1.0 TSI - driving experience compared to a turbo diesel

[Greggo]

Hi,

In November getting a company car a 1.0 TSI Leonm I've never driven a small turbo petrol, I'm used to turbo diesels but have driven older generation 1.6 NA engines before.

Does a small turbo petrol drive anywhere similar to a similar powered turbo diesel ( ie the surge of speed when turbo kick's in) or are they closer in driving experience to a similar powered NA petrol?

Just curious really as don't know what to expect with the 1.0 TSI.

Cheers

 

[chrisjgill]

I can't speak for the 1.0 TSI used within the VAG group, however I have recently driven a 1.0 ecoboost 125ps and a hyundai 1.0 120ps engine

Having come from a 2.0 TDI 170, I can say they are slower to pick up speed and less urgency from a standing start. In gear is not as bad as I thought it would be and progress can be made reasonably well once on the move

I miss the torque and have to accept to make some progress I need to get higher in the rev range. I don't feel I can just get into 4th or 5th quickly and rely on the pull of the engine to keep me going. But some of that is just re-training my mind on how to get the best from these modern small petrol turbos

I've had my diesel for over 9 years

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk

 

[LR231998]

Had a MK6 Ibiza FR 1.0 TSI. Pretty nippy for the engine size, good acceleration til around 60- 70 then it drops off. Can’t compare to a Diesel as I have never had one.

No problems with the engine at all, ran brilliantly and pretty smooth apart from the gao between 1st - 2nd gear at low speeds... pulling up to a junction and not stopping you would usually stay in 2nd but in the Ibiza you had to change to 1st below around 10mph which wasn’t great.

However after getting used to it and driving it daily it was way too slow for me. so I got a Leon
Cupra...

I would imagine the Leon 1.0TSI will feel quite sluggish actually as it’s obviously bigger and heavier than an Ibiza.

 

[LouG]

We have the 115hp version in our Arona. That's probably 150 odd kg's less than a Leon, so would be a bit peppier, but the engine is a gem. Around town you seldom exceed 2500 rpm and can stay with traffic easily thanks to a great torque curve. It has adequate acceleration to around 130km/h, but flags a bit after that. But easily cruises at that speed and holds higher gears uphill better than you'd expect.

 

[Greggo]

Thanks for replies, I cant wait to get it actually, its been a long wait for it with it being ordered for new, sounds like it will be a good car for what I do, motorways and some town traffic. I do like turbo-diesels for that torquey burst of speed when the turbo spools up, so sounds like from replies it wont have quite the same affect in a little turbo-petrol but hoping I will enjoy it all the same!

 

[LouG]

PS. Sport mode on the DSG makes it a lot livelier in town. It doesn't seem to affect economy much.

 

[BigJase88]

remap now available for the 1.0tsi taking it to 143bhp if required

 

[KXL]

I used to have a 2.0TDI 150PS Leon and after a 1.0 EcoTSI 110PS Ibiza SC. 1335 & 1140 kg respectively. Both were DSGs. I've also driven a few times a 1.6 NA Golf FSI Dsg 113PS.
The 2.0TDI has a wallop of torque that pushes you into your seat, at any gear, at any revs more than 1500rpm, Even pulling out of a roundabout in 2nd (gear choice by the car), this is not a problem. If you previously had a diesel with 150 or thereabouts horsepower you would know the feeling. If you had a 'lesser' diesel with around the 100 horsepower mark, perhahps not.
The 1.0TSI however, struggles a bit (even in a small light Ibiza) from the get go, you really need to be at least at 2000rpm to move anywhere, and don't expect any shove in the back feeling. That said however, I felt the 1.0TSI much more diesel like due to the turbo it has, compared to a 1.6NA Golf, which I really needed 3k - 4k rpms especially if joining a motorway. The 1.0TSI perhaps you only need up to 2.5k rpms to make the same progress. Economy for both, were exactly the same, long term 50% London city, and 50% extra urban (40-50mph), I got about 45mpg on both. 1.0TSI and 2.0TDI would both do 55-60mpg on a highway run at or around 70mph.
If you previously had NA petrol engine, you may find the 1.0TSI suitable fast compared to all other 'bigger' NA engines. Many people who sat in my 1.0TSI Ibiza, all thought it was a 1.6 or a 1.8, and gasp when I said it was 1.0 with 3 cylinders.
If you haven't driven a small turbo petrol before, I would say you would be quite impressed. Experience of some is that VAG 1.0TSI have more low down shove than 1.0Ecoboosts, however if you are coming from bigger more powerful engines prior, you may find the 1.0TSI a big slow in comparison, but you will soon get used to that (as I have) and it was more than adequate, even for overtaking lorries on single 60mph roads.

 

[Greggo]

I used to have a 2.0TDI 150PS Leon and after a 1.0 EcoTSI 110PS Ibiza SC. 1335 & 1140 kg respectively. Both were DSGs. I've also driven a few times a 1.6 NA Golf FSI Dsg 113PS.
The 2.0TDI has a wallop of torque that pushes you into your seat, at any gear, at any revs more than 1500rpm, Even pulling out of a roundabout in 2nd (gear choice by the car), this is not a problem. If you previously had a diesel with 150 or thereabouts horsepower you would know the feeling. If you had a 'lesser' diesel with around the 100 horsepower mark, perhahps not.
The 1.0TSI however, struggles a bit (even in a small light Ibiza) from the get go, you really need to be at least at 2000rpm to move anywhere, and don't expect any shove in the back feeling. That said however, I felt the 1.0TSI much more diesel like due to the turbo it has, compared to a 1.6NA Golf, which I really needed 3k - 4k rpms especially if joining a motorway. The 1.0TSI perhaps you only need up to 2.5k rpms to make the same progress. Economy for both, were exactly the same, long term 50% London city, and 50% extra urban (40-50mph), I got about 45mpg on both. 1.0TSI and 2.0TDI would both do 55-60mpg on a highway run at or around 70mph.
If you previously had NA petrol engine, you may find the 1.0TSI suitable fast compared to all other 'bigger' NA engines. Many people who sat in my 1.0TSI Ibiza, all thought it was a 1.6 or a 1.8, and gasp when I said it was 1.0 with 3 cylinders.
If you haven't driven a small turbo petrol before, I would say you would be quite impressed. Experience of some is that VAG 1.0TSI have more low down shove than 1.0Ecoboosts, however if you are coming from bigger more powerful engines prior, you may find the 1.0TSI a big slow in comparison, but you will soon get used to that (as I have) and it was more than adequate, even for overtaking lorries on single 60mph roads.

Great post. Sounds like I'm not going to be disappointed with performance for what I need and that fuel economy figure sounds excellent , hoping i get near that. In my current temporary 1.6 NA car I'm getting about 30 - 34 so that will be a nice step up definitely. Another 40 odd days till I get the car, the wait has been long so far! (22 week lead time)

 

[Greggo]

Finally took delivery of my vehicle last week, lovely car and I do think at that the 1.0 TSI does have a similiar kind of experience to a turbo diesel of a similiar power in that its a bit slow and steady off the mark then the turbo takes over to give a bit of propulsion (but with the added benefit of it being much quieter). Its got more torque low down than the 1.6 NA I had before, so makes it a bit more relaxing to drive.

 

[GordonMcC]

Finally took delivery of my vehicle last week, lovely car and I do think at that the 1.0 TSI does have a similiar kind of experience to a turbo diesel of a similiar power in that its a bit slow and steady off the mark then the turbo takes over to give a bit of propulsion (but with the added benefit of it being much quieter). Its got more torque low down than the 1.6 NA I had before, so makes it a bit more relaxing to drive.

I recently was given the new Audi A1 as a courtesy car and it had the 1.0 TSI with 115bhp. I have to say I was pretty impressed, and I could easily live with it as my next car. shame about some of the interior quality though which was less impressive

 

[LouG]

Is your Leon DSG or manual? The 7 speed DSG launches really well from stopped.

 

[Greggo]

Is your Leon DSG or manual? The 7 speed DSG launches really well from stopped.

Manual. Although to be fair, im still getting used to car so it might be I'm being a bit more careful at the moment. It has far more low down torque than the car I had before so it probably moves at the same rate with less revs giving the impression it was a bit more sedate when launching from stopped

 

[LouG]

I should have added, in Sport mode.