TSI Engines

Relentless81 · 29 Jul 2014 at 11:18

Hello,

Come October I am going to lay my Jap car infatuation to rest and sell my Celica to replace it with something more modern and cheaper to run as someone actually wants to marry me and I'll be taking on a bigger mortgage so I want to ensure that car running costs are lower than what they are now without losing too much of the performance - The Celica is expensive to insure and its due a 60K service early next year so I figure this is going to cost me up to £1K

I've always been interested in the TSI engines although reports of reliability issues have put me off so far I'm hoping this is a case of there are more units without problems than there are with.

There are a lot of different versions but I'm mostly interested in the 1.4, I know the most recent is the ACT engine and I wont be able to justify that so it will be older versions which is what worries me as these are supposed to be the most unreliable, how do I know which of the 1.4's are the most reliable particularly the engine found in the Fabia VRS or do you think I should just take it to the extreme and go 1.2 as these are supposed to be reliable and the cheaper tax and insurance is tempting however I think I'll find the performance frustrating.

Is there anyone with much experience on with this and anything worth reading on the internet?

Thanks

Relentless81 · 29 Jul 2014 at 12:01

Insurance 600 plus approx 300 for 60k major service is 900 and that's if nothing else needs doing

Relentless81 · 29 Jul 2014 at 13:21

60K service at Toyota is around £300 although obviously I could get it done cheaper but it has main dealer history, I would also want the gear box oil changing which IIRC would be inc with that

Fact is I want a newer car regardless, the Celica is noisy, quite low and although I very much enjoy driving it when having a bit of a hoon its annoying most of the time and ancient inside, its also very uncomfortable and isn't without its cosmetic issues which irritate me greatly begging me to spend money on it

Insurance is £200 cheaper on a Fabia VRS and I always pay for my insurance in a lump sum

Is the 120 TSI a 1.4, which cars did they come in? I've noticed a 125 I think but they seem to be only in the larger cars like Leon's and Octavia's

Hot hatches don't seem like the right choice otherwise I should just stick with the Celica but like I say I want a newer more refined car with lower running costs

Relentless81 · 29 Jul 2014 at 13:28

That's something im worried about, i get bored very easily but in this case i would like to think i was saving money and gaining a nicer, more modern car

Relentless81 · 29 Jul 2014 at 15:02

Well yeah of course, nobody changes a car without wanting to do so i would say that's obvious, running costs play a huge part too

Relentless81 · 29 Jul 2014 at 15:28

ci_newman said:
I've just bought myself a Leon with the 2.0 TFSI engine. It's lovely

Considerably more fuel efficient than my old Accord 2.4 too.

Interesting i used have a 2.4 accord what model Leon exactly and what do you think of the interior?

acemastr said:
Pay 600 for insurance + 300(???) for service = car to use for another year.
Buy new car = payments for years to come, which are going to be 300 a month(ish).

Makey no sense.

Another year in a car im not happy with and want to change for reasons already explained

Relentless81 · 29 Jul 2014 at 16:00

Maybe i should drive a few of the vag mobiles available over the next couple of months starting with a small tsi engine and work my way up, just hate test driving with no intention of buying!

Relentless81 · 29 Jul 2014 at 17:04

AtticusFinch said:
I just got a dealer registered Skod Roomster 1.2 TSI 7spd DSG and its a fabulous thing. I was worried that the engine would be a bit lacking, but its peppy and goes nicely on the highway. Roomster vs. Fabia because it needs to fit kids and dogs and my 7 foot tall frame (which it does with oodles of headroom and legroom).

Very economical and cheap to insure/tax etc. Really pleased with it.

What did you have before it out of interest?

Relentless81 · 30 Jul 2014 at 11:05

It says something that you went from a 6 cylinder 3.0 engine to a 4 cylinder 1.2 and you don't find it annoying

I've read a lot about people on various sites going from 1.9 and 2.0 TDI's to 1.2 and 1.4 TSI engines and saying they are very happy with the change one was on here recently

I was looking at 1.2 TSI's last night and I am severely tempted to drive one out of curiosity, the Fabia 1.2 TSI Monte Carlo Special Edition is within budget and I prefer its interior to the Ibiza's but its got rear drums and even though its not a quick car there is something about drums that puts me off where as the Ibiza has rear discs

Relentless81 · 30 Jul 2014 at 12:05

sovietspybob said:
That seems a rather odd thing to get hung up about? Drums brake very well they just don't dissipate the heat anywhere near as well as discs so for single stops they're completely fine, if you want to do a track day then maybe it'll become an issue but otherwise they'd be grand. Also you usually get the benefit from a handbrake that works a lot better on drums.

Its a very odd thing to get hung about you're absolutely right, I also hate the green Skoda badges and much prefer the newer black ones so much so that I don't think I could own one just because of the badges which is mental, I do have issues.

Rainmaker said:
It was probably my thread you saw, but the extra info here wasn't in my original thread. Hope it helps.

It does much appreciated

Relentless81 · 30 Jul 2014 at 15:56

Even on the steering wheel?

Relentless81 · 31 Jul 2014 at 10:23

Ok, i still need to have a proper look on briskoda a big green badge in front me will definitely irritate me