papadakisn

Hey guys,
My plans are a little hasted as someone crashed into my 1.3 Felicia.
It's my chance to get rid of it (I can't stand the 1.3 engine any more). I'm very seriously thinking of the latest base 1.4 tdi Fabia. How punchy are it's 75 hp ? I know diesels have torque but how much ? How would it compare to my wife's '97 1.4 Saxo ? I expect it's at least extremely economical, right ?
Down here in Greece the 1.4 costs 14.800 while the 101 hp 1.9tdi costs 18.500. That's too much, I might as well get the 1.8T octavia with that much... They sell a Fabia down here with the 1.4 petrol engine "upped" to 116 hp with filter/exhaust(muffler) and ECU, costs 16.200.
For sure the diesel has better economy and service costs but what about the engine performance compared to a 1.4 petrol of 100-115 hp ?
Help me, I can't decide. Someone tell me it's a good choise, the 1.4tdi (I like how Porsches sound !!). I haven't read any reviews in any magazines yet.

psions5

The 1.4 75HP TDI is a 3 Cylinder diesel and can get 80MPG In an Audi A2 (60+ In Fabia), It's an incredibly efficient engine, It's also much more powerful than the 75hp 1.4 16v Petrol, as it has 144 lbs/ft@2200RPM. Theres also Quite a few chip tuning options for it as well. Slightly Pricy Here in the UK IMHO, I'd have one anyday if I were to go back to the Fabia.

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Smiorgian

Hope I can offer some info, I bought a 1.4 TDi in January.

As it comes out of the showroom it is miles better than anything Ive had before.

Good points:
Averageing 60mpg, 40 motorway miles each day at "moderate speed", the bigger TDi engines will give better economy on motorways due to the gearing. Consumption doesnt seem to change when I really give it a booting.

Torque really helps living in quite a hilly area, and helps with mid range accelaration. Not too quick of the line but you will get a real surge around 2k rpm. Capable of surprising a few much more expensive cars if you use your head as well as your right foot.

Smooth.... Once the engine has warmed through its a really nice smooth drive, makes long distances very relaxing.

No smoke.

Bad points:
No where near as quick as the VRSs in my family.

Engine a bit rattley until warmed through, which takes a while being a small diesel.

Heavy lump of engine in the front makes handling at speed interesting.

Overall I'm very pleased. Its got even better since I added a tuning box and sorted the air induction. Fuel economy has got better by a few mpg, now hitting 64mpg! Engine actually runs quieter and is less rattly and has a lot more get up and go. Just been on the Dynamometer at 118bhp and a tad under 200 lbs/ft.

And as for being better than a Saxo? Miles better on every count. (Quicker than the VTR as well.)

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Smokin! And never lookin back!
One cylinder short of a vRS

GAFF

My cousin has the 1.4 TDi Polo, he also gets around 60-65mpg, he does a lot of travelling up and down the country and No real city driving. I drove it a few times and it is very nippy.
I suppose the deciding factor would be what kind of mileage would you be doing, I think my cousin worked it out that he'd have to be doing 25k + to make the diesel worth while compared to a petrol.

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GAFF





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cheeky

I used to have a Polo 1.4 TDI which was a good little car. Very economical, plenty or torque, nice noise. Doesn't rev as smoothly or have as wide a power band as the 1.9 130 though.

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WW_VRS

Definitely the torque makes motorway driving & hills a breeze. As already mentioned, make sure you do sufficiently long trips to make it worth having a diesel. They take at least twice as long to warm up, during which time they are a little noisy.

No doubt the vRS is smoother, but then it should be as it costs way more too.

The 1.4 TDI should be a lot easier to drive than the 1.3 petrol, as long as you don't mind changing gears when you want the best performance

You'll get a nice improvement anyway from the Felicia up to the Furby, it may also be worth trying the 1.2 petrol as that's not bad either, it's a more modern engine than the Felicia one and you may prefer it. Based on your comments I'd try and have a runabout in the different ones round the prices you can afford

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Warren

If you test drive a 1.4TDI try and get one that has done a few thousand miles as I found the performance didn't come good until about 5000+ miles.

Only really worth going the 1.4TDI diesel route if you are going to be doing regular drives over 10 miles as it can take this long for the engine to warm up and performance/mpg reach good levels. Economy seems to drop off on motorways when pushed above 75mph so if you are going to be doing alot of motorway driving then go for a 1.9tdi. Shame a 6th gear isn't available for those long motorway cruises!

Overall a great engine, with an interesting engine noise when pushed. Good balance between a performance and economy.