A3 calling 170TDI and 2.0TFSI owners experiences

[Japtastic]

Hi chaps, I'm new to Audi and just about to but a black edition but trying decide between the 2.0 TFSI and 2.0 170 TDI

My heart says TFSI but my head says TDI, can the people with these two different flavour of cars give me a helping hand in the right direction and maybe give some real world comparisons from people that have owned both?

Will be chipping/mapping which ever car I decide on so be good to know how different the power is between the two.

Cheers

 

[h5djr]

As you will see from my signature I have a 2009 2.0TDI-140CR. My previous A3 was a 2.0TDI-170PD. Before I decided on my current car I test drove both the new 140CR and the new 170CR and found I preferred the slightly better drivability of the 140. The only difference between them on the new CR version is the size of the turbo. I have now had my 140 remapped to give around 170-175PS. The remap only cost £295 which makes it £605 cheaper than buying a 170. Worth considering.

 

[RobinA3]

What mileage do you intend to do?

Also how important is fuel costs to you?

If you don't do high mileage and fuel cost aren't your number 1 priority then the TFSI is the one to go for 100%, its a cracking engine.

 

[PaulAr]

The 20T is an absolute peach when remapped.
Gets my vote:icon_thumright:

 

[ragsterx]

I test drove both when i ordered my Black Edition, i always knew id go for the diesel as i do loads of miles.
The TFSI is fast and has good power.
If i wasnt bothered about fuel id actually get an S3 but i am so went for the most powerful Diesel. The 170 is fast and pulls very well, its a good car. If you dont mind the fuel then get the TFSI.
Test drive them, that might decide it for you.

 

[Japtastic]

Thanks for for input chaps, I do about 17k a year so to be honest the extra fuel cost is the only thing putting me off the TFSI, the thing is I'm used to a lot power coming from an R32 GTR running about 450 so don't want to get the 170 then regret it, I'm a bit of a petrol head...

I would go back to Audi but they were not exactly the friendliest, the sales man was a bit up him self plus I found a lot better deals on-line for finance that I'm sure they couldn't come near so not sure what to do about test driving more.

I did test drive the 140 as they had no 170's and it seemed ok but the test drive wasn't the greatest as I got caught in a lot of traffic.

What about real world MPG in both cars? I do a lot of town/rural roads driving and about 100 miles a week motorway, are the figures Audi quote about right? I do have quite a heavy right foot

I'd love to have a go in a modded version of both but time is of the essence as I need it by June/July time and apparently I'd have to order now to meet that deadline.

 

[The Cardinal]

I have a re-mapped 2.0T quattro and echo the comments you'll see about it being a fab engine.

The 2.0T is a really smooth engine and has it all to be honest. It picks up strong at around 1,400rpm and will give you some very good thrust from there all the way to the red-line. I'm quite happy taking it smooth and just letting the speed build effortlessly with changes at about 2,000rpm. It's very happy picking up out of slow roundabout in 3rd gear when you're rolling slowly and takes 5th and 6th in 30-40mph zones.

I'm in a different boat to you in that I do around 8k miles per year and fuel economy isn't that important. I tend to do one or two trips around town during the week and a periodic long drive for holidays or work meetings far away. Even with 4WD it'll do 35mpg in average motorway driving and even better than that with some caution, but this drops to 25mpg around town. My long term average is 29mpg with 50:50 town:crusing mileage - that seems fair against the quoted average of 31mpg (mpg is higher for newer cars). This is all with a Bluefin map, which I'd thoroughly recommend.

 

[h5djr]

Thanks for for input chaps, I do about 17k a year so to be honest the extra fuel cost is the only thing putting me off the TFSI, the thing is I'm used to a lot power coming from an R32 GTR running about 450 so don't want to get the 170 then regret it, I'm a bit of a petrol head...

I would go back to Audi but they were not exactly the friendliest, the sales man was a bit up him self plus I found a lot better deals on-line for finance that I'm sure they couldn't come near so not sure what to do about test driving more.

I did test drive the 140 as they had no 170's and it seemed ok but the test drive wasn't the greatest as I got caught in a lot of traffic.

What about real world MPG in both cars? I do a lot of town/rural roads driving and about 100 miles a week motorway, are the figures Audi quote about right? I do have quite a heavy right foot

I'd love to have a go in a modded version of both but time is of the essence as I need it by June/July time and apparently I'd have to order now to meet that deadline.

I am currently getting around 45-46mpg from my remapped 140. I do tend to drive a little above the speed limit in most situation and 80-90 on the motorway.

 

[akash_sky1]

Another point to take into account if your buying 2nd hand is the extra couple of thou. spec for spec mileage for mileage that a 2.0TDI will cost you over a 2.0TFSI.
20.TFSIs ,(best in quattro guise of course) depreciate a lot more then S3s, although not quite as bad as 3.2s, this means 2nd hand they are a great buy.
Calculate how long itll take you recoup your money back in fuel saved...

 

[Matt]

I'm averaging 42MPG which is the same as I got before the remap. I am driving it harder now though, making use of the extra power from the remap.... but it will do 50MPG if I just drive it steady. That doesn't happen very often though!

At the moment I wouldn't want anything that did less than 40MPG so that automatically rules the 2.0T out for me. Its as simple as that for me.

I am very impressed with how well my car goes now it has the bluefin on. I wouldn't mind seeing how it faired against a 2.0T as I reckon it would of been pretty close before (on the move rather than from a standing start but how often do you do a standing start?!)

I never ever look at how much it will cost me over the life of the car, I look at it month by month and how much extra spare cash I'll have each month.

 

[Japtastic]

Does the remap really make a difference then? I guess you are running around the 200BHP mark now, where as a bluefin 2.0t is 240ish?

I worked out that it would cost me around £70 more a month in fuel for the TFSI, is 40BHP worth it? This decision is troubling me greatly!

 

[akash_sky1]

What!.£70 extra a month in fuel is not thaat much? As said before comparing spec for spec if would be a cheaper 2nd hand buy as well. If you into performance as well, even with a map, 170 or 140 woudn't really come close.
With the miles I do a diesel would have been obvious choice but I wanted a quattro, good spec and something that was quick , and easily tuneable, so I went for the 2.0tfsi.
If id got the diesel I would have just ended up spending thousands £££ on tuning.

 

[RobinA3]

I get about 32mpg realistically in my 2.0TFSI and a Superchips remap, currently running 240bhp which is more than enough for everyday use due to the low downn torque it gives.

 

[Matt]

Does the remap really make a difference then? I guess you are running around the 200BHP mark now, where as a bluefin 2.0t is 240ish?

I worked out that it would cost me around £70 more a month in fuel for the TFSI, is 40BHP worth it? This decision is troubling me greatly!

Yeah its claimed to be around 200bhp. I didn't notice a massive difference on the first drive but it just seems to have got better the more miles I've put on it. Love it now.

Personally I would rather have an extra £70 in my pocket every month to spend on eating out/a night out/clothes etc. etc. rather than fuel. I appreciate not everyone is the same though.

 

[smudge_don]

I do about 20k a year, so diesel is the only real choice for me

The 170 is lovely in my opinion, especially with a DSG box, just keeps accelerating, and has a lot of grunt in all gears at all different kinds of revs

 

[Indie_DSG]

I've had a TT 225bhp and an A3 1.8 Turbo - both nice cars!
Would never swap my PD 170 DSG now!!
I average 80 miles per day and see a full tank of juice (£60) giving me 460 - 520 miles depending on how heavy I am with the right foot!
Best thing about the 170 TDI............seeing the faces of people in their rear view mirrors driving cars like 320, R-Types, VXR's going WTF is that behind me! And they **** feather when they eventually realise is a TDI tractor!! LMAO!!
Torque is phenominal, power range awesome!
TWINtercooler & Re-map planned = 210Bhp (Hopefully)

GO TDI 170 all the way!

 

[h5djr]

I've had a TT 225bhp and an A3 1.8 Turbo - both nice cars!
Would never swap my PD 170 DSG now!!
I average 80 miles per day and see a full tank of juice (£60) giving me 460 - 520 miles depending on how heavy I am with the right foot!
Best thing about the 170 TDI............seeing the faces of people in their rear view mirrors driving cars like 320, R-Types, VXR's going WTF is that behind me! And they **** feather when they eventually realise is a TDI tractor!! LMAO!!
Torque is phenominal, power range awesome!
TWINtercooler & Re-map planned = 210Bhp (Hopefully)

GO TDI 170 all the way!

You wait till you drive one of the new common-rail versions. All the same power and torque but a little more economical and so much smoother and quieter. I had a 170PD before my current one and the new one is a great improvement.