2014 118tsi... yay or nay

[beagleONE]

Hi all,
I am looking for a new family car as we are expecting our first little one in a couple of months.
There are manual 2014 118tsi jettas going for 20k locally.
Good ANCAP, suitable airbags, all that stuff that youve never considered prior to finding out you have a little one inbound haha.

I test drove one today, got all excited with the boot space and fancy new car features.
Then I came home to do a bit of research.... which lead to me finding out about the troublesome 118tsi

Have the later model 118tsi's had their motors sorted?
Or do they still suck oil, and go bang if run on anything less than 98ron??

The dealership bloke made a comment 'if your going to thrash them, keep and eye on the oil levels, but theyll go into limp mode before anything goes bang'.. Not exactly confidence inspiring haha.


Just want to know if these motors are sorted? Or if its just going to be a roll of the dice, and hope not to get stung.



Thanks yall!

[brad]

Still a lucky dip.

Have a look at a Skoda Octavia. The 118tsi in that is a turbo only 1.8litre and trouble free. You might even find the 90tsi suits you or you'll get a 3 year old vRS for $20k.

[beagleONE]

Good man, thanks for the reply. Appreciate it.
The search continues, shall have a look in to the skodas!

[Bennybrus]

If you're willing and able to, check out the TDI. It is noticeably more expensive than the manual TSI brand new but theres quite a few with low kms going pretty cheap on carsales IMO.
The DSG in the TDI model is the 6spd 'wet-clutch' and based on my experience it is hassle free. Engine is also excellent.
So I would say 'nay' for the TSI, but then again my opinion is biased because I have the TDI

[anthony]

If you are open to suggestions,look at the new Toyota Corolla sedan...it is SO practical with a massive boot and interior,but you wont be taking a chance with one of them,as its absorlutely bullet proof.

[brad]

If you are open to suggestions,look at the new Toyota Corolla sedan...it is SO practical with a massive boot and interior,but you wont be taking a chance with one of them,as its absorlutely bullet proof.

My In-laws have the latest Corolla. The interior quality is appalling. I can't believe it's a Toyota.

[human traffic]

Hi all,
I am looking for a new family car as we are expecting our first little one in a couple of months.
There are manual 2014 118tsi jettas going for 20k locally.
Good ANCAP, suitable airbags, all that stuff that youve never considered prior to finding out you have a little one inbound haha.

I test drove one today, got all excited with the boot space and fancy new car features.
Then I came home to do a bit of research.... which lead to me finding out about the troublesome 118tsi

Have the later model 118tsi's had their motors sorted?
Or do they still suck oil, and go bang if run on anything less than 98ron??

The dealership bloke made a comment 'if your going to thrash them, keep and eye on the oil levels, but theyll go into limp mode before anything goes bang'.. Not exactly confidence inspiring haha.


Just want to know if these motors are sorted? Or if its just going to be a roll of the dice, and hope not to get stung.



Thanks yall!

slow day at work so heres a story for you, I was pretty much in the same position as you (quite literally ha!) a couple years ago what with making babies n all (and the reason i have been on here!), tho my purchase was a little more preemptive as we had only just started thinking about starting a family, the problem was my reluctancy to let go of my 180sx. it was far from pretty and literally a pain in the butt for long distances but man it was fun and it had power and could boogie in any gear with a blip of the ol go now pedal. trouble was it was highly impractical even for weekends away with just me and the missus and for that reason we ended up using her swift a lot and the 180 just sat in the driveway gathering dirt and bird poo.

it wasn’t till we went on our honeymoon in 2012 that I drove a jetta for the first time and instantly fell in love (even tho it was the auto and anemic entry level model). the boot space as you’ve seen is phenomenal, our two full size suitcases just disappeared into it with plenty of room to spare. tried the same in a focus which is what we had the last time we were in the states (can just squeeze both of them in) and some chrysler thing (not a snowflakes chance in hell!). it was such a nice car to drive, after a week of driving I didn’t want it to end, even after being weirdly on the wrong side of the car and road.

so over the following year I occassionally browsed carsales and read some reviews going through the motions of many before me (I <3 the internet) comparing the usual suspects, honda accord euro, subaru liberty and sometimes the corolla.
the subaru had its own issues and I wasn’t really a fan of the new look, and the corolla… well it’s a corolla. I owned one back in the 90s, great little car but that was the 100kw under a tonne version and not the off to bowls/retirement home variation.
so that left the accord which I was quite happy to settle with it (also previously owned an integra) so had no qualms going back to the big H till I got up close and personal with one and it all was "just ok". not to mention the lack of leg room and boot space and my favouring of the older shape, which I didn’t want to go back to since I was essentially after a NEW new car.

so that led me back to the jetta and the thought of that giant boot. those 3 other cars are around 460L while the jetta is 510! (bigger than falcons and commodores) and it def. shows. I became that weird random guy asking ppl in the pram parking at shopping centers how they found putting prams and baby stuff into their boots, not surprisingly jetta owners were the ones that kind of just gave me a "well see for yourself" gesture as they kept feeding stuff into their tardis.

my mind was made up but had to do the ol "type "problems" after the product name into google" search before I got the ball rolling. of course I came across the whinges and the rants but its like anything on the internet, the minority is always the most vocal and the internet magnifies that and helps those on a crusade.
that said, I was cautious and a little relieved I didn’t want an auto but couldn’t justify a lot of the negative responses about the engine since its used in so many different models and makes all round the world for years, if it was such a death trap they wouldve pulled it from production long ago.

my next dilemma was working out what to do with the 180, just cringing at the thought of what had to be done to pass a roadworthy! but the planets aligned and one afternoon I found a note on my windscreen from some kid wanting to buy it! he took it for a spin, got that wide eyed look that I once had then offered me far more than I was expecting, bless him and his flat brim. a week later it was on the back of a flatbed, no rego, no roadworthy, just a little hole in my heart and a bit of dust getting in my eyes, but the luck didn’t stop there, a jetta I was looking at was almost out of rego and the seller keen to move it (he had 4 other cars!) so I gave him a cheeky offer and he jumped at it, less than a fortnight of checking and paperwork later a 6 speed manual was mine!

since then, I havent had any problems with it, doesn’t chew oil, tho my driving style has changed a little now that I have precious cargo on board. still give it a bit of stick merging on to freeways and to get away from the odd polo driver with little car syndrome :p but that’s as "thrashy" as I get and it hasn’t skipped a beat. mind you ive only put about 10k on the clock in a bit over a year. I have no problem using 98ron since that’s all ive ever used even with my old corolla.

personally I don’t think there was ever really any big manufacturing issues with that engine, its just that ppl werent using the right fuel or oil and that was causing the problems. of course no ones going to have a rant then say "oh and btw it all came about because I decided to cheap out on the petty". this has also since been confirmed by a friend of mine who works in vw servicing even up to the week before xmas she said some guy was having a big tanty about how it’s a pos but after they tested the fuel and questioned why hed been using regular he said he thought hed try it one day and didn’t notice any difference in fuel economy or performance so he kept using it -__-' good one genius.

so your dealer is right, use the right fluids and look after it, you know, like any car really and you'll have far fewer problems.

the thing rides great even on 19s and long trips are effortless. the only little gripe I have is the power distribution, being a measely 1.3L even with the supercharger its rather unresponsive at low revs, its not till the turbo kicks in do things get going. a little frustrating when youre trying to jump into a busy road/out of a busy intersection or pulling out of a driveway on a hill. nothing some mods couldn’t fix but throwing money at a car has now become very low on my list of priorities (another reason why im not on here, trying avoid temptation! lol)

as for practical use with the bub? not a single problem. prams only take up about a third of the boot if that, took the bassinet and stand, all our own bedding, 2 medium suitcases, presents and a birdcage and stuff for the better part of a week over xmas with the rellys and there was still room to spare.
the other thing is the ample space in the back seat, rear facing the babys car seat completely kills front passenger comfort in the swift but completely fine in the jetta. im about 5'7" and still have plenty of room on the odd chance im a passenger. in fact, I don’t think we even needed to more the seat forward.

in short….at least its not an i30! ahahaha! (drove one on hols in tassie last year, man what a steaming pile of the brown and warm that was!)

I know I sound bias but only because I cant fault it (well cept for the stupid backwards indicators) and love everything about it (for what it is), hopefully whatever decision you make you end up feeling the same way

[BluChris]

Like Brad says cross shop the Skoda Octavia. If you haggle you'll get a new one for the same money as a base Jetta. Brand new model, roomier than the old (read: very roomy), 1.4 turbo engine not a twincharger so no anxiety (whether justified or not). Might even pick up a base wagon for around 20k... tempting indeed for family duties

[human traffic]

Like Brad says cross shop the Skoda Octavia. If you haggle you'll get a new one for the same money as a base Jetta. Brand new model, roomier than the old (read: very roomy), 1.4 turbo engine not a twincharger so no anxiety (whether justified or not). Might even pick up a base wagon for around 20k... tempting indeed for family duties

agreed. the wagon is where i'll be heading for the next car and will prob go the RS. 2013 onwards with the squared off lights is the biz (y) would look at getting the honeycomb grill over that bbq plate tho lol

[mr gee]

If the Jetta has a CTH engine instead of A CAV engine, you should be OK. CTH has forged pistons so they are stronger.