Potentially chaging back to a Mk2 Diesel

[wurzel]

Its been a while since posting in the MK2 forum as I sold my FR TFSI to buy a house.

The job I'm now doing means I'm covering 20 to 25K per year and my MK1 Cupra is having a love affair with the petrol station; driving carefully I'm regularly seeing 38-40mpg however filling up every 2 days is getting tiresome!

No decisions made yet but I'm considering a used MK2 FR TDI or a Sport TDI DSG. I'm expecting to see around 55mpg out of both models as I'm able to get 38-40 from a 1.8T. Whilst the 140 is a bit slower than 170 I'm guessing it it will be more economical even with the DSG. Looking around on the net I can get a 57 plate Sport DSG for 11K whereas the FR is around 13K for a 56 plate.

Does the sport have the same harsh suspension as in the FR or is it a bit softer? . After doing a bit of research the FR & Sport seem to have a very similar spec apart from bumpers, is this correct?

I've only ever heard good things about ths DSG, is it costly to service?

Interested to hear from FR diesel and sport dsg owners on how you are finding the running costs etc!

 

[AndyVTR]

I wouldn't expect 55mpg from a PD170.

 

[wurzel]

I wouldn't expect 55mpg from a PD170.

I hadn't expected to see 40 from the Cupra; is 50mpg possible from the 170?

 

[Street]

I generally get 40 from mine on the way into and back from work.. Thats a lot of stop start traffic though at some points. If I'm just cruising then the most I've seen was about 55, that was taking it very steady though and not booting it at all!

 

[mds1256]

I generally get 40 from mine on the way into and back from work.. Thats a lot of stop start traffic though at some points. If I'm just cruising then the most I've seen was about 55, that was taking it very steady though and not booting it at all!

+1 same for me with my FR TDi. on a tank i average 40.9 and i think that is poor for a diesel considering my PD130 ibiza fr used to average 51mpg on the same run

 

[Street]

+1 same for me with my FR TDi. on a tank i average 40.9 and i think that is poor for a diesel considering my PD130 ibiza fr used to average 51mpg on the same run

My dads got an Audi A3 with the PD140 engine in and he was only averaging about 45 around here when he came to visit me.. So a 5mpg hit isn't too bad and I probably have a heavier right foot that him!

 

[P0LKR]

I had a sport before my cupra and while both are firm the sport was quite uncomfortable at times. The cupra being much nicer. I think the FR is even slightly harder than the Sport but don't quote me on that. The new facelift FR is supposed to be much more comfortable as SEAT bowed to all the criticism.

 

[rosco07]

Hi. I frequently see 44+mpg on "trip 2" over a tank with economical driving in my FR TDI. This includes short trips of 2-3 miles in town, 17 mile commutes some days and 35 mile commutes other days on fast A and twisty B roals - all of the commutes are from a cold start too. I drive as fast as the traffic in front allows, always looking to pass and will do 60ish mph on an empty road. On a good day I've seen 50+ mpg on both these commutes on trip 1 - a bad day about 40mpg.

I seldom see less than 500 miles covered before the refuel light comes on and my record on 1 full tank ( I never brim it but presume this will still be more than 55l) is 580 miles and still showing a range of 10 - which I'm more than pleased with. Even after some spirited driving on fast twisty roads which really works the car I still see 32+mpg on trip 1. Without doubt this will impact in trip 2 but nontheless, I would be shocked if a petrol FR or Cupra could keep up and show 20+mpg.

If you are a really economical driver you should manage close to 50mpg from an FR over a tank, and you would get more from a 140PD. I would also agree that it's very unlikely to get 55mpg from an FR - bear in mind offical combined is 47.1mpg and that takes a bit of doing.

I would also say that anyone who gets 40mpg or less over a tank in an FR TDI is heavy footed or does lots of start/stop driving.

Hope this helps.

PS I've not intended to start a FR/Cupra petrol comsumption debate

 

[wurzel]

Thanks that is good information. The MK1 Cupra has a claimed combined average of 33.2 mpg & trip two over the last 3000+ miles is showing 36.5 so I see no reason why I wouldn't exceed the combined average of the TDI 140 which is 49.5.

The MK2 FR I used to own had very hard suspension, I can see some test driving coming up to see how the sport compares.

Having done some sums assuming I do 20K per year for next 2 years I will be better off keeping hold of the Cupra (depreciation etc) but new car syndrome is kicking in.

 

[SpursMadDave]

I hadn't expected to see 40 from the Cupra; is 50mpg possible from the 170?

definitely if you drive economically at motorway legal speeds on decent length runs

 

[Bilsten]

I've been travelling the same 50 mile round trip to work for years on a busy A class road. I had a MK1 1.8 T cupra and was pushing 280 to 300 miles per tank and that was sitting steady at between 60 and 70 for most of the journey. like you said the car was in love with the filling stations. I bought a MK1 FR 150 and always got 500 miles to a tank. Since then I bought a MK 2 FR 170 and again I got 500 miles to the tank, average. Think the computer shows about 44 to 48 average per journey but, with other driving mixed in, the average on the tank is about 42. Thats the best I've seen. I got a MK2 FR 170 facelift last week and its showing figures of between 55 to 58 average for the same trip. Still on my first tank of fuel but I'm expecting it to be well over 500 miles on the tank.

 

[bbob]

I'll probably get shot down in flames with people disagreeing but I generally find that with petrol cars it is possible to exceed or match manufacturers claims of fuel economy whereas with diesel cars you will struggle to meet the claims unless you drive ridiculously gently.

 

[GainfulShrimp]

That may be right, dunno. My FR TFSI DSG is rated at 35ish mpg average, but so far even with pretty gentle driving I've only managed 33-34 on my commute (mix of country rollercoasters, dual carriageway and stop-start at the end). However, it's feeling smoother and more responsive now after it's been run-in a bit, and consumption figures have improved since I got it... so I'm hoping it'll improve a bit more over time.

 

[wurzel]

I've been travelling the same 50 mile round trip to work for years on a busy A class road. I had a MK1 1.8 T cupra and was pushing 280 to 300 miles per tank and that was sitting steady at between 60 and 70 for most of the journey. like you said the car was in love with the filling stations. I bought a MK1 FR 150 and always got 500 miles to a tank. Since then I bought a MK 2 FR 170 and again I got 500 miles to the tank, average. Think the computer shows about 44 to 48 average per journey but, with other driving mixed in, the average on the tank is about 42. Thats the best I've seen. I got a MK2 FR 170 facelift last week and its showing figures of between 55 to 58 average for the same trip. Still on my first tank of fuel but I'm expecting it to be well over 500 miles on the tank.

The facelift model being CR rather than PD? interesting to know that the newer model is giving better consumption

 

[Shadders]

iIve got the Sport 140 with a Superchips map.

My daily commute is only 4 miles from cold & stop/start traffic. Can vary between 38-43 mpg.

Best have seen is mid 50's with very light throttle on 60 mph roads. On a motorway run with cruise set about 70mph only get around 44-46mpg which I don't think is great. Combined figures on the current tank show 210miles covered with 355 range left which is slightly better than normal. Normally get 490/500. On Trip 2 it tends to sit around 42mpg.

The DSG box is great & wouldn't want another manual. I had no intention of buying but was on the demo car & fell in love & never looked back! If you get DSG, be careful on remaps as they can't handle to much torque. If the gearbox breaks, Seat will have to send back to Volks/Audi as are a sealed unit. If needs replacing have been told costs around £4-£5k!

On the suspension, YES the Sport is very harsh. Not been in an FR so can't compare. Seems Seat realised this & facelifted FR has 15% softer setting & road test reports say much better with no loss of performance.

Hope this helps!?

 

[AndyVTR]

I do some mileage. 60 mile commute to work, 120 a day, 600 a week.

I managed 600 from my PD150 and a 700 tank when venting.

I had a 225 TT and got 430 from that. About 35mpg.

I found in the PD150 I could get over 50mpg easily. The best ever tank being 57mpg. My brother has an older PD150 3dr Golf though and can hit the 60's.

My PD170 is rubbish. My 60 mile journey consists of 50 miles cruising at 2k in 6th (70ish) and then 10 miles of country twisties that are mostly open 60mph jobs. I've seen people claiming 50's in their PD170's but I'm not sure what journeys these are over. I measure mine over a full tank and the best I've managed is a 47mpg. I've had 580 to a tank but not 600 yet, I do think it will do it however. Just a matter of timing. I had this last night but not enough to get me back to work this morning:

I do think the CRD170 will be better. Audi claim 600 miles and 53mpg in their TT although I've not seen it on the forums. It also has a 60L tank.

Do one of those fandangled search things and you'll see numerous MPG threads. Also, I've had trouble with PD140s before...

 

[Bilsten]

The facelift model being CR rather than PD? interesting to know that the newer model is giving better consumption

and cheaper to tax due to lower emissions - only £120 for the year - bonus

 

[AndyVTR]

50mpg over first 54 miles of tank.

 

[SSimpson3]

my TDI 140 is lucky to see 44mpg and thats driving carefully, if i have a slighly heavy left then it drops to 35mpg which i think is rubbish for a diesal, i would have been better off with a petrol, more fun for roughly the same price
a full tank normally lasts 400-450 miles

 

[AndyVTR]

If you have a heavy left I'm not surprised you're getting poor MPG, you're coasting!