MK4 85 HP vs 75

[hstjern]

Im just off to a seat dealer to testdrive an 1,4 85HP sports ibiza, they apparantly has a few 100 HP in stock but since the emissions (lower tax in sweden) and rpm in motorway crusing is lower on the 85 HP version (according to the specs) i was wondering if anyone has something to say about the 1,4 85HP engine...

I have driven the pre facelift 75 HP engine and and i found it alright...is the 85 engine any better, still same old gearbox or what do guys have to say about it..

Thanx

//Hans

 

[mhill]

yep its got another 10ps over the 75!

Sorry that's not a engine i have heard of before

 

[basstard]

Are you talking about the 1.4 petrol engine?
If so, lemme tell you something: steer clear of it!!
My mother has a 1.4 75hp 16v on her 2001 polo [I guess it's substantially the same engine as the 85hp]. It is slow, fuel consumption is **** [my 130-140 hp tdi does far better with almost double the power and mine weighs a lot more] and what is worse it drinks a lot of oil. In fact, it drinks so much oil that the MAP sensor in the throttle body got dirty with it and threw out a CEL once,,, I had to make it clean to make it work again.

The car has less than 40.000 km so I'd say it's almost new yet it's developped a problem with the 2nd gear sinchromesh,,, now 2nd gear is a pain to throw in,,, actually I reckon this might be a problem of my mum being not good ar driving,,,

Another thing, I hope that thru the years, vw has solved the biggest problem I always hated with that engine: the lag on the accelerator pedal.

My car has a drive by wire system but the accelerator response is perfect, on my mother's polo you get a delay between when you press the pedal and when the rpm actually rise,,, this is so bad that at first you stall the engine a lot of times and then you learn to live with it but it's a PITA, lemme tell ya.

I'd say go for the 1.4 tdi, it's far torquier down low and much more driveable, more reliable, far more economical and it has a bit of tuning potential too [109hp with revo are kinda good]

I'm sorry to say it but vw have really gone wrong with that engine,,, and I don't want to ruin your plans but if you want my suggestion, really don't waste your money on that.

 

[ibizasport16v]

ive got the 85 bhp one, its not bad on fuel and is pretty nippy, i had a 1.6 astra sxi before and theres not much difference in it apart from the top speed

 

[hstjern]

I have read on skoda forums that there has been a lot of problems with the 1,4 75 HP engine, dunno if they are all solved though...

A huge difference i remember from the 1,6 L 100 HP vs the 1,4 L 75 HP was the gearbox, the 1,4 L one waas very flimsy and had to get the gears in....still this was back in 2001.

I would love to get a TDI, although the Swedish government aren't mad about diesels and i have to pay about 400 euros in tax for it (compaired to a 100 for the petrol).

I guess i have to head of and testdrive them all...

 

[basstard]

jesus, I pay less than 400 euros for my 1.9 tdi!!

 

[Leigh15]

I'd personally get the 1.2 - its only 10PS less and it drives sooooo much better than the 1.4

 

[basstard]

I drove a 1.2 volkswagen fox for 4 weeks lately [bodyshop courtesy car],,, well, actually I found the gearbox was much better than the 1.4 my mother has but when had the chance to drive again my mother's polo I felt that the extra 200cc are noticeable,,, I mean, you can feel the bigger engine cos it's [a bit] torquier down in the rpm range,,, the fox I drove had a tad more than 6000km so it was brand new yet it had an erratic idle most of the time, and man it's slow!! It's very economical but when you push it just a bit it drinks quite a lot,,, honestly, if the 1.2 was in an ibiza, I don't dare to imagine how slow would that be,,,

 

[hstjern]

Well i have to say that the 1,2 liter engine is a funky little engine.
I borrowed my friends skoda for a weekend and it wasn't at all as bad as i would have thought it was.
And the sound....ahhhh, the little thing sounds like a porsche boxter....
And the gearbox...so nice
The 1,2 isn't available anymore in sweden (well, not in seat cars anyway)

My dealer dosn't have the 1,4 L tdi car at home...shite...will have to w8 for one..

Or get the FR

Or....just stick with my plain old cordoba vario..

 

[basstard]

And the sound....ahhhh, the little thing sounds like a porsche boxter....

like what?! it sounded like plastic to me,,,

 

[hstjern]

Yea, a boxter engine...subaru, porsche etc...

Loved the sound of the engine, still...only 1,2....

 

[Ibiza02]

i got a 1.2 ibiza wiht a green filter on and it sounds a little bit gruntier lol

 

[basstard]

Yea, a boxter engine...subaru, porsche etc...

Loved the sound of the engine, still...only 1,2....

we clearly have different ideas on what is a cool sounding engine,,,

 

[Leigh15]

Well i have to say that the 1,2 liter engine is a funky little engine.
I borrowed my friends skoda for a weekend and it wasn't at all as bad as i would have thought it was.
And the sound....ahhhh, the little thing sounds like a porsche boxter....
And the gearbox...so nice
The 1,2 isn't available anymore in sweden (well, not in seat cars anyway)

My dealer dosn't have the 1,4 L tdi car at home...shite...will have to w8 for one..

Or get the FR

Or....just stick with my plain old cordoba vario..

I agree, the 1.2 has a fantastic growl to it when pushed - its to do with the odd timing due to its 3 cylinders I think

 

[loonymoon]

I liked the 1.2 ibiza when I had it as a courtesy car. It was fun to drive - I think it sounded nice and it probably is to do with it being a triple, they tend to sound fruitier!! It did feel faster than my 1.4 75ps in town and pulling away but I think it ran out of grunt at higher speeds a bit quicker. It depends what kind of driving you're doing.

However isn't the question here whether the 1.4 85ps or the 75ps is better?? I don't know anything about the 85ps but I imagine it can only be better.. there are a few people on here with one but I think that the 85ps version is pretty new.

 

[EdButler]

Id really go for the 1.2 over the 1.4 mate...

I used to own a 1.2 (loved it to bits), now own a 130PD, but had the MY06 1.4 as a courtesy car - oh my god i hated it. Like someone already said the throttle response is truly dire. I found that i literally had to floor it a second before lifting the clutch to enter a roundabout from standstill.

The 1.2 feels faster, the engine is very light and newer with a quick throttle response and torquey bottom end. Dont be put off but the power figure alone.

 

[basstard]

Id really go for the 1.2 over the 1.4 mate...

I used to own a 1.2 (loved it to bits), now own a 130PD, but had the MY06 1.4 as a courtesy car - oh my god i hated it. Like someone already said the throttle response is truly dire. I found that i literally had to floor it a second before lifting the clutch to enter a roundabout from standstill.

The 1.2 feels faster, the engine is very light and newer with a quick throttle response and torquey bottom end. Dont be put off but the power figure alone.

I find the 1.4 more torquier than the 1.2,,, All in all I prefered the 1.2 for it's driveability, problem is I think the ibiza is way too heavy for it really,,, on the fox it went decently, but the ibiza is too much for it I think,,,

 

[loonymoon]

Id really go for the 1.2 over the 1.4 mate...

I used to own a 1.2 (loved it to bits), now own a 130PD, but had the MY06 1.4 as a courtesy car - oh my god i hated it. Like someone already said the throttle response is truly dire. I found that i literally had to floor it a second before lifting the clutch to enter a roundabout from standstill.

The 1.2 feels faster, the engine is very light and newer with a quick throttle response and torquey bottom end. Dont be put off but the power figure alone.

This is true when I first had mine I used to stall it all the time and pulling away at roundabouts was scary as if you don't get it right the engine revs die as you lift the clutch. However I'm used to it now and it doesn't happen anymore and I don't have to floor it any more either.

There does seem to be a "fly by wire" throttle lag though on the 1.4 is there anything that can be done about this???

 

[davels]

you can get revo for the 1.4, i did on mine improved it a lot, after i had it done if you blipped the throttle the car would jolt rather than do nothing at all until you planted it, seemed much more responsive

 

[basstard]

Really? so you say it's an ecu thing? I thought this was due to a shitty potentiometer in the throttle pedal sensor,,, but you're right,,, after all a pot is a pot and nothing more,,, this lag is surely introduced by the ecu,,, isn't there a way to adjust some setting via vag com? I'm doing some search on google but can't find anything,,, anyone knows of other forums where this has been discussed?