TSI or TDI ....which one to order?

[epilot]

mgs,

my partner and i drove both the TDi and the TSi and thought the TDi was rubbish...

they are noisy in the cabin, rattly (new term) at idle, power delivery was ordinary and not that economical.

we were comparing to our GTi and were totally underwhelmed with the diesel and have ordered a MY 11 147 TSi with DSG.

even with the old auto the 147 was still a nice drive and the AWD is a real bonus over the FWD GTi, basically we felt we were getting GTi performance with AWD in a (for us ) more practical shell.

by the way nice garage !!

regards,

[STV4SYT]

Having owned both Diesel and TSI equipped VW's in the past 12 months, it really comes down to how many km you intend to do in it, to justify the extra cost of the diesel over the TSI you really need to be putting 20,000km a year on it for the cost savings to be seen. That being said, the diesel is a nice lazy car to drive, with heaps of instantaneous torque for putting around in traffic, whereas the TSI likes to be worked to make progress.

[ian]

I'm just a normal driver and over the years Ive owned a lot of performance vehicles AA cordia turbo, V/8 torana hatchback, VL Calais Turbo
and heaps of Commodores, i find the Golf V Gt Diesel has plenty of pick-up and heaps of torque hills and mountains are like a bump in the road and last week went to Bowral from Sydney sitting on the speed limit and managed to get it down to 5ltrs/100 and i wasn't treating it like a baby.

[mgs996tt]

Thanks Guys. Seems the general consensus is the TSI. (Given the low down torq of the TDI this would also be great around town).
Scanning the web found the attached pic. Will base my plans on building a similar Tig, but in White.
So TSI (either 125 or 147 not sure at present…125 looks to be better value based on my option wish list). Options to include : DSG, Leather, S’Roof, Bi-Xenon’s, MDI, Comfort & Fogs – if 125, B’tooth, OEM running boards, Savannah wheels as shown / H&R Coil overs or KW coil overs / APR flash……let’s see what the stealers can do with availability tomorrow.

[Transporter]

If you go for too many options then price wise, it is better to get 147TSI rather than 125. There are some features in 147TSI that are not available as an option on other models, check it out.

[Greg Roles]

For the record I have driven, actually flogged, my GT TDI for near three years now, and it's never seen over 7L/100 calculated via the log book, and in fact is usually around 6. That is also the consensus with a LOT of euro diesel guys I know now across several manufacturers. I pretty much can't get less than 800k out of a tank in now ludicrous Brisbane traffic, driving it hard. The diesel has lots of downfalls, economy is most definately not one of them, and I challenge anyone on that.

Obviously a SUV is going to use more fuel than a car, as it's a lot heavier and is lugging around 4WD gear, let alone the aerodynamics, tyres etc etc.

Drive them both, buy the one you like, I sure didn't go in wanting or even considering a diesel, but one test drive blew my mind, and decision.

[Sanman]

I calculate that the cost of the diesel over the 125 would take about 4 years to pay back at current fuel prices. Not a good equation. Why I got the diesel over the petrol is the diesel drives more like a 6 cyl Commodore, plenty of low down torque, breathless when revved, perfect for city traffic work. And as a bonus, I only have to fill every two weeks, not every week, and diesel prices are constant, none of this fill on the cheapest day of the week drama. Refreshing.

[Buller_Scott]

To put it into perspective ... especially since you're coming from a Turbo Territory ... TSI has performance and TDI has not.

Chipped TSI will outrun a Turbo Territory (0-100 in around 6s dead) whereas a chipped TDI will not crack 10s even going down hill. Overtaking 80-120 in a TSI in around 3.5s whereas a TDI will take 9s ... that is a huge amount of time to be exposed to oncoming traffic.

wow, i didnt know that diesels were so unbelievably slow, especially downhill. oettinger advertises a 9.6sec 0-100 time for their tune, and anyone who knows diesels, knows that you can get much more aggressive figures from tuners other than oettinger (oettinger not even really being on the map).

seeing as, like others on this forum who like to talk crap about diesel, you seem to know so much about diesels, let me ask one question- you had a polo gti with mods. if diesels are so slow, howcome chipped polo tdi's can keep up with chipped polo gti's in the twisties?

and im not talking about what you THINK you might know about how diesels may drive... there are vic peeps who can confirm the statement i made above

anyway, regarding the OP, i'd really suggest driving them back to back. if you're looking for V-Tec power, all upper end figures and stuff what happens before redline, then dont even consider the diesel...

but you might find that low down torque is actually a nice thing to have, and that it makes for very easy driving in anything from highway cruising, to driving in the twisties.

i'd really suggest driving them both. you never know what will happen. i came from a mk3 VR6, and when i was shopping for a new car, i had my sights set on the polo gti. i test drove the tdi as well, and was surprised to find that it actually suited me better.

dont presume- try 'em all.

[patto]

Geez, there are a few people on here with fanboi-ism I think.

Anyway, firstly... drive both the TSI and TDI - I had been a petrol man all my life but have in the past 3 years been converted to Diesel and will never go back.

One thing I suggest you think about is what rev range do you expect to be spending the majority of your driving life?
If you are going to be driving in the 0-4000rpm range (as in just about every driving situation) then go for the diesel, sure they are a little bit noiser but they are fun to drive with the Nm monster under the bonnet.
If you are going to be driving 3500rpm+ most of the time, then go the petrol variant.

Plus, its fricken annoying when people come on here and start touting "a chipped petrol is better than diesel" - Apples and Oranges - some people dont want to pay another 2k permium for the chip+mods AND you can get a chip for a diesel too!!!!!

Do youself a favour and drive both, diesels are not what they used to be and the petrol engine is also a great one.

Cheers

[jimbomort]

agree drive both, all the figs and stats in the world dont convey 'the feel' of any car

for everyday driving diesel is fine and I know plenty of people happy with their diesel tigs. On the topic of torque however, lets clarify that the chipped tsi has substantially more torque than the standard diesel across the entire rev range. Chipped the TSI will outgrunt the diesel right from idle. Also in 0-4000rpm, the chipped tsi (and not chipped) goes much harder from 2500rpm.

This is comparing chipped with not and I am not advocating the tsi over the diesel, just clarifying some facts. I think I would be happy with the Tig either way and not everyone will want to chip their new Tig.

However dont be fooled into thinking the diesel is the torque monster of the two. Chipped the TSI is a very strong motor right from idle - quite happy to drive around all day at low revs and then push you into the back of the seat if you put the foot down. It is also quite economical if driven sensibly, especially on the hwy.

So the case for the diesel is really on fuel economy, or some extra torque IF YOU WILL NEVER chip your new tig.