RS DSG - Diesel or Petrol

[Slick]

Hi guys,

I'm new to the forum and am seriously considering an Octavia RS with DSG. However I am tossing up between the diesel or the petrol variant. I've never owned a diesel car before. I like the mid-range power of the diesel and the impressive fuel economy but I dislike the fact that it has a flat and slowish take off and the short first gear.

I know this is quite personal, but I am interested in your recommendations of diesel versus petrol.

Also, are there any difference in servicing and maintenance costs between the two?

Thanks

[spellbound]

Just get the petrol and if you like extra shove get APR stage 1 ECU upgrade 190kw and 400+ nm , economy wont change about 8.5l/100 city , latest RS have the tricky diff .

[Jake02]

I haven't been that impressed with my RS TFSI (petrol) fuel consumption over it's life (although its been mostly around town) and the 125TDI is fantastic, but I really love the TFSI/TSI engine - it's just fabulous! Sounds great, goes very well and on a highway it's efficient. Get a petrol and get some options or put it into something else.

[woofy]

I think the DPF should come into any decision about diesels at the moment, is that an issue with these?

[Transporter]

I believe that the new DPFs are more reliable. Most of the time it was inexpensive differential pressure sensor for the DPF that failed in them (costs less than$100) and that part was also upgraded, so everything from 2010 production should be OK. I didn't here DPF light on the dash for some time in our forum. Put it that way, we have the DPF in 2 our cars and I'm not concerned about them, I plan to keep the Touareg for a long time and the manual says "check the DPF loading at 180,000km".

[pawel]

I am only getting 460km out of my 2010 rs tdi wagon at this rate I should have got the petrol version. I am only doing 20km round short trips but thats pretty crap I was getting over 400km with my 06 Megane sport turbo.

[dArK5HaD0w]

both tdi & tsi engines r fantastic.

it all boils down to how many kms u drive. if u don't do too many - def head for the tsi, otherwise the tdi is ur pick.
i do less than 25,000kms a yr, and i never liked diesels, hence my choice was easy

i've almost hit 10,000kms, and i'm getting 8.1L/100. the trip computer says 7.8L/100 though. that's mostly around town driving, with the once a month trip to sydney for a weekend.

[dru]

We were also stuck between the two, the great fuel economy of the diesel is hard to beat but once I drove the TSI - I was hooked!

[K1W1]

A diesel owner is a diesel owner.
If you have to think about it you aren't a diesel owner.

[Ocy_RS_TDi_Kombi]

I had a manual TSi RS as a loaner for a day and ultimately it was quicker than my TDi RS but you had to rev it a bit to make it go - the TDi has a stronger midrange and feels quicker in day to day driving. The loaner only had 500km on it though....... Haven't driven a TSi RS DSG

Don't know about the flat/slowish take off cause my RS TDi will run away from most cars at the lights - use Sports mode to remove the initial hesitation on take off which most DSGs have

Got 44,000km on my RS now and haven't had any DPF problems.

Fuel economy wise I average between 7l/100km to 7.5l/100km and that's in Melbourne's peak hour - eastern suburbs to Richmond and back again. I’m not gentle with the throttle either.

But it’s down to personal choice and the kms you drive.

[K1W1]

Fuel economy wise I average between 7l/100km to 7.5l/100km and that's in Melbourne's peak hour - eastern suburbs to Richmond and back again. I’m not gentle with the throttle either.

I'm 6.5L/100Km over 36k in a manual in similar driving conditions.

[Transporter]

Family member has MY11 RS TSI DSG (not modified), done almost 10,000km now, and in the Adelaide's city traffic can't get better fuel economy than 9.2L/100km, he gets 8.0L/100km on long distance trips.

[Vas]

I've driven rs tdi wagon when my petrol rs was serviced. To be honest, I like diesels, but still my petrol rs seems smoother. Here's what I noticed: in TDi the DSG engine brakes- it's quite apparent when driving downhill, in the petrol it doesn't. Also the 1st gear seems shorter in tdi- it took a while for me to get used to it and take off without wheelspin. Overall, petrol is not only quicker, but also smoother when driving sensibly .

[Gnat]

TSI - 6sp Manual 11,000km
Perth traffic (yeh yeh ... nothing like Sydney traffic lol ) ~30km / 35mins freeway and backstreet to CBD and back each day. General suburban weekend driving;
To Date average - 7.3L/100
Freeway at ~100kmh - ~5.5L/100 (Bloody awesome)
Freeway at ~110kmh - ~7.3L/100
Green light and first 200 meters ~2354324534L/100

Edit, thought total average was 6.6 .... must have been a recent trip
Edit2, I should add, I dont spare the horses when I can go from zero to the speed limit ..... so I really like those numbers

[dazag]

I've never been one for owning a diesel, and after test driving just about ever variant of the Skoda's , I made sure I drove the RS TDI & TSI back to back as this was what it came down to for my purchase. The TSI was more "fun" to drive. The engine response was quicker, it sounded damn nice, and being a manual it felt like you were really driving it. Had a big grin on my face after getting out of it. Of note this car was an ex Tour Down Under support vehicle and had 13,000km on it so the motor was a bit free'er then the normal demo cars.
The diesel was a DSG and basically brand new ( only had about 80km on it) . It has some turbo lag when leaving the lights or as you come out of a round about or slow corner. If you slip the DSG into sports mode or manual mode then there is next to no lag and is a heap of fun. I dont think i would have the diesel in a manual as you would be changing gears a fair bit due to the short rev range, but some people like changing gears a lot.....
In the end i really liked both cars, but what sold me was the torque/towing capability and the fuel economy of the Diesel, and the fact that it didn't really sound like a typical diesel engine ( the typical diesel rattle ). Since now owning the RS TDI with DSG for almost 2 years ( 2nd b'day in late Sept ) and a little over 32,000km, I rate it. I can't compare to a RS TSI, but for what i bought it for it's been brilliant. With a fully loaded trailer & car it still pulled like I had nothing behind it, and the fuel economy went from 6l/100km to around 7.5l/100km which I thought was brilliant as i was expecting it to be above 8.5L/100km.
When i normally drive it and I'm just cruising I'll leave it in the auto, but when i visit my sister on the central coast there is a whole bunch of round-a-bouts that I have to go through, I slip the DSG into manual and use the paddles and have some serious fun punching out of them, 3rd gear is ideal - no lag and it just pulls!! with little effect on economy.

Seriously I dont think you will upset with either version of the RS, it will just depend if you can put up with a little turbo lag in the diesel, or if you dont mind slightly less economy in the TSI, or if you plan to tow with your car, or you like to "tweak" your cars?? I think you can answer this better then any of us........

I'll be looking at fitting a APR Cold Air Induction system ( which should get rid of the lag i've been told ) and an ECU upgrade ( for even more fun and embarassing "bigger" cars ) and an Anti Lift kit to get the power to the ground ( Spellbound, have you fitted one of these kits to your car if you're punching those numbers from your car or you enjoying the traction control light coming on a hell of a lot ?? )