Petrol v Diesel

[A1Dan75]

Right, as you may have noticed I'm planning no buying a Passat estate, and have been focussing largely on selecting the best diesel engine for my needs.
But I just had a revelation! I'm kind of looking at diesels entirely out of habit, as they are what I've previously owned, and of course they are the majority of other Passat estates.
However, it occurred to me that I really don't do many miles a year these days - probably only around 10k - so the fuel savings aren't that great. Only around £300 per year difference between a 45mpg diesel and a 35mpg Petrol. So really, there's no reason not to be considering a petrol engine!

Now, it's been pretty easy finding out all sorts about the diesels on here, you guys have been more than helpful with that. I'm wondering if anybody has any tips regarding the petrol models though?
Specifically, questions I have are:

1) How do the general driving experiences of the 2 litre petrol and diesel engines compare - smoothness, "power in the right places", noise etc?

2) Can anybody provide a link to acceleration figures other than 0-60 for the various engines? For example, the 2.0TSI quotes a very impressive 7.5s 0-60, but in reality I'm not going to be racing GTIs at the traffice lights. I'm much more interested in how she goes from 40-60 to get past grannie on a single-carriage A-road.

3) Any noteable reliability issues or things to check with the petrols? As I say, you guys have been brilliant with your info on the diesel's potential oil pump issues... do the petrols have any similar skeletons waiting to emerge fromt he closet?

4) What is a good mileage to buy a petrol Passat? Do I need to change my mind-set from the diesel "she's only just gtting going at 60k" mentality?

[billythetidd]

Try using the Parkers car guide. That should give you specs, performance figures etc from new and used cars. Personally once you have tasted diesel there's no going back. I love the torque, grunt etc.

I do know what you mean about the mileage, therefore there isn't really much saving. You might be on to a winner if diesel prices increase over the next few years.

[A1Dan75]

Parkers is indeed my first point of reference for car research, but I've never found any accleration figures other than 0-60 in there.
Mind you, I can't find mid-range acceleration figures for any cars anywhere other than occasional ad-hoc road tests on Autocar.

I've not actually tasted the diesel myself, but I know what you mean about the torque.

I guess I'll just go find myself a local FSI to take for a spin and judge for myself how the petrols compare.

[patomlin76]

I bought my FSI back in February 09. As a matter of habit I never looked at diesels. Generally I'm a fan of petrols, so I only looked at the FSI range of engines... I'm pleased with the VW 2.0 unit. It's a 150bhp and has great mid-range pulling power, and still surprises me how well it will accelerate in 5th and even 6th. The unit needs a few revs lower down to get a decent race away from the lights, but once you've accelerated through 1-3 it pulls fantastically.

Also because it's an FSI it has smooth power output throughout the range, however you won't get the torque and the grunt of the TDI. I've seen 0-60 times quoted from 9.1 to 9.4 so for a big car it shifts quite nicely.

As you can tell I'm very happy with my '55 FSI, and haven't had any major problems considering it was one of the very first off the line models. Don't get me wrong though, I also like the idea of a diesel and may consider one next but IMO there isn't really a bad engine in the passat line up.

[ToMBoY_C]

This Passat is my first diesel, I'd never go back to petrol!

[A1Dan75]

This Passat is my first diesel, I'd never go back to petrol!

That's how I've been thnking up til now... but then I saw the prices of the prices of used 2.0T FSIs against the 170 TDIs!

[patomlin76]

1) How do the general driving experiences of the 2 litre petrol and diesel engines compare - smoothness, "power in the right places", noise etc?

2) Can anybody provide a link to acceleration figures other than 0-60 for the various engines? For example, the 2.0TSI quotes a very impressive 7.5s 0-60, but in reality I'm not going to be racing GTIs at the traffice lights. I'm much more interested in how she goes from 40-60 to get past grannie on a single-carriage A-road.

3) Any noteable reliability issues or things to check with the petrols? As I say, you guys have been brilliant with your info on the diesel's potential oil pump issues... do the petrols have any similar skeletons waiting to emerge fromt he closet?

4) What is a good mileage to buy a petrol Passat? Do I need to change my mind-set from the diesel "she's only just gtting going at 60k" mentality?

I'll try to answer your questions with my own experiences...

1) Drive just right for me, petrol will always be smooth through the range. At 70mph probably 1/2 decibels louder than the diesel as you're revving the engine more. I like the slightly more fun aspect to driving the petrols - i.e. dropping down the gear to find the right rev/speed ratio and using that to pull out of a corner...

2) Mine was one of the first FSIs, so don't know much about the TSI (is that a turbo?) Like you though, tend not to want to race away from the traffic lights (the passat is too good for that business!) In 6th I'd probably want to change down for a fast overtaking, in 4th or 5th it will pull without hesitation).

3) if anything was going to come out of the closet, it would have done by now especially for the earlier models. I've known of no real oil pump or injector concerns, nor any potential engine-damaging problems other than wear and tear on the cambelt). Obviously there's no DPF nor is there a fuel filter to replace - lifetime filter)

4)I'm expecting my FSI petrol to last till at least 150k, if not more, with the usual expenses of tyres/services etc... Think all engines nowadays are good enough or you to not worry about this...

Hope this helps...

[JSH]

Go to a VW showroom and pick up a broucher. Although the details given will be ubviously for current models it should give to a reasonable comparison.

Another concideration is how much will a petrol model hold its value compared to a diesel when the time comes to move it on.

Me, im a diesel fan through and through

Best wishes JSH

[A1Dan75]

Go to a VW showroom and pick up a broucher. Although the details given will be ubviously for current models it should give to a reasonable comparison.

Thing is, they don't do the 2.0 FSI anymore, so hard to tell from up to date literature.

Don't mind too much about depreciation, given that I'm buying a 3/4 year old anyway.

[A1Dan75]

2) Mine was one of the first FSIs, so don't know much about the TSI (is that a turbo?)

Yep, the FSI engines have been replaced by small turbo-charged TSIs now - 1.4 and 1.8 instead of 1.6 and 2.0 respectively.

For a while they put the turbo-charged version of the 2.0 FSI from the Golf GTI in them - 200bhp - but I think that range is entirely out now.