Yours is not an eassy question to answer simply because you do not say what you want out of the car.

If its for use only in town on shopping and school trips the smallest/cheapest 1.2 should be fine.

If its for long holiday trips loaded with luggage, parents and kids then the 140/150 ps 1.4 in a bigger car would be the best.

I bought a Leon in 2013 fitted with the 140 PS engine, its been absolutely magic. 45 mpg on average, 52/3 mpg on holiday trips, more than enough power - makes overtaking an absolute doddle even when loaded. Basically its the best engine I have ever owned. £30 a year VED.

Its so good I have a new Skoda Superb on order fitted with the 1.4 150 PS version which is due in March. £30 a year VED.

We did try a Polo fitted with the 90 PS 1.2 when the wife was swapping. Did not expect it to perform like the 1.4 but it was a total disappointment, we walked away. The car itself seemed fine but the engine was a let down. There is a 110 PS version available and in the Skoda Fabia its reasonably priced but we did not like that car.

The only concern and its a big one, the engine timing chains on the 1.2 tsi have a habit of snapping and the skoda dealer service manager when pushed told me 'it was one of those things

VAG changed from chains to belts when the new engines were introduced in 2013 but even though the Rapid and its sister the Seat Toledo were introduced at this time they were based on older technology and designs and as far as I know they still continue to use the older chain cam engines. Definitely cars to avoid since they are little if any cheaper than newer better designs from the same brands.

Our neighbour has a 10 plates A1 1.3 TSi which was suffering from timing chain rattle (not teribly bad I must add) about 18 months ago and well out of warranty. Audi contributed 50% to the cost of the repair proving all you need is a good dealer to push for a contribution.

similar to the 1.2TSi being replaced by the 1 ltr (possibly 3cyl?) variant.

The 1.0 TSi has been out for many months now. Its suplementing the 1.2 TSI in most ranges at the moment and is definitely a 3 cylinder design. Press has been very kind so far but they always are if the launch in over in Spain with plenty of wine, food, warm weather etc. etc. Wait for later reviews when the memories of the week away have faded.

I doubt if the 84 bhp 1.2 has a turbo in it, or if it does, it barely does anything, as most normally-aspirated 1.2s have a power output of around that mark.

The 90 PS 1.2 TSI we drove definitely had a turbo but it was still dog slow, no better than the 1.2 normally aspirated Nissan Micra 82 PS car were were swapping.