1.4 & 1.8FR long term review

julian24110

Active Member
Jul 16, 2009
114
25
Cornwall
There have been many threads about this and I read all of them before I picked a 1.4, I then spent 3 years wondering (and still reading) about the difference and whether I'd made the right choice. So when the 3 years was up I changed it for a 1.8. I've now been driving this for 7 months and thought I'd share what seems to be a rare perspective from someone who has done more than just a dealer test drive in each.

For completeness, the 1.4 was a 2015 FR ACT 150 technology;
The 1.8 is a 2018 (so post facelift) FR 180 technology. Both were 5 door manuals with 18" rims.

I live in Cornwall so most of my driving is country roads.

Brakes: The 1.8 has bigger brakes, apparently, I've never noticed the difference.

Suspension: The 1.8 has multi link rear suspension, the 1.4 a torsion beam. I've not noticed the difference even on the rough country roads, in fact the 1.8 seems stiffer over the town centre speed bumps.

Engine: The 1.4 is a beautifully refined and surprisingly powerful emgine. It pulls from low revs up to around 4000RPM, after this it feels a bit breathless and drops off. The 1.8 feels much quicker, it pulls up to the red line and beyond and revs so freely that it can catch me out when overtaking. When I realise, it's still quite happily accelerating. The 1.8 is a bit louder and it makes a beautiful noise the harder you rev it, the 1.4 is so refined you can barely hear it. The 1.4 was probably slightly nippier around town as the power came in a little earlier.

Economy: I got a long term average of 41.x mpg in the 1.4. I currently have a long term average of 36.x in the 1.8.

Verdict: On paper there's hardly any difference, in practice the 1.8 feels quicker and more fun to drive and makes a better noise! You pay the price in fuel economy so it really depends what you want. The 1.4 is probably the best all rounder, with both reasonable performance and economy. The 1.4 was a great car but didn't quite scratch my itch, if I had to choose again it would be the 1.8 (or the new 2.0 190).

Maybe I should have just gone for a Cupra!
 

cupra300uk

Active Member
May 31, 2018
288
106
There have been many threads about this and I read all of them before I picked a 1.4, I then spent 3 years wondering (and still reading) about the difference and whether I'd made the right choice. So when the 3 years was up I changed it for a 1.8. I've now been driving this for 7 months and thought I'd share what seems to be a rare perspective from someone who has done more than just a dealer test drive in each.

For completeness, the 1.4 was a 2015 FR ACT 150 technology;
The 1.8 is a 2018 (so post facelift) FR 180 technology. Both were 5 door manuals with 18" rims.

I live in Cornwall so most of my driving is country roads.

Brakes: The 1.8 has bigger brakes, apparently, I've never noticed the difference.

Suspension: The 1.8 has multi link rear suspension, the 1.4 a torsion beam. I've not noticed the difference even on the rough country roads, in fact the 1.8 seems stiffer over the town centre speed bumps.

Engine: The 1.4 is a beautifully refined and surprisingly powerful emgine. It pulls from low revs up to around 4000RPM, after this it feels a bit breathless and drops off. The 1.8 feels much quicker, it pulls up to the red line and beyond and revs so freely that it can catch me out when overtaking. When I realise, it's still quite happily accelerating. The 1.8 is a bit louder and it makes a beautiful noise the harder you rev it, the 1.4 is so refined you can barely hear it. The 1.4 was probably slightly nippier around town as the power came in a little earlier.

Economy: I got a long term average of 41.x mpg in the 1.4. I currently have a long term average of 36.x in the 1.8.

Verdict: On paper there's hardly any difference, in practice the 1.8 feels quicker and more fun to drive and makes a better noise! You pay the price in fuel economy so it really depends what you want. The 1.4 is probably the best all rounder, with both reasonable performance and economy. The 1.4 was a great car but didn't quite scratch my itch, if I had to choose again it would be the 1.8 (or the new 2.0 190).

Maybe I should have just gone for a Cupra!

Good review about them both I went from a 2015 1.2 Ibiza FR to a 2018 Cupra 300 and I thought I would be satisfied with a 1.4 after my Ibiza, until I tested the Cupra out and the rest is history to be fair though the 1.2 was a great engine and a lot nippier than I was expecting and I got about 40mpg with it


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Kempo

2015 Leon 1.4 FR EcoTSI
Dec 30, 2017
41
15
Great review of the 2 cars and your experience of the 1.4 matches with my view as I think it’s a great engine too.

I didn’t realise they did a 1.8 petrol still as I thought it had all gone to smaller engines or the Cupra. Sometimes also wondered if my 1.4 ACT was right choice over a diesel and still reckon it was.
 
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SteveFR

Active Member
Dec 7, 2016
94
14
Bucks
Nice comparison. I’ve had the 1.8 TSi 180 for a couple of years and can highly recommend a Shark stage 1 remap if you want a bit more poke around town with minimal hit to the wallet; costs £399 and has slightly improved my MPG.
 

Rooster

Active Member
Oct 27, 2018
1,188
326
Yorkshire
Mates who ride in mine (1.4 Tsi ACT ) regularly say "is this only a 1.4 engine?" I tried both the 1.4 and the 1.8, and yes the larger engine is quicker, however it uses a bit more fuel and the road tax costs more, i just found the 1.4 to be quieter in general and have not regretted my choice.
 

Maypack

Ambassador for Cumberland Sausage
Apr 20, 2014
3,175
2,327
Gods Country - West Cumbria
Mates who ride in mine (1.4 Tsi ACT ) regularly say "is this only a 1.4 engine?" I tried both the 1.4 and the 1.8, and yes the larger engine is quicker, however it uses a bit more fuel and the road tax costs more, i just found the 1.4 to be quieter in general and have not regretted my choice.

The 1.4 140 and 150 engines were both good. Had both in my Leon FR’s and my wife enjoyed driving them so much I hardly got a chance to drive them myself.
 

R4CK5

Active Member
Mar 8, 2017
609
85
Agree with everything above. My 1.4 FL FR is an awesome car. Very surprising amount of power when it's needed for such a little unit. Combine that with the diesel like mpg and you can see why it's such a popular power plant. Because of the way I am, I do find that I'm wanting more power from time to time which is why I'm looking to go cupra in the near future. Definitely cant fault my car though.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
 
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ads24000

Active Member
Oct 5, 2018
20
1
Thinking of getting rid of my mk2 2.0 tdi Leon FR for a mk3 next year due to DPF problems. The economy figures for mk3 tsi’s seem just as good if not better than the mk2 diesels. Anyone know the case why that is? I too cant decide between a 1.4 or 1.8 tsi. Wanting to mod it just im sure its gonna be more expensive with a 1.8. Anyone know if its just worth going for the 1.8? Been comparing them to the sciroccos and I dont see how there is such a big difference in mpg? Whats peoples thoughts
 

Seriously?

Active Member
Apr 20, 2018
1,237
831
Mrs Seriously? has a 1.4Tsi FR manual and despite her longest regular journey being 13 miles and the car having only done 2500 miles in total, according to the computer it's averaged just short of 47mpg from new. I have noticed that it warms up amazingly quickly, even on cold mornings, which I guess helps somewhat, combined with the fact that 2 cylinder mode engages on a surprising regular basis. Every time I drive it, I'm amazed that it's only a 1.4. In real world everyday motoring, I don't think there would be many situations where the 1.8 would be superior, even though it's always nice to have the extra power.
 
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SteveFR

Active Member
Dec 7, 2016
94
14
Bucks
Thinking of getting rid of my mk2 2.0 tdi Leon FR for a mk3 next year due to DPF problems. The economy figures for mk3 tsi’s seem just as good if not better than the mk2 diesels. Anyone know the case why that is? I too cant decide between a 1.4 or 1.8 tsi. Wanting to mod it just im sure its gonna be more expensive with a 1.8. Anyone know if its just worth going for the 1.8? Been comparing them to the sciroccos and I dont see how there is such a big difference in mpg? Whats peoples thoughts

If you’re doing high mileage then the Active Cylinder Tech in the 1.4 EcoTSI should be able to offer you comparable mpg to your mk2 TDI but the older 1.8 TSI doesn’t have ACT and is quite a bit thirstier as a result.

Used 150PS retain their value better than the 180PS, so as I do less than 10,000 miles a year I opted for the extra power and the money I saved in purchasing the less popular 1.8 will cover the extra cost of petrol for a few years.

VW share their engines with Skoda, so I’m not sure about Scirocco tbh.
 

CupraGeezer

Active Member
May 11, 2018
357
163
The Mk 3 Scirocco is quite an old design now and it has never sold very well, which it probably why it has not received the investment of other models. It was introduced in 2008 (5 years before the Mk 3 Leon) but its PQ35 platform can be traced back to the Mk 5 Golf, which was introduced in 2003. Although it was facelifted in 2014, none of the engines were updated so these are much older designs that those available in the Mk 3 Leon, hence their much higher emissions, which is why they're in higher (road fund license) tax bands. I'm not familiar with the fuel consumption figures but surely the tests behind these have been discredited by now?
 

ads24000

Active Member
Oct 5, 2018
20
1
If you’re doing high mileage then the Active Cylinder Tech in the 1.4 EcoTSI should be able to offer you comparable mpg to your mk2 TDI but the older 1.8 TSI doesn’t have ACT and is quite a bit thirstier as a result.

Used 150PS retain their value better than the 180PS, so as I do less than 10,000 miles a year I opted for the extra power and the money I saved in purchasing the less popular 1.8 will cover the extra cost of petrol for a few years.

VW share their engines with Skoda, so I’m not sure about Scirocco tbh.

spot on cheers for that, making me sway towards the 1.8, feel like ill get bored of 150ps, bored of my 170 derv after 2 months coming from a 80bhp polo haha, If i got the 1.4 id definetly end up wanting it mapped. Anyone know how well the 1.8s map up compared to the 1.4s? any difference in internals?
 

Rooster

Active Member
Oct 27, 2018
1,188
326
Yorkshire
Mrs Seriously? has a 1.4Tsi FR manual and despite her longest regular journey being 13 miles and the car having only done 2500 miles in total, according to the computer it's averaged just short of 47mpg from new. I have noticed that it warms up amazingly quickly, even on cold mornings, which I guess helps somewhat, combined with the fact that 2 cylinder mode engages on a surprising regular basis. Every time I drive it, I'm amazed that it's only a 1.4. In real world everyday motoring, I don't think there would be many situations where the 1.8 would be superior, even though it's always nice to have the extra power.
I think it's awesome how you can maintain motorway speeds on only 700cc!
 
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