Is it the 1.6 or the 2.0 ?

[irish boy]

I don’t understand the hate for the sdi. We’ve a golf mk5 sdi I bought as stop gap and it’s great. Reliable (no duel mass flywheel or dpf unlike the tdi). Economical. Solid, feels like it will just keep on going. It ended up becoming a part of our garage and I’ll regularly grab the keys to it before anything else.

In terms of performance it’s fine. It keeps up with traffic, sits at motorway speed comfortably and never feels anything other than ‘normal’. In fact if I’ve spent the day in one of the work vans it feels positively performance like.

Get a good one, service it properly and it will do exactly the job you need it for.

[martin mrt]

Jack2199 said:

I was looking at the TDI's but unfortunatly they are a bit more expensive to buy as well as a lot more expensive on my insurance.

How manny miles have you clocked on you C4? Is it the 1.6 or the 2.0 ?

It’s a 1.6 I’ve not done much in it, as I bought it just as we were being locked down and it’s now needing an mot.

The drive home, to and from the test station is distinctly positive, it’s great on fuel and everything so far is an easy enough fix.

Not the last word in luxury, I bought it to fix and sell on, but I’m genuinely quite attached to it as a spare shed

[TurnedEmo]

I'd stick with what you have - it's known to you, I assume it has been reliable so far and isn't showing signs of that changing.

Buying a used car is always a gamble - especially older common rail turbo diesels - only needs an injector or turbo issue to wipe out a couple of years worth of fuel savings.

Surely the current petrol C3 isn't that thirsty anyway? - you're probably talking about a 20% difference in economy at best, but diesel is around 10% more expensive than petrol anyway - so even in a perfect world, savings are going to take ages to crystallise.

[stevemcs]

What are you getting out of the 1.4 - i'm guessing mid 40's to low 50's are you sure the savings are going to be worth it ? On the 1.4 make sure the injector seals arn't leaking, EGR valves also block and fail. Don't forget the Fiesta and 206 also have the 1.4hdi engine.

[turbomoggie]

IMO if your current car is in good condition stick with it. There's always the risk a new second hand car may throw up some bills which may eclipse any potential savings.

[HustleRussell]

Have to question the decision making when a car buying decision comes down to a 1.9 SDI or a Citroen C3.

OP I think you are weighting your decision far too heavily on fuel costs. There are a lot of better options which may cost you a bit more in fuel but won’t necessarily cost more to run overall and will be much nicer to drive and own.

[HustleRussell]

If you currently have a well functioning car, you are unlikely to be able to improve upon it with a budget of £1k.

[carreauchompeur]

turbomoggie said:

IMO if your current car is in good condition stick with it. There's always the risk a new second hand car may throw up some bills which may eclipse any potential savings.

I fully agree... I tend to find that the general standard of second hand car maintenance is lower than mine, once I get them to my level I like to keep them! £600 is easily swallowed up by a couple of bills.

[anonymous-user]

I've had both engines and would five them a miss. The megane 1.5 dci, is better car and engine, rough but great mpg.