1.4 tfsi - buy or avoid

[kunaalv]

Hey guys, I'm thinking of returning to a petrol engine and the A3 1.4 tfsi engine picks my fancy. What I wanted to know was is this engine reliable? I'm looking at a 08 plate A3. Are there engine codes I should avoid? The reason for my cautiousness...... I used to own a passat 2.0 tdi, which suffered the legendary oil pump failure, hence I'm cautious about the tfsi engine, as it too is a fairly new engine on a 08 plate, though I haven't found particular engine codes to avoid. Thanks for you help.

[percymon]

If you are coming froma diesel you may be in for a shock ..

I've had 3.5 yrs and 64k miles in a Golf Mk 6 1.6TDI. I test drove a Sportback 1.6TDI and then a 1.4TFSI. The test drives were about 12 miles long, mainly country roads witha bit of town work at one end (lightish traffic on a Thursday afternoon). The diesel did 61mpg, the petrol 43.8 (and that was driving like miss daisy at 50mph on a dual carirageway for the last mile to try to improve matters !). The sales guy said I'd do well to get more than 43mpg in normal economical driving.I spoke to a few Golf Mk 6 TSI owners who i know drive within the speed limit and they were getting 42-43mpg over a prolonged period. I sat down and worked out the fuel costs - even beign conservative with the diesel it was looking at 20% more money per week for the petrol (based on ca 400miles/week) - the sales guy even told me that every time I filled up I'd be thinking whether I'd bought the right car - and he had more margin in the petrol than the diesel sale too.

Economy aside - I found the ptrol very lackign in overtaking umph - OK its not got the torque of a diesel but it was very slow to respond and pick up speed when pulling out on a dual carriageway in top gear (accelerating from 65-75mph) - I ended up dropping it into 4th the second time, which made a lot more engine noise and a bit better progress. Perhaps I've got used to diesels but since my commute is 25 miles of dual carriageway I'd rather sit and cruise along than having to drop gears to pull into the outside lane.

As lovely as the petrol was ( s-line + + + + ), the lack of performance (without stiring the gearstick) and the economy just didn't compute for me

[dbt07A4avant]

I have owned an A3 1.4TFSI Sportback (from new) for 18 months now. It has the 7 Speed s-Tronic box and can, if I want it to, go like stink with very quick, almost imperceptible, changes. Over almost 18k miles it has averaged 40mpg, but that includes the time when the engine was stiff from new. On a run now, keeping to limits, but not hanging about, I can easily average 45+mpg and yesterday, on way to dealer, for 1st service, the indicator was up to 49.6mpg. Consumption can take a knock though if you really do boot it! Having driven A4 diesels since 1998 until I bought this car I have been delighted. Petrol is so much smoother and less smelly at the pumps than diesel! The dealer did, though, lend me a courtesy car 2.0TDI Q3 SE (fwd) with the manual box and that was very impressive, although a bind having to change gear all the time. I do, however, regularly use the steering wheel paddles, or the gear 'stick' on the A3 to override down-changes, especially when braking downhill because it tends to be eager to drop into 3rd when 4th or 5th will do and revs spin up to around 3k. Engine reliability seems OK, although the front suspension wishbones have been replaced under warranty. Also, rear tyres (Bridgestone RE040) wear unacceptably high and tread on n/s rear down to just above 1.6mm on outside of tyre. Dealer checked the 4 wheel alignment and all were within spec. So have changed the rears to Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance (recent tyre intro and getting some good reviews) - the dealer matched the lowest price I found elsewhere. I had Bridgestone on my last A4 from new and they too wore down too quickly. Replacement Contis on that car much better wearing and loads quieter too, but thought I'd give these Goodyears a try for now.