TDI or 20v need to talk to owners

[ellingtj]

Right here's the dilema:

approx 12k to spend on new car. If I drive to work I do 85ish miles a day - but sometimes catch the train. If the other half transfers jobs near to home I can use her Lupo TDi for the mileage and have a petrol cupra at home, If she doesn't then I'll need the Cup TDi. I think I like the Cupra TDI bacause if the way diesels drive but I've never actually driven either. What I'm really after is owner opinions of each and answers to questions like:
Is the TDi really much more fuel efficient than the pertrol - we know the manufacturer figures but what's the real numbers.
Has anyone on here driven both - which was preferable?
I've seen low mileage examples of both but the price diffeence is like 2500 (tdi more expensive) quid - that may take sometime to make back with the tdi.

Reply here or ideally

I'd like to chat with people over the phone if possible, so if no one minds then send us a personal message on here and I can call you (no sketchy premiuim rate numbers please ).

Thanks people,

Tim.

 

[Fez boy]

Well I have just brought myself a Mk4 TDi Ibiza around town(NO MOTORWAY) I have just had 410 miles for £34 diesel

If I add in some motorway on that then it's easy going to be 500+

Why the 160 over the 130?

 

[pbirkett]

I'd say if the TDI was £2,500 more than the petrol, I'd suggest getting the petrol instead... chances are it drives better, and ok it'll use a bit more juice, but as you say, there could be a big doubt as to whether you'll use it enough to make that back.

Although, come re-sale time, the TDI will be worth more than the petrol, so thats also something else to consider.

 

[andycupra]

do you know that for 13,500 you can get a brand spanking new leon tdi 150 with cupra R body kit and 17" alloys?

for another £1,500 its a good deal!

 

[Issue24]

I drive the TDI FR leon, perfomance wise think the petrol would be quicker but 90% of the time the TDI is plenty fast enough for every day.
like the thought that other cars have just been blown of the road by a diesal...eat smoke

 

[Fez boy]

BTW the Ibiza Mk4 TDi 130 is only group 7 insurance & the Cupra group 16

Savings to be had here as well as on the fuel

 

[LEON_FR]

I test drove both the TDi and petrol and i went for the petrol. I dont like diesels (not sayin they rubbish or anythin its just a personall opinion) but like you i do a few miles a day and yes its expensive to run!
Best thing 2 do is test drive em and see what u prefer! just make sure you get it in yellow!!

 

[DIFT]

If I was to buy my car again, I would be tempted by a Cupra R. But im happy with my cupra, quicker than a standard cupra R once re-mapped, and does 53-54 MPG on a long motorway run, and 40mpg in london traffic. There are problems with clutch on high powered diesels, which is a prob, but apart from that I wouldnt change my cupra TDi for anything. Maybe a IHI powered S3 or RS4...

 

[nickibizaCUPRA]

i have a mk4 cupra and love it getting about 240 miles to a tank. and have seen 37mpg on the motorway!! also driven the cupra tdi at work and gave that a thrashing and saw an average mpg of 30! probably because it was new and not run in. I found the diesel to be VERY noisy and not very refined!! but i love the 20v turbo!

 

[ellingtj]

Thanks for the replies people; lots of really valid comments that echo what various dealers have said - well the decent ones and not the arrogant Coventry one!! It is apparent that the TDis can be very good mpg wise if they are driven carefully but heavy footed they come out about the same as the petrol. I've been in a LCR and that engine is alot more refined than the 1.9 but I do like the mid range torque of the diesel. I want a beezer because of te size I've had bigger cars but they are a real chore getting in the garage and I'm dedicated with putting the car away and generally I like a smaller car for the snappier change of direction. Bou, you guys are right I do need to get out in both - however most stealers aren't too keen on letting people drive these things, and then I need to find a dealer with both. Thanks for the comments keep them coming.....

 

[devonmikeyboy]

Well i was getting 35mpg at 90 mph and 25mpg at 120mph like to see a petrol car do that.

 

[EB20VT]

Well i was getting 35mpg at 90 mph and 25mpg at 120mph like to see a petrol car do that.

Holding my petrol Cupra at about 85mph i was averaging about 35mpg, best i've seen was 39 mpg doing about 70 -75 over about 60 miles of motorway. It would have got to 40 mpg if i'd been on for longer.

 

[Johnsey]

Thanks for the replies people; lots of really valid comments that echo what various dealers have said - well the decent ones and not the arrogant Coventry one!!

Another satisfied Listers customer Have you tried Francis Seat in Leicester?

I have a TDI Sport and usually get close to 500 miles to a tank of mixed driving. Come along to the next Brum meet (direction in my signature), if 'redcupratdi' turns up he'll show you his remapped 160.

 

[muddyboots]

Ooh goodie, a petrol vs. diesel debate, not had one for a week or two
* rolls up sleeves and rubs hands *

No, seriously though:

It is apparent that the TDis can be very good mpg wise if they are driven carefully but heavy footed they come out about the same as the petrol.

If you drive them heavy footed, there's no way they will give similar MPG.

If you try very, very, VERY hard you might drop the TDI to low 40's mpg (only ever once got my chipped PD130 below 40mpg) or maybe very top end of the 30s.
There's no way on this earth that a petrol 20vt would achieve that kind of mpg if you drove it in the same manner.

When you drive to work, what kind of roads do you use - motorway, urban, rural, or a mix of all ?
I have a daily 90-mile round trip commute. I'd say:
75% rural A/B road (fast...with lots of overtaking)
5% fast dual carriageway blast
20% urban slow crawl
I don't hang about by any means, and my long term average is around 48mpg (measured at the tank, not the trip computer).

As EB20VT said, he managed a high of 39mpg from a petrol cupra on a steady 70-75 mph motorway cruise. If I drove that car on my daily commute in the same style I drive the TDI I'd like to bet it wouldn't get above 30-35mpg.

That's quite a difference.

 

[ellingtj]

The drive is either motorway and dual carriageway (M40 A34) or country A road and A34. Johnsey - If I haven't got a car by the first Wednesday in Feb then I'll come along - assuming I can get my hands on the other halfs' Lupo TDi. Now there's a car which can teach you about mpg!!! It's looking like the diesel at present - but I may have to go to £13k.

 

[LEON_FR]

Ooh goodie, a petrol vs. diesel debate, not had one for a week or two
* rolls up sleeves and rubs hands *

No, seriously though:


If you drive them heavy footed, there's no way they will give similar MPG.

If you try very, very, VERY hard you might drop the TDI to low 40's mpg (only ever once got my chipped PD130 below 40mpg) or maybe very top end of the 30s.
There's no way on this earth that a petrol 20vt would achieve that kind of mpg if you drove it in the same manner
That's quite a difference.

When i went for my test drives i drove a standard tdi and as soon as i "give it some" the MPG droped to 30mpg which i agree is still lots more than my 20mpg!! but at the end of the day i think that we all know in here petrols will never do the same mpg as a diesel in the same way a diesel will never be as quick as a petrol...but im sure this will not be the last of the old petrols vs diesel!!!

 

[Cupra Ross]

Having had the Leon Cupra and numerous diesels including my current Ibiza Tdi 130 sport, I feel I'm qualified to comment.

As it stands at the moment, my Ibiza tdi is a far quicker car to drive around town than the Leon was. Obviously the Leon will beat it top end but for every day driving the TDi is by far the quicker of the two.

Its not excessively noisy, in fact its only very slightly noisier than the 1.8 20vt. For anybody thats under the illusion that the economy of the tdi isn't much better than the 20vt when driven "enthusiastically", think again. This is where the Tdi excels, I used to get 280 miles to a 60 litre tank of optimax, I'm now getting 450+ miles to a 45 litre tank of diesel and I ain't hanging around.

I've had my fun in the shape of 2 Leon Cupras (both petrol) but when it comes down to it with the group 7 insurance and average fuel consumption of 55mpg (manufacturer's figs) I'm getting in the Ibiza, I won't be going back to petrol anytime soon. Put your foot down at 1500 revs in the 1.8t and nothing much happens, do the same in the TDi 130 and it throws itself toward the horizon, big smiles, happy wallet.

One last point is that 6th in the Ibiza gives 37mph per thousand revs, this is the gearbox figure and not the speedo based fig so we know its accurate. The car is way quicker than published figures. Remapped to 175bhp, this car will do a top end speed in excess of 155mph and it won't hang about getting there either.

 

[LEON_FR]

the way i see it if diesels are faster and use less juice then why do manufactures still make petrol cars and why are all the high end performance cars petrol (focus RS, cupra R, VR6 ferrari, porche so on...

 

[Cupra Ross]

the way i see it if diesels are faster and use less juice then why do manufactures still make petrol cars and why are all the high end performance cars petrol (focus RS, cupra R, VR6 ferrari, porche so on...

Just giving you the benefit of my experience mate. I've owned enough petrols and diesels to give an unbiased opinion. The next time you drive on the M6, check out the ratio of Diesel to Petrol cars. The last time I drove from Edinburgh to Preston I was amazed by the amount of diesels on the road.

 

[LEON_FR]

LOL that post wasnt "dissin" your previous post it was a "general" view and as always it was my personal view and yes i may well be wrong!