1.2 TSI vs. 1.6TDI - cost of running

Mac89 · 20-09-2013 04:35AM #1

Hi guys,

Apologies if this has already been asked before. I'm thinking of buying either the new VW Golf or Beetle and finding it hard to decide on which engine.

The 1.6 diesel is €2500 dearer than 1.2 petrol and I'm wondering is it worth the investment. I really want to keep running costs low. At present I do on average 10,000 km per year (6,500 miles).

I currently own a 05 VW Golf 1.4 petrol - love the car, very reliable but on my current mileage, I'm spending about €140 - €160 on petrol each month, which I think is too much tbh. Would you make the €2500 back on the diesel in savings on fuel and road tax vs 1.2 petrol ( considering I'd prob keep the car for 5 yrs)

Thanks for your help!!

ba_barabus · 20-09-2013 08:13AM

Are you driving to the shops and back covering most of those miles?

At your mileage I can see no benefit to driving a diesel. It would be petrol all the way for me.

corkgsxr · 20-09-2013 08:20AM

Go for petrol. That miles the diesel will clog itself up and give ya trouble

chud1234 · 20-09-2013 08:32AM

you don't do enough miles to justify buying diesel on miles alone .
whats the tax difference between the 2 x 5
then there's resale or trading in after 5 years
but I think the simply answer is pertol

Spipov · 20-09-2013 08:43AM

€140 - €160 per month for 10k km?thats not bad. im spending that amount per fortnight for 10k km!!!! (2.2l)!

George Dalton · 20-09-2013 08:52AM

corkgsxr wrote: »

Go for petrol. That miles the diesel will clog itself up and give ya trouble

You can't say that for sure without knowing the type of mileage the car will be doing. The total annual mileage is only half the story. Doing 10,000km per year on main roads and motorways is absolutely fine for a diesel. Doing 10,000km of exclusively city driving isn't.

mullingar · 20-09-2013 09:18AM

+1.

If you do nothing but tip to the shops and a few local runs with the average speed below 60kph, petrol. No arguments.

If you do mostly longish (30kms+) motorway runs for 60%+ of that mileage, diesel

visual · 20-09-2013 09:34AM

Factor in depreciation and you be better of keeping your current car.

Lex Luthor · 20-09-2013 09:36AM

mullingar wrote: »

+1.

If you do nothing but tip to the shops and a few local runs with the average speed below 60kph, petrol. No arguments.

If you do mostly longish (30kms+) motorway runs for 60%+ of that mileage, diesel

+2

main reason why my wife is going back to a petrol from a diesel and is considering the 1.2TSi over the 1.6TDi Golf

corkgsxr · 20-09-2013 09:39AM

George Dalton wrote: »

You can't say that for sure without knowing the type of mileage the car will be doing. The total annual mileage is only half the story. Doing 10,000km per year on main roads and motorways is absolutely fine for a diesel. Doing 10,000km of exclusively city driving isn't.

True true.

Mac89 · 20-09-2013 09:52AM

Thanks so much for all your posts!

The bulk of the mileage is commuting to work daily from suburbs to dublin city centre - it's 14km for a one way trip and tbh I don't get much of chance to go beyond 60km/ph - I'd be on the motorway the odd weekend but nothing major!

Tax difference = €70 more per year on the petrol so I guess it's not a huge amount.

My other concern was that such a small petrol engine would just feel wrong in such a bulky car but vw told me that both 1.2tsi and 1.6tdi have the same output (both 105BHP blue motion tech)

ba_barabus · 20-09-2013 09:56AM

Mac89 wrote: »

Thanks so much for all your posts!

The bulk of the mileage is commuting to work daily from suburbs to dublin city centre - it's 14km for a one way trip and tbh I don't get much of chance to go beyond 60km/ph - I'd be on the motorway the odd weekend but nothing major!

Tax difference = €70 more per year on the petrol so I guess it's not a huge amount.

My other concern was that such a small petrol engine would just feel wrong in such a bulky car but vw told me that both 1.2tsi and 1.6tdi have the same output (both 105BHP blue motion tech)

Petrol all the way OP. Diesel will not perform economically under those conditions.

As for the petrol being underpowered, my mother has it in a Yeti which is bulkier and its a nice nippy engine that has no issues keeping up regardless of how small the engine is. Don't forget its turbo charged and comes with a 6 speed box. Its nice and light too. I can't say anything negative about it so far.

Stallingrad · 20-09-2013 10:22AM

Petrol 100%. One thing you have not taken into account is the petrol is so much more refined and suits the premium VW feel, you will appreciate that on every journey.

Spipov · 20-09-2013 10:33AM

petrol. although it might devalue more down the line, you'll have spent less on its upkeep during ownership and it should actually cost less in the long run

Idbatterim · 20-09-2013 11:02AM

Tell me the reason your changing car isnt to save a few euro a week on fuel?!

Mac89 · 20-09-2013 11:47AM

Idbatterim [Tell me the reason your changing car isnt to save a few euro a week on fuel?!]

My quote function isn't working.... Anyway..

I've had my car for two years now, I actually bought it off a girl who was emigrating and in a hurry sell. I got such a good deal that I could probably still sell it now for more than I paid for it two years ago! It's in perfect condition but As its eight years old I'd likette try sell it now while I can still make a profit and put that towards a new car. Would consider getting a 2012 of either golf or beetle if it still was an up to date model

justsomebloke · 20-09-2013 11:55AM

Mac89 wrote: »

As its eight years old I'd likette try sell it now while I can still make a profit

Given how much you are going to lose in depreciation off the new car the above statement really doesn't make any sense

ba_barabus · 20-09-2013 12:16PM

justsomebloke wrote: »

Given how much you are going to lose in depreciation off the new car the above statement really doesn't make any sense

Sounds like OP reckons they've had two years free driving in the current car. I'd be happy with that.

murphyebass · 20-09-2013 12:31PM

Mac89 wrote: »

Thanks so much for all your posts!

The bulk of the mileage is commuting to work daily from suburbs to dublin city centre - it's 14km for a one way trip and tbh I don't get much of chance to go beyond 60km/ph - I'd be on the motorway the odd weekend but nothing major!

Tax difference = €70 more per year on the petrol so I guess it's not a huge amount.

My other concern was that such a small petrol engine would just feel wrong in such a bulky car but vw told me that both 1.2tsi and 1.6tdi have the same output (both 105BHP blue motion tech)

Drove a 1.4tsi I think it was passat recently that a friend of mine bought and I have to say I was thinkin it'd be horrible to drive but the turbo kicks in pretty much straight away so it definately does not feel like a 1.4 I can tell ya. I was pleasantely surprised.

Personally I'd rather my petrol car to not be turbo due to potential turbo problems but thats just me.

I feel the problem with diesels is all the niggly problems you can encounter like your turbo, your egr valves, etc..

They can all add up and any savings made on fuel and tax are very quickly eliminated in one big bill.

Hence the reason I'm currently driving a 2ltr petrol Mazda 6 (albeit with squeky brakes see recent post) the car has given me no other problems for the past 2 years and I dont exactly treat it with love and attention.

I drive roughly 15k Km's a year mix of city and motorway and currently anyway would rather pay the bit more on fuel weekly and bit more annually on tax to not have to worry about these bigger issues.

I'm not saying I'll never own a diesel again but right now I'm happy with a ok sized petrol engine.

Idbatterim · 20-09-2013 04:58PM

fair enough if you want to change the car anyway, but dont change to "save money" because youll save a few quid a week on fuel and tax and lose multiples of that on depreciation and interest if applicable. I dont know if it applies to the the this particular car, but I know two mates who had smallish turbo charged petrol engines and they said they were shocking on fuel...

ba_barabus · 20-09-2013 05:18PM

Idbatterim wrote: »

fair enough if you want to change the car anyway, but dont change to "save money" because youll save a few quid a week on fuel and tax and lose multiples of that on depreciation and interest if applicable. I dont know if it applies to the the this particular car, but I know two mates who had smallish turbo charged petrol engines and they said they were shocking on fuel...

Just to pick up on that last point. The family Yeti is returning an average of 42mpg over mixed driving with no effort whatsoever.

It replaced a 1.6 Mondeo which never better 36mpg. I know the cars are different put just putting it out there. Thing is though with a saving if 2500 initially I think that's a good starting point economy wise.

20-09-2013 05:25PM

Idbatterim wrote: »

fair enough if you want to change the car anyway, but dont change to "save money" because youll save a few quid a week on fuel and tax and lose multiples of that on depreciation and interest if applicable. I dont know if it applies to the the this particular car, but I know two mates who had smallish turbo charged petrol engines and they said they were shocking on fuel...

Its not as simple as that imo, its very logical to me to want to save money on fuel and tax and spend it on a nicer, newer car rather than spend it fueling and taxing an older car.

Idbatterim · 20-09-2013 05:33PM

Its not as simple as that imo, its very logical to me to want to save money on fuel and tax and spend it on a nicer, newer car rather than spend it fuelling and taxing an older car.

bit of a contradiction there mate IMO. you either go for the nicer car or the newer / cheaper to run one, unless you dont have to compromise with the budget. Your telling me that just because a car is newer, that its nicer or better? you either get the better car or newer plate, bit of a simplification but its the truth... I can name any number of infinitely better cars, that will cost the same to run all in as the golf over say 3-4 years... bmw 6 series, 7 series, merc cls, merc s class amongst them, which are incomparable to a golf, polo etc, I dont care what age they are...

Its not as simple as that imo, its very logical to me to want to save money on fuel and tax and spend it on a nicer, newer car rather than spend it fueling and taxing an older car.

thats fine, but you prefer to lose far more in interest (if applicable) and depreciation...

green123 · 20-09-2013 05:53PM

Mac89 wrote: »

I currently own a 05 VW Golf 1.4 petrol - love the car, very reliable

ba_barabus wrote: »

Sounds like OP reckons they've had two years free driving in the current car. I'd be happy with that.

sounds like the op would get another 2 years free driving out of it.

its madness to spend 20 grand on a new car to save a tenner a week on juice

ba_barabus · 20-09-2013 06:00PM

green123 wrote: »

its madness to spend 20 grand on a new car to save a tenner a week on juice

Maybe OP just wants a new car and needs a reason to justify it in their head.

Mac89 · 20-09-2013 08:19PM

ba_barabus wrote: »

Maybe OP just wants a new car and needs a reason to justify it in their head.

I'd be getting a new car in the next year anyway .... I'm just asking for a bit of advice re: one engine type vs another on running costs & performance

ba_barabus · 20-09-2013 08:21PM

Mac89 wrote: »

I'd be getting a new car in the next year anyway .... I'm just asking for a bit of advice re: one engine type vs another on running costs & performance

And you're entirely right to ask. I think the TSI engine sounds like the perfect engine for you

visual · 20-09-2013 08:42PM

Mac89 wrote: »

Thanks so much for all your posts!

The bulk of the mileage is commuting to work daily from suburbs to dublin city centre - it's 14km for a one way trip and tbh I don't get much of chance to go beyond 60km/ph - I'd be on the motorway the odd weekend but nothing major!

Tax difference = €70 more per year on the petrol so I guess it's not a huge amount.

My other concern was that such a small petrol engine would just feel wrong in such a bulky car but vw told me that both 1.2tsi and 1.6tdi have the same output (both 105BHP blue motion tech)

The engine tourqe is a better guide to power than bhp. And for everyday use you want the tourqe band to be in the rev range you typically use.

HandsomeDan · 20-09-2013 09:15PM

visual wrote: »

The engine tourqe is a better guide to power than bhp. And for everyday use you want the tourqe band to be in the rev range you typically use.

an the length of a house tells you more about the area than the... eh... area.

Leonard Hofstadter · 20-09-2013 09:49PM

Mac89 wrote: »

My other concern was that such a small petrol engine would just feel wrong in such a bulky car but vw told me that both 1.2tsi and 1.6tdi have the same output (both 105BHP blue motion tech)

You're driving a 1.4 petrol Golf, one of the slowest cars in the known universe, and you're worried about a car with 40% more power than yours being too underpowered

:D?

It's the power output that is more important than the engine.

But get the petrol engine, it would be much better for your driving style. Petrol engines are much nicer than diesel engines to drive anyway, smoother, quieter and not afraid to be revved (unlike a diesel), and are far less likely to go wrong in town driving. If it wasn't for the fuel costs there wouldn't be a single reason to drive a diesel.

visual · 21-09-2013 03:20AM

HandsomeDan wrote: »

an the length of a house tells you more about the area than the... eh... area.

Guess you find it too difficult to understand and rather talk about 2x4 lol

1.2 TSI vs. 1.6TDI - cost of running

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