1.8T vs 1.9tdi avant sport

[p1tse]

pro's and con's?

1.9tdi
pro
- better mpg
con
- diesel cost more
- cost more to service

1.8T
pro
- better performance
con
- not as good mpg

for a lower budget say circa £6k, 1.8T would be newer/ less mileage

 

[adamss24]

The diesel is cheaper to service- there are no spark plugs needing replacing every service, there are no Lambda sensors no active cats and no dodgy coil packs. Also, there is no throttle body no charcoal canister and a whole host of electronic gizmos to go wrong ! The reason the diesel fuel is more expensive is because the guvernment does not give a toss about reliability and saving the planet but they will tax everyone regardless of what they drive. In the rest of Europe diesel fuel is cheaper as its a by-product of refining petrol ! Anyway, the 1.9 is a good lump, economical but has his limitations. For a start you wont get the claimed fuel ecconomy and the quattro sapps a lot of power. Also its not as fun to drive a as a petrol lump but ok if you travel a lot...The diesel lumps also respond well to tuning and will return 30-40 Bhp and 50Nm of torque when mapped. The downside is the clutch,flywheel and gearbox are not built as stout as the rest of the engine so they tend to fail soon after remap.

 

[crazypainter]

I had this debate when i started looking. One of the main factors in this decision is what your annual mileage would be. Then you can actually compare costs easier, price per litre of petrol to diesel x your milage and then factor in rough running costs. I had a passat before this but with essentially the same base engine so i had an idea of what to expect. I am fortunate enough to work 5 miles from home which helps keep the mileage down. I chose the 1.8T. Also try to take a few examples of each out so you can see how they feel. I have only ever driven diesel as works cars and my personal cars have all been petrol..........good luck

 

[CMD]

1.8t with the stage1 remap it still give's me 36.4 on motorway's . I would go back to diesel if i was doing long distance.

 

[paul20v]

The downside is the clutch,flywheel and gearbox are not built as stout as the rest of the engine so they tend to fail soon after remap.

If by soon you mean 7 Years and over 70k with a 170bhp map and just over 300 lbft @ 2k on a rolling road (before you ask i have to find the RR print out) i think there is to much scare mongering and has a lot to do with drivers not cars ,
the gearboxes are faultless clutches if you mapping smaller Bhp Diesels can be a slight issue but only if your rough with clutches and dont respect the massive torque at low revs
Ultimately thou you have too decide by mileage, what do you do and how much do you need economy
driving both for every day ease of driving it would be derv all the way
but i do like petrols too

 

[bench33]

I used to have a 1.8T 180 Golf and switched to a 130 1.9 TDi A4 and for me the diesel is definitely better; It's torquier than the 1.8T, the fuel economy is massively better, never really drops below 35 even around town and I regularly get 50+ even with a heavy foot. In the 1.8T the best I ever got was 40 driving at 60 mph on the motorway at 2 in the morning !

 

[Mulla_rice]

I've had 2 A4 1.8T's and absolutely loved them, but I've bought a 1.9 TDI (130) a week ago and it really is as fast. TDI's really are more reliable and so much better on fuel, they also feel more torquey. If your not doing a big mileage, you'll never get the money back that you spend extra on getting the TDI. I'd say if you like giving the car a good ragging from time to time and not doing big distances go for the 1.8T, but if your driving sensibly and doing long journeys go for the diesel. I'm sure you wont be disappointed with any of them though

 

[GrayT]

You've not said which 1.8T you would be lookng at - 163 or 190? Both will out perform the TDI if all are standard if you properly make use of the turbo and use the gears, but obviously a diesel will have more torque. The 190 will certainly provide a bit more performance for only marginally less mpg over the 163.

I did miss the torque at first when I changed from a Toledo V5 to my 190, but I learnt to use the gears in a way I didn't with the V5. Furthermore a remap can significantly increase torque lower down the rev range. We'll probably all be partial according to what we own, which is part influenced by your requirements vs what you enjoy. If I was doing lots of miles then my pocket in relation to mpg would win, doing a modest amount as I currently do then it's the 1.8T every time.

 

[quattrojames]

The diesel vs petrol debate will always run and run. The only thing everyone will agree on is that they're biased towards their own vehicles!

 

[holmefield]

With fuel prices going NORTH almost daily, i'd say diesel im on my 3rd 130 bhp tdi current one remap to 175 bhp and i'll not be going back to petrol, theres just no advantage to them anymore...............I thank you.....let the petrol heads bang there hands on there keyboards in anger!!

 

[adamss24]

If by soon you mean 7 Years and over 70k with a 170bhp map and just over 300 lbft @ 2k on a rolling road (before you ask i have to find the RR print out) i think there is to much scare mongering and has a lot to do with drivers not cars ,
the gearboxes are faultless clutches if you mapping smaller Bhp Diesels can be a slight issue but only if your rough with clutches and dont respect the massive torque at low revs
Ultimately thou you have too decide by mileage, what do you do and how much do you need economy
driving both for every day ease of driving it would be derv all the way
but i do like petrols too

I was generalising mate... The vw stopped using good getrag gearboxes between 2001-2003 as they started building 01E coppies in "the house". The later were fitted to passats pd130 and a small percentage to a4 pd 130 ( i am on about the 6 speed ones). On these they do develop diff bearing and syncro problems. The sport models use a stronger 240mm clutch and flywheel but still feature non sprung clutch hubs so the flywheel takes all the pounding- no wonder they fail. I agree its down to driver but i tend to see them when have problems. You should see a v6 tdi clutch (its allmost identical to a s4/rs4 one) and will withstand towing and heavy work for 200k+ ! The flywheel is the strongest DMF they built and the clutch has a sprung hub wich will cope with 450Nm all day long but you can still fry that IF you're keen to do so ! For the engine potential the rest of the drivetrain is under engineered in me honest opinion !

 

[GrayT]

You're right,I can't see any advantage in the 1.8T for towing caravans... (joke!)

The problem is by your definition there's no advantage to an RS4 either!

Edit: posted in response to post 10 not 11!

 

[paul20v]

I was generalising mate...

No worries i wasnt out to annoy just stating my experience of my car ( 5 speed 2001 sport ),
i must say thou in agreement with you i have rebuilt a 6 speed box diff bearings being the cause of removal.

 

[scott b]

like most ppl have said, depends on the millage you do, i used to have a 2.0 turbo petrol car/van befor i got the audi 1.9tdi sport, its got a remap to just under 170bhp and its fine all round and on motorways its always 50 + mpg (spend more time on motorways than A roads etc)

 

[deanski]

i do a fair few miles so have to have diesel really. I love the fuel economy and punch of the tdi engine, but I do miss the wail of a good petrol engine coupled with a fruity exhaust. Diesel power can certainly be enjoyable, but IMO, can never stir the soul like a good petrol.

 

[CMD]

i do a fair few miles so have to have diesel really. I love the fuel economy and punch of the tdi engine, but I do miss the wail of a good petrol engine coupled with a fruity exhaust. Diesel power can certainly be enjoyable, but IMO, can never stir the soul like a good petrol.

True Word's

 

[p1tse]

Thanks for replies. I know petrol vs diesel will always be continuous debate, but with fuel price going up, regardless of mileage surely the tdi will be better in this area, albeit not as much fun on throttle response.

Tdi sounds like the better buy

 

[adamss24]

Thanks for replies. I know petrol vs diesel will always be continuous debate, but with fuel price going up, regardless of mileage surely the tdi will be better in this area, albeit not as much fun on throttle response.

Tdi sounds like the better buy

I took on chap here(alski) for a spin in me a4 v6 tdi quattro and for shure it was very impressed ! 150Mph+, 35 Mpg average and 4 wheel drive- shure you cannot argue with that and if i take it easy i can see high 40 Mpg but it does not happen too often ! I also driven fjtwelve audi a6 avant tdi quattro with a remap,hybrid turbo and larger nozzles and it does shifts ! The good thing with diesel is every power mod will increase the ecconomy and will still be reliable enough to make a good daily car...