Seat Ecomotive 1.2 engine?

lolage

lolage

lolage

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I'm looking at a new car which has the 1.2 Ecomotive engine. It boasts just over 80mpg, but have read a couple of comments on a review stating it doesn't achieve anywhere near that. Finding it hard to find much information on this engine to be honest..! Any one have any first hand experience with it? The car I'm looking at is a 2012 plate if that makes a difference! :)

Obviously going over 70/80mph in a 1.2 diseal and I'm not going to be achieving decent MPG, but if driving at 60/70 surely I can achieve something close to the advertised figures? I'm aware it will be a slow car, not too fussed about speed just want something super economical as I'm driving around 400 miles/week!

Thanks guys/gals!
 
Do you really want to spend 400 miles a week in a 1.2 diesel Ibiza?

lolage said:
but have read a couple of comments on a review stating it doesn't achieve anywhere near that
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They're lying, whatever economy the manufactures state a car can achieve is always spot on. If anything, sometimes they downplay the figures :p
 
lolage said:
I'm looking at a new car which has the 1.2 Ecomotive engine. It boasts just over 80mpg, but have read a couple of comments on a review stating it doesn't achieve anywhere near that. Finding it hard to find much information on this engine to be honest..! Any one have any first hand experience with it? The car I'm looking at is a 2012 plate if that makes a difference! :)

Obviously going over 70/80mph in a 1.2 diseal and I'm not going to be achieving decent MPG, but if driving at 60/70 surely I can achieve something close to the advertised figures? I'm aware it will be a slow car, not too fussed about speed just want something super economical as I'm driving around 400 miles/week!

Thanks guys/gals!
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The figures are based on the NEDC and are rarely representative of real life driving. For example the extraurban figures are mostly at <50mph, briefly accelerating up to 66mph. So any relation to real world driving on the motorway is purely speculative, best way to know is to do an extended test drive and see what you get.

Bear in mind that buying a new car purely to save money on fuel is usually silly because often the depreciation will more than wipe out your fuel savings and 20k miles/yr is not that much.

Edit: difference between 50mpg and 80mpg at 20k/yr at current prices is around £750/yr
 
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The VAG CR engines seem to be very hit and miss on economy, some people get less than quoted some get similar and some even get more. I have a 2.0TDi CR 140 in a golf and have found it to get better MPG than both the 1.6 TDi cars I've driven. I'm guessing this is because it doesn't have to work as hard.

We got a genuine 73mpg out of my friends 2.0TDi golf on the way down to the south of france, most I've ever got ony my one is 66mpg on the trip computer (although that worked out closer to 60mpg over the whole tank).

I've not driven a 1.2TDi but having driven the 1.6 and 2.0 I'd guess the 1.2 is pretty gutless and would need to be worked a bit affecting the MPG. They might be a bit better when driven carefully but the 2.0 is hardly bad on fuel so I'd go for it (not sure if they do it in any other Ibiza than the FR though).
 
Have a look at honest John real mpg for 1.2 tdi mpg

You'll find 1.4tdi more mpg than 1.2tdi

But I'd prefer 1.2TSI 105 than 1.2 tdi, it's only 5mpg less but it's 4 seconds quicker to 60mph and it's smoother and quieter to drive.
 
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Worked as a VW salesman for 4 rather painful months. I drove that engine in a Polo for a week whilst sorting my company car out.

Positive:
- Whilst not near advertised fuel economy, it is easy to get 60mpg out of the thing. Not many get real-world figures like this in fairness. Also, the nature of the engine doesn't really encourage thrashy driving which helps keep those mpgs nice and high.

Negative:
- Sounds like a bag of spanners all the damned time. Revving it hard a) gets you nowhere fast and b) makes quite an unpleasant noise.
- Horrible gearbox/shift action. Had to really shove it in to gear a lot of the time and I didn't get used to it. Stands out as the worst gear change action of any car I've driven and given my short tenure at VW I drove a lot of different cars (plenty non-VW).

What's the timeframe for you changing? Are you wanting to do so soon? I'd perhaps take a look at the new Mazda 2 - first deliveries in Spring and looks nice/excellent write-ups. Also, just a thought, is it brand new you're looking at? I know VW changed from the 1.2 TDI to a new 1.4 TDI which I would expect has been hugely improved upon (it would be ridiculous if they hadn't!). Maybe it's not filtered down to SEAT just yet - have a look. Perhaps it'd be worth the £ premium to get a VW 1.4 TDI over the SEAT with the 1.2. I really couldn't live with the 1.2 TDI and I'm no enthusiast. I currently drive a Clio III 1.5dCi (106) and it's a cracking diesel, definitely the most impressive small diesel I've driven yet (the VW 1.6 TDI has a big lump of torque so isn't especially smooth, otherwise fine).
 
I think you should rethink your maths on this one. Buying a 2 year old car which you plan on packing miles onto is not a way to save money, regardless of how many mpgs you are getting. The value of the car will plummet significantly in your ownership negating any fuel cost savings.

You would be better off buying something older that won't depreciate as much whilst still getting a reasonable level of economy around 40-50.

You will also need to consider other costs like servicing and likely reliability
 
A lot of people just use this mpg will save me money excuse for themselves. It makes the purchase of a new car worth it in their own mind. If you want something new, you can do better than a 1.2 tdi especially if you are going to be doing 400miles a week in the thing! Buy older but better.
 
Hi I had a Polo 1.2 TDI last year as an hire car (same engine?)

To best honest it wasn't that bad, I drove from Leeds to Brighton in it, could do 90 on the flats

Think it did about 52-55 mpg in my hands

I wouldn't buy one but by no means a terrible car or engine. As said the TSI will be much nicer to drive and own. Another hire car I had was new Clio 900cc Turbo and that was much nicer then the Polo TDI
 
Just to update, I made this thread last night after having doubts after putting down a deposit on a car with this engine. I need to get rid of my current car asap as it's falling apart and want to part ex it before it no longer works...

I normally research before buying anything, but yesterday made the split second decision to committing to buying a Seat Ibiza 1.2. The thing that sold it to me was the fact it's a 2012 plate, only has 19k miles on the clock and advertised 80+MPG. Paid around £6500 for it which seemed fairly cheap.

I think in hindsight I probably should've got a bigger engine, but I guess even if I keep this one for a year I shouldn't lose too much on it..?
 
Thats not a bad price actually. I dont think you will lose as much as i had anticipated for a 2012 seat, there are older/higher mileage cars up for more money. It should be relatively trouble free too :)
 
I test drove and considered an Ibiza with this engine before I ended up going for the Focus with the Ecoboost.

I thought it was quite a good engine for what it is, it didn't feel as punchy as the Ecoboost but was ok. I drove it for about 20 miles, and cruising up and down the a34 at 70, I managed low 60s at best. Hardy a surprise those claims are well out though, the Focus says 56MPG, yet most I've seen from it is mid 40s when driving like a granny
 
You've already bought it, but just for reference...

At 35mpg in a 2.0 petrol (most modern ones do closer to 45mpg) you'd have paid £51 a week in fuel. At 50mpg real world in a diesel you're paying £39 a week. At 400 miles a week I'd definitely have been happy paying a tenner extra for a more powerful, smoother and more refined ride.

That aside let us know how you find it, I'd be interested to hear how the 1.2 diesel compares to the TSI. Cheers.
 
p1RATE said:
Thats not a bad price actually. I dont think you will lose as much as i had anticipated for a 2012 seat, there are older/higher mileage cars up for more money. It should be relatively trouble free too :)
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Yeah well my current Astra 1.3L diesel is making all sorts of knocking noises, struggles to start when cold (quoted cheapest £600 to fix) and also the turbo sometimes doesn't kick in so just need to part ex it asap...

Steedie said:
I test drove and considered an Ibiza with this engine before I ended up going for the Focus with the Ecoboost.

I thought it was quite a good engine for what it is, it didn't feel as punchy as the Ecoboost but was ok. I drove it for about 20 miles, and cruising up and down the a34 at 70, I managed low 60s at best. Hardy a surprise those claims are well out though, the Focus says 56MPG, yet most I've seen from it is mid 40s when driving like a granny
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Rainmaker said:
You've already bought it, but just for reference...

At 35mpg in a 2.0 petrol (most modern ones do closer to 45mpg) you'd have paid £51 a week in fuel. At 50mpg real world in a diesel you're paying £39 a week. At 400 miles a week I'd definitely have been happy paying a tenner extra for a more powerful, smoother and more refined ride.

That aside let us know how you find it, I'd be interested to hear how the 1.2 diesel compares to the TSI. Cheers.
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Hmm, to be honest the 80mpg sold it for me but I should have properly researched the figures. In hindsight a modern 2L diesel would have been more than enough of an upgrade economy wise compared to my 06 Astra. I'm thinking if I keep it for a year, I'd still be able to get a decent amount back as it'll only have around 50k mileage which is still low for a diesel.
 
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