Petrol or Diesel?

[smudge_don]

Hi Guys,

Im still in the process of buying my A3, and for the life of me I really can't decide what would be best.

Insurance-wise, i can realistically only go for a 2.0FSI or a 2.0TDI. Really wish i could afford a 2.0T

Obviously the benefits of diesel are economy, torque etc etc, but I HATE my company car as its a diesel and sounds like a tractor running on spanners.

So what would you guys choose?

Jordan

 

[RS84]

Are you looking at buying new or used?

If you're looking at a used TDI and engine sound is an issue for you then maybe look at the 170 over the 140.

As has been mentioned on here before its a notably quieter diesel compared to some of the early 140s, which can be noisy on startup.

(Plus you obviously get 30 extra PS on the 170 )

 

[dmal]

If you get the 170 then you have possible DPF issues. Also, I only average about 26mpg in a city and about 40mpg on motorways.

Having owned the 2.0TDI (170) for 5 months I'm now planning on getting rid of it and buying a petrol instead.

 

[jb111s]

I looked at both & as I only do less than 6k a year went for petrol. The fsi has quite a bit of torque, obviously not as much as the diesel but is still pretty pokey. I get very good fuel consumption out of it as well.

Most importantly it's nice & quiet inside. I sometimes forget the engines running.

I appreciate the benefit of diesel, especially for high mileages, but sorry they sound like tractors. The mpg for average driving around town between the petrol & diesel isn't much, so might as well go petrol unless you'll be doing long driving in it.

 

[kaz219]

Id go for the diesel fella - the only downside is the noise of the engine and it goes to 4500rpm but apart from that, i love mine.

And if you do get bored, the tdi can be remapped to awesome gains and the fsi can be mapped but the gains arent as good...

 

[Igdos]

Along similar lines - depends on your mileage and where you'll be doing your driving.

If it's mainly city and/or your annual mileage is low petrol's better bet.

Longer drives 140 diesel can get up to 55mpg but drops away with stop/start driving.

Would also say though that diesel will hold its value better when it comes to selling on. And it's a more enjoyable drive...personally engine noise is only an issue from the outside and is a lot better with the newer CR diesel.

 

[Khufu]

I went for the 2.0 FSi myself. I know petrol engines better than diesel should i have problems. I got a bit concerned about the reports of the diesel heads cracking too. As regards to mpg, if I drive careful it can easily get 36mpg. Once had it up at 45mpg on a long dual carrageway run.

 

[Wai-Fan]

Id go for the diesel fella - the only downside is the noise of the engine and it goes to 4500rpm but apart from that, i love mine.

And if you do get bored, the tdi can be remapped to awesome gains and the fsi can be mapped but the gains arent as good...

What he said, plus you won't really notice the sound of the engine when you are cruising.

 

[NHN]

Ye tbh the engine noise isnt noticeable when driving unless you're missing the damn screen, I mean we dont drive around with our head under the bonnet do we, lol, also mine is remapped to about 185ish on a 140 & I get upto 50mpg & lowest is mid to late 30's which is still good when banging it around & I'm no slouch sometimes, so god knows what that guys doing to get low mpg tbh, derv's are cheaper to run but also alot of fun, I had an s3 & s4 before this & have to say was best purchase so far, it really is a good car overall & saves me so much money that spent on the car anyway lol, hardly ever go to fill up now & it also has all the nice things I had in my other cars, so really is down to your pockets if you wanna pay higher fuel prices cause derv's give you upto nearly double mileage of the petrols

 

[SteveTDCi]

i'd save up a but more and go for the 2.0t

 

[Staz]

I would have said diesel but I have just picked up a diesel hire car and I hate it after only 5 minutes.

 

[APL TDi]

Different strokes for different folks really.

I got a 2.0TDi 140 and LOVE it. But I do 20k+ a year.
It actually sounds quite good when at full throttle, I used to have a pug 2.0 HDi which sounded Sh*t and found the PD makes a much throaty noise.

The performance is also pretty good, and once you get it remapped to 180bhp and 390Nm the 2.0fsi would be left well behind.

But having said that I do miss petrol sometimes, you cant beat driving a nice powerful petrol on a summers evening...

I would take them both for a test drive and see what you think.

A!

 

[PaulAr]

Sell a kidney/relative and buy a 20TFSI model.

 

[Matt]

Out of those it'd have to be the diesel. It will be much faster everywhere and still give better MPG!

If it was between 2.0T and 2.0 TDI I wouldn't know which to go for. Depends on your mileage etc. etc.! If I did less miles maybe I'd have a 2.0T but I like the way the 170 TDI drives regardless whether it would save me anything in the long run... tough one.

 

[Amchlolor]

If the non-turbo 2.0Fsi is the only petrol option available, you'd be mad to go for that over the 2.0Tdi.
The 2.0Fsi petrol is a gutless fecker of a thing, wheezing its way along.
The figures say it all

Petrol 150bhp @ 6000 rpm / 148lb/ft torque @ 3250-4250rpm

Diesel 140bhp @ 4000 rpm / 236lb/ft torque @ 1750-2500rpm

Loads more torque on the diesel.
Torque is what gets you rolling in the first place, it's the most relevant figure for everyday driving.

When I had my Tdi, a colleague had a 2.0Fsi.
You always seemed to be chasing power that never materialised.
Revving the tats off it for little gain.

 

[SunnyDlite]

Diesel for mpg

if im driving conservatively i can get around 50mpg

if i got my race map on and my foot feels a little heavy i get 14mpg but im not crawling then

still yet to test my eco map but if i get around 50 with the map off im curious to see how much more i can get

 

[Stevvvie]

Buy a 3.2Q DSG, makes the 2.0TDI seem like a ridiculously slow slow slow tractor!

 

[NHN]

Yeah but then you also have double the fuel costs, insurance etc etc, afterall its a 3.2 V6 as per the R32 so yeah if you look at it like that then it could possibly be regarded as a slow tractor, but tbh my a3's no slouch & I would say DevonMikeyBoy might show the 3.2 up tbh & his is an upgraded 2.0tdi which still gets about 38mpg with about 250-300bhp quattro manual, so economy with power, best of both worlds, money you save on fuel can use to improve power upto 3.2 or above & still save money for years to come

 

[NHN]

Diesel for mpg

if im driving conservatively i can get around 50mpg

if i got my race map on and my foot feels a little heavy i get 14mpg but im not crawling then

still yet to test my eco map but if i get around 50 with the map off im curious to see how much more i can get

14mpg, you sure?

My S4 B6 had a map & 365bhp & thats a 4.2 V8 & that did at worst 16mpg when I ragged it occasionally, but then again at best did 22mpg, but hey thats a V8 not a 2.0TDI, so how you get 14 is beyond me

 

[cdb2]

2.0 FSI if you do low mileage like me, totally agree with jb111s.

When I bought a 2.0TDI home for a test drive my Misses thought I'd pulled up in an ice-cream van!

 

[NHN]

Yeah but again I say, how many of us drive with there heads stuck in the engine bay I mean please, when you're driving it you cant hear most of the noise anyway so cant see the issue & when you get out engines usually of, so your point is??

If you want a vehicle with no noise then get a sinclair c5, lol, or just accept with everything in this world there is always a downside, like having an Aston for my old mate, services were 2k a go, downside even though nice car, for me coming from an s3 & s4 to a derv for now, I really when driving cant hear as much as if outside & for the savings I make on fuel alone its something can live with ever so easy, really is, so personally I'd ignore any worries about what it sounds like (unless its faulty, lol)

 

[NorthernSoul]

Currently have a Focus ST, average mpg is about 17...mostly city driving but still bleak.

Will be ordering a 2.0TFSI in the next week or so..certainly hope it's a bit better than the ST...let me know if not guys !

After years of company diesels before the ST it would have to be petrol for me...as long as it has a turbo !

 

[cdb2]

Yeah but again I say, how many of us drive with there heads stuck in the engine bay I mean please, when you're driving it you cant hear most of the noise anyway so cant see the issue & when you get out engines usually of, so your point is??
)

My point is, as has been said on here before, it's horses for courses. If you want a car for low mileage around the town then I'd go for the petrol. It's much quieter and the fuel economy from my experience is much the same. You'll hear the diesel in town driving, even more so at roundabouts and traffic lights and in queues. The 2.0TDI is not particularly refined, the new ones may be better but the op is looking at second hand presumably as you can't buy the 2.0FSI anymore.

If you do high mileage and fuel costs are a factor get the diesel, the sound of the diesel will be far less apparent at motorway speeds and you'll get better economy.

If having a diesel saved me shedloads of money as I drove long motorway journeys I'd have to consider one very seriously, but I don't so am not interested in one as the negligible difference in town driving mpg is not worth sacrificing refinement for.

At the end of the day the op needs to try both, assess his needs and see which fits best. No amount of 'my FSI will beat your TDI in a straight line to 60' or 'my TDI will beat your FSI through the twisties' will help you decide, you need to try both mate.

I personally like people to see me coming not hear me coming!!!!

 

[Amchlolor]

2.0 FSI if you do low mileage like me, totally agree with jb111s.

When I bought a 2.0TDI home for a test drive my Misses thought I'd pulled up in an ice-cream van!

Whereas the 2.0Fsi is about as fast as an ice-cream van....
If engines can get asthma, the 2.0Fsi has it.

My colleague and I used to have 'races', between my 2.0tdi sportback and his 2.0fsi 3-door.
My car would out-accelerate his comfortably, especially out of corners.
Flat-out acceleration down a dual-carriageway was closer, but with mine being able to creep past his slowly (despite his alleged 10bhp advantage)
He was revving the bejesus out of it to get there though.
When he drove mine, he was always surprised how (comparitively) effortless it was to get the same results.

IMO, this isn't even a petrol v diesel argument, really.
It's just an argument between two engines of the same capacity, with one needing to be thrashed like a Chipperfield monkey to get the same results as the other one.

 

[jb111s]

There's no denying the diesel is quicker but I'm willing to sacrifice power for quietness & refinement.

For general driving I feel the FSI's got enough poke to get away quickly & be comfortable to cruise at high speeds on the motorways without having to rev it to an inch of its life & get very good economy back from it.

The torque in the lower rev ranges isn't great, but once it hits 3k then it gets moving quickly enough.

Lets be honest, it's just designed as a runaround. The chassis isn't great & the handling pretty standard so don't really see the need for all that low down torque when you can't really feel it. Saying that I wouldn't complain if it had a bit more grunt but it's certainly not the slouch it's being made out as.