Thoughts on Arona

[Jimbobcook]

Evening all,

My parents are looking at a 1.5 tsi Arona FR for their car of choice after having a company car for so long.

As I'm not an Arona expert is there anything to look for or get within the packages that makes this car better than most?

I think they want a nearly new 2nd hand so unable to order their own model.

Any help or guidance would be great

Cheers

 

[Briant566]

Hi
I would be very suprised if you find a 1.5 Model as very few about as only just been availed due to the 1.5 engine availability .
You will find a few of the 115 engines for sale and this engine is quite ok for most people

 

[Jimbobcook]

Hi
I would be very suprised if you find a 1.5 Model as very few about as only just been availed due to the 1.5 engine availability .
You will find a few of the 115 engines for sale and this engine is quite ok for most people

Thanks for the reply, I've seen a couple of the 1.5 for sale with like 4k on the clock but I get what you mean it will be harder... I think they have till October to find one so they have a while.

The only reason I stay away from the 1.0 which is a great engine he's coming from a 2.2ltr diesel which will make the 1.0 feel a bit gutless I think...

 

[Jordan6f]

Thanks for the reply, I've seen a couple of the 1.5 for sale with like 4k on the clock but I get what you mean it will be harder... I think they have till October to find one so they have a while.

The only reason I stay away from the 1.0 which is a great engine he's coming from a 2.2ltr diesel which will make the 1.0 feel a bit gutless I think...

I have just dropped down from a seat Leon fr+ which was 2L petrol (211bhp) and have just picked up the seat arona and a seat Ibiza both with the 1L (115) and tbh is didn't feel that gutless I do however have the dsg version in both which could possibly help make it feel that bit more powerful but as a whole I was actually quite surprised and how happy I am with the smaller engine

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[Jimbobcook]

I have just dropped down from a seat Leon fr+ which was 2L petrol (211bhp) and have just picked up the seat arona and a seat Ibiza both with the 1L (115) and tbh is didn't feel that gutless I do however have the dsg version in both which could possibly help make it feel that bit more powerful but as a whole I was actually quite surprised and how happy I am with the smaller engine

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Thanks for the info, I may suggest the lesser engine then as the 211bhp is probably quicker than their diesel when it matter off the line...

I guess its getting enough of a test drive to know if its for them.

I'll let them know my findings and see what they say.

 

[camelspyyder]

Had a manual 1.0 / 95 for a whole day and it drove really well.
Felt much more modern and solid than my MY18 Toledo. Better handling and ride and a flatter torque curve than my 1.0 / 110 so surprisingly easier to drive.

 

[PhilYerBoots]

+1 for the 1.0 engine.
Had our Arona 115bhp dsg for over a year now and would never describe it as gutless.
Coming from a 2.0 diesel Leon FR 170 I find it surprisingly quick for a 1.0 and the 3 cylinder grumble when pushing it isn't unpleasant either.

 

[Barry Stockton]

We have just bought a Arona FR Sport, 115bhp with DSG gearbox. Drives great, lots of useable power. We traded in a Mercedes C class 170bhp so would not have gone to a 'gutless' smaller car.

 

[Jimbobcook]

We have just bought a Arona FR Sport, 115bhp with DSG gearbox. Drives great, lots of useable power. We traded in a Mercedes C class 170bhp so would not have gone to a 'gutless' smaller car.

Good to know, thanks for your feedback

 

[LouG]

I'm thoroughly impressed with our FR. I don't feel short changed when we take it instead of my Cupra. It's quiet, has a nice compliant ride, even on 18's. It's chuckable in the twistys and that tiny 3 pot feels like a bigger torquier engine. Who would have thought you'd see a 1 litre engine regularly running under 2000 rpm in town?

 

[IL Cattivo]

Currently have one of these as a courtesy car from a dealer while my Leon is in the body-shop for repairs.
Not overly impressed to be honest.. It's a 68 plate diesel with just over 500mls on the clock. Fairly pokey pulling off, but pretty noisy i'm finding in the cabin. Engine and wind noise is not the best if you don't have music cranked up.

 

[Crossthreaded]

Not an Arona but I bought an Ibiza ST Ecomotive with the 1.0 95hp 3 cylinder. Coming from a 1.9 tdi Cordoba (VE), 1.9 tdi Fabia (PD) and 1.6 CR Fabia tdi, - I never liked the 1.6CR engine compared to the other two 1.9's. I was most apprehensive about the move back to petrol thinking it would be gutless and heavy on fuel. I couldn't have been more wrong. It drives much more like a diesel with plenty of low down pull and the advantage that you can hang onto a gear for longer if you get into a tight squeeze when overtaking. The fuel consumption on long distance motorway journeys is around the 60mpg (sometimes just over, sometimes just under). Generally around town it's more variable but usually well into the 40's. Spirited driving in hilly areas - where the turbo is working hard - can be a bit more expensive! So, although it lacks the sheer "animal grunt" of the 1.9 diesels I recon it goes as well as the 1.6CR and I am very happy with it.

I too like the gruff growl of the 3 cylinder but you only hear it when it's working hard. On the motorway and ticking over at traffic lights (I hate stop/start so always disable it) you really don't hear it at all. I've had the car for just over 3 years now and got 15,000 miles on the clock. So far I'm delighted although the original turbo wastegate actuator failed in the second year (there is now a modified component which was fitted under warranty and I see the newer cars all have it as standard). The only other thing which worries me a little is that the gearbox (5 speed) sounds very "loose". However it's been like this since new and there is no change in it I can notice. (I posted recently - maybe 10 days ago? - in the Mk5 Ibiza section about this for anyone who would like to read it.)

 

[manji]

Not an Arona but I bought an Ibiza ST Ecomotive with the 1.0 95hp 3 cylinder. Coming from a 1.9 tdi Cordoba (VE), 1.9 tdi Fabia (PD) and 1.6 CR Fabia tdi, - I never liked the 1.6CR engine compared to the other two 1.9's. I was most apprehensive about the move back to petrol thinking it would be gutless and heavy on fuel. I couldn't have been more wrong. It drives much more like a diesel with plenty of low down pull and the advantage that you can hang onto a gear for longer if you get into a tight squeeze when overtaking. The fuel consumption on long distance motorway journeys is around the 60mpg (sometimes just over, sometimes just under). Generally around town it's more variable but usually well into the 40's. Spirited driving in hilly areas - where the turbo is working hard - can be a bit more expensive! So, although it lacks the sheer "animal grunt" of the 1.9 diesels I recon it goes as well as the 1.6CR and I am very happy with it.

I too like the gruff growl of the 3 cylinder but you only hear it when it's working hard. On the motorway and ticking over at traffic lights (I hate stop/start so always disable it) you really don't hear it at all. I've had the car for just over 3 years now and got 15,000 miles on the clock. So far I'm delighted although the original turbo wastegate actuator failed in the second year (there is now a modified component which was fitted under warranty and I see the newer cars all have it as standard). The only other thing which worries me a little is that the gearbox (5 speed) sounds very "loose". However it's been like this since new and there is no change in it I can notice. (I posted recently - maybe 10 days ago? - in the Mk5 Ibiza section about this for anyone who would like to read it.)

Could you please let me know the symptoms of the failed actuator? Noise wise? Metallic tingling?

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[Crossthreaded]

Nope. No noises at all. Came home from a 2 week holiday. The car was left parked at home for that time. The first time I went to use it was next day when we had to go to pick up my granddaughter from school. Within about 2 miles she went into "limp" and became very sluggish with the red engine light, and a couple of others I don't remember, coming on. I continued driving to the school as we couldn't just leave the child on her own and rang Seat assist. The technician knew from my description what it was before he even opened the bonnet - seized wastegate - So I suppose it overboosted and went into limp. Luckily as I'd driven gently and for a short distance only, no harm was done.

I had a lengthy talk with both the technician and the garage reception and apparently what happens is the actuating rod seizes to the wastegate spindle and jams. They let me examine the old turbo and the linkage was indeed siezed solid, very solid, not a hope you would free it! The new turbo has very different connections where it pivots on the wastegate spindle. The old wastegate linkage is a bright metal (zinc or chrome plate?) with rectangular connecting blocks. The new one is black with spherical/circular - certainly not rectangular/square - connections. I've just been out and had a feel of mine. I gave them a "wiggle" and it's easy to feel that there is a small amount of play between the spindle and the connection blocks at both the actuator end and the wastegate spindle end.

I have had a talk also with our local VAG independent AVW -whom I hold in very high regard - and they report having done a number of these with it being not unusual to have to change the whole turbo assembly due to the wastegate linkage being seized solid.

I found it interesting that the Assist tech was about 90% sure what it was before he even opened the bonnet. He also said that as soon as he heard the car had not been in daily use prior to it was a good indication. The main dealer where it was taken for repair were not at all surprised, the receptionist saying something like (I forget exactly) "another one". Hopefully the new one they fitted (under warranty with no arguments) with it's substantially different actuator will see this problem now put to rest - It's been fine for over a year now.

Hope that's helpful? If you've got "metallic tingling" going on I think it likely you've got a different problem altogether - probably involving the impeller/s? But it might just be a loose actuator rod "tingling" against the spindles (perhaps you mean tinkling? but I love the thought of a metallic tingling) I believe the earlier engines suffered with this. Perhaps mine suffered from them trying to overcome this by making the tolerances tighter? - only they made them too tight?

 

[cejsmith]

We have had our arona lux dsg for about 5 months, it’s a nice little car. Our car was off the road though for a month due to a knock from the front end ( turned out to be a drive shaft, hopefully). The only other thing is I think it’s a little noisy.

 

[Crossthreaded]

We have had our arona lux dsg for about 5 months, it’s a nice little car. Our car was off the road though for a month due to a knock from the front end ( turned out to be a drive shaft, hopefully). The only other thing is I think it’s a little noisy.

Your comment about being a little noisy interests me. First off, is your's a diesel? I have a 2016 Mk5 Ibiza ST 1.0 3 cylinder 95hp. Previously I ran a '99 Cordoba Vario 1.9tdi. - owned from 18 months old - The engine in the Cordoba was much more noisy and rough feeling when compared to the Ibiza but road noise in the Ibiza is noticeably more intrusive. The Ibiza runs on 185/60 by 15 Bridgestone Ecopia low rolling resistance tyres. It's been a couple of years since I part exchanged the Cordoba but if I remember correctly it was on 185/60 by 14 Barum Brillantis 2 (my favourite tyre). So neither car was on a low aspect ratio tyre and I've experimented with lowering and raising tyre pressures briefly just to see if it makes a difference - it doesn't. I also notice that there is a slight increase in noise when braking (almost as if you can directly hear the pads rubbing against the discs, unlike the Cordoba. The conclusion I've reached is that the suspension rubbers on the new car are less compliant than on the old Cordoba and so more of the noises are being transmitted through the body. On the plus side this may be advantageous in terms of controlling wheel geometry so tyre wear and handling may benefit (competition vehicles use rose joints which have no compliance at all!).

So are you able to say if your increased perception of noise might be due more to suspension/running gear rather than directly due to engine noise

 

[cejsmith]

Your comment about being a little noisy interests me. First off, is your's a diesel? I have a 2016 Mk5 Ibiza ST 1.0 3 cylinder 95hp. Previously I ran a '99 Cordoba Vario 1.9tdi. - owned from 18 months old - The engine in the Cordoba was much more noisy and rough feeling when compared to the Ibiza but road noise in the Ibiza is noticeably more intrusive. The Ibiza runs on 185/60 by 15 Bridgestone Ecopia low rolling resistance tyres. It's been a couple of years since I part exchanged the Cordoba but if I remember correctly it was on 185/60 by 14 Barum Brillantis 2 (my favourite tyre). So neither car was on a low aspect ratio tyre and I've experimented with lowering and raising tyre pressures briefly just to see if it makes a difference - it doesn't. I also notice that there is a slight increase in noise when braking (almost as if you can directly hear the pads rubbing against the discs, unlike the Cordoba. The conclusion I've reached is that the suspension rubbers on the new car are less compliant than on the old Cordoba and so more of the noises are being transmitted through the body. On the plus side this may be advantageous in terms of controlling wheel geometry so tyre wear and handling may benefit (competition vehicles use rose joints which have no compliance at all!).

So are you able to say if your increased perception of noise might be due more to suspension/running gear rather than directly due to engine noise

It’s a 1.0 triple petrol dsg excellence lux with 18 wheels

 

[Crossthreaded]

It’s a 1.0 triple petrol dsg excellence lux with 18 wheels

Thanks for that - So its a petrol similar to mine with the 3 cyl engine. Did you come to any conclusion as to the source of noise?

 

[cejsmith]

Thanks for that - So its a petrol similar to mine with the 3 cyl engine. Did you come to any conclusion as to the source of noise?

I just think it’s general road and wind noise, could be the tyres are noisy. To be fair I don’t drive it much as it’s the wife’s car, but I am going to keep and eye on it.

 

[LouG]

We were at the dealers recently having a chat, the salesman mentioned a rumour of a Cupra Arona. You should have seen my wife's eyes light up. So much for keeping this one long term.