Any - Reasonable economy petrols | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

Tue 10 Jan 2012 22:26

Any - Reasonable economy petrols - balleballe

I think i'm going to stick to petrols due to problems on modern diesels.

Im after a mid-size engine (1.8-2.2) with decent enough power (minimum 140bhp).

most of my journerys will be a 15 mile commute but will have the occasional 100 or 200 mile journey.

The car/engine has to be economical (for a petrol). I'm after 40mpg+ on longer journeys. Most of the time cruise will be on at 65-70mph

My current mazda 6 (2 litre MZR) does around 38-40 (highest being 42) in the above circumstance.

Any suggestions?

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Tue 10 Jan 2012 22:30

Any - Reasonable economy petrols - Avant

My Octavia vRS petrol (2.0, 197 bhp) does a sporting 38 mpg on a long run, and would probably beat 40 mpg if I kwept it down to 65 mph. An Octavia 1.8 TSI (158 bhp) would do even better and is still quite lively..

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Tue 10 Jan 2012 22:36

Any - Reasonable economy petrols - balleballe

Didnt realise they were that economical. Doesn't premium unleaded have to be used though?

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Tue 10 Jan 2012 22:41

Any - Reasonable economy petrols - gordonbennet

Thats an easy one answer question.

Avensis 1.8 and choose the smooooooth as silk auto to make driving as easy as can be, with none of that automated manual rubbish.

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Tue 10 Jan 2012 23:15

Any - Reasonable economy petrols - balleballe

The toyota 1.8 is certainly on my list, but the new avensis is amazingly ugly (to me anyway)

I take it the auto is a torque convertor?

Did you ever get a chance to do an extended run and measure mpg?

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Wed 11 Jan 2012 12:10

Any - Reasonable economy petrols - RicardoB

The toyota 1.8 is certainly on my list, but the new avensis is amazingly ugly (to me anyway)

I take it the auto is a torque convertor?

I believe that the petrol 1.8 Avensis is CVT.

I also think HJ rates this engine and transmission set-up.

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Tue 10 Jan 2012 22:38

Any - Reasonable economy petrols - unthrottled

If you're cruising at 65-70, I would question the need for a 2.0litre sized engine-since you won't be using very many of the horses anyway!

Any of the 1.6 sized Turbocharged engines should be capable of beating a 2.0l naturally aspirated engines in terms of power, torque and economy.

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Tue 10 Jan 2012 22:40

Any - Reasonable economy petrols - unthrottled

You'll lose about 5% of maximum torque/horsepower-on a hot day using 95RON vs 98 RON on a turbocharged engine. Part load performance (99% of the time) is totally unaffected.

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Tue 10 Jan 2012 23:13

Any - Reasonable economy petrols - balleballe

I thought the FSI engines had some major problems when people were using 95RON unleaded. something to do with carbon desposits IIRC - or has this issue been sorted?

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Tue 10 Jan 2012 23:29

Any - Reasonable economy petrols - unthrottled

FSI engines had some major issues with coking because of poorly designed injectors-nothing to do with the fuel. The early direct injection engines also had problems with deposits forming on intake valves. And they had problems with failing pistons...

GM's 1.4T and 1.6T look reasonable. I believe they're still using port injection which sidesteps the issues regarding direct injection.

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Tue 10 Jan 2012 22:42

Any - Reasonable economy petrols - balleballe

I like to drive in a spirited way in and around town - and on my daily commute. Overtaking ability is a must - hence the need for a few horses

Can you name me a reliable 1.6 turbocharged engine? I cant think of many

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Wed 11 Jan 2012 08:43

Any - Reasonable economy petrols - ChannelZ

Can you name me a reliable 1.6 turbocharged engine? I cant think of many

PSA/BMW's 1.6T is a good engine. Shame it only appears in Peugeots or "I'm an estate agent" MINIs.

VAG's 1.8TSI is a good old lump, been about a long time. It's in the Octavia in 150hp trim, and does 35-40mpg.

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Wed 11 Jan 2012 09:49

Any - Reasonable economy petrols - thunderbird

When we last changed we tried a Skoda Octavia with the 1.4 TSI turbo petrol, 122bhp with a good spread of power and almost diesel like pull low down. We really enjoyed the drive and as far as I could tell there had been no problems with this lower powered version as opposed to the high powered boy racer versions which had been having problems. Obviously did not drive it long enough to test fuel consumption but as is the case with all turbo cars drive normally and you should get decent consumption (similar to a 1.6 N/A or even a 1.4 N/A), thrash it and you won't. Beauty of this type of engine is you don't need to thrash to get decent performance thus good economy should be easilly within reach. The engine is available in other Skodas and of course VW's and Seats. Only thing that prevented us buying was a problem with the driving position for the wife.

We also tried an Avensis with the 1.8 petrol, what a slow unresponsive hateful beast it was, nicely fitted out, confortable but way overpriced.

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Wed 11 Jan 2012 10:20

Any - Reasonable economy petrols - dieseldogg

As my username implies I am not a fan of petrol ( unless for chainsaws)

However having driven the 1.2TSI in a Skoda Yeti, I was astounded at how it performed, for a relatively low capacity petrol engine, especially in a brand new car with very low miles.

The torque was quite phenonomal.

I was almost a convert!

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Wed 11 Jan 2012 12:19

Any - Reasonable economy petrols - unthrottled

I really like that little engine. It's got the proper number of valves per cylinder-two and lets the turbo do the work. Now, can we have good ol port injection please-then I'd be a convert!

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Wed 11 Jan 2012 21:42

Any - Reasonable economy petrols - balleballe

Can you name me a reliable 1.6 turbocharged engine? I cant think of many

PSA/BMW's 1.6T is a good engine. Shame it only appears in Peugeots or "I'm an estate agent" MINIs.

VAG's 1.8TSI is a good old lump, been about a long time. It's in the Octavia in 150hp trim, and does 35-40mpg.

I'd never drive a Peugeot unless they sort out their eletrics! The mini is too small for me, unfortunantly.

I was considering the old shape seat leon (54 plate) 1.8t (180bhp) - a nice bargain. Another engine on my list. Have to bring someone experiened with me though to check for 'sludge'

Edited by balleballe on 11/01/2012 at 21:48

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Sat 14 Jan 2012 07:57

Any - Reasonable economy petrols - Buster Cambelt

The older Leon would have the old-style VAG 20 valve 1.8T. SWMBO ran one up to a starship mileage in an Audi A6 and it was pretty much bomb-proof. Cambelt changes at 60k if I recall but not that expensve at an Indy.

I seem to recall that c 35mpg was normal.

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Thu 12 Jan 2012 00:43

Any - Reasonable economy petrols - Avant

"Didnt realise they were that economical. Doesn't premium unleaded have to be used though?"

The vRS TSI engine doesn't have to have premium unleaded: I think its predecessor the TFSI did have to. It says rather confusingly inside the filler cap 'Use premium unleadsed 95 RON'.

When the Octavia was new it seemed to be a little more lively on premium; but now after nearly 10,000 miles it doesn't make much difference, and I do what the dealer suggested and put in premiu once every 3 or 4 fills.

Just done a trip from Berks to Colchester and back, and decided not to exceed an indicated 70 mph (probably 66-67 in reality) to see what difference it wouyld make from my usual 75 mpg cruise - I was rewarded with an excellent (for a 2.0 petrol) 41 mpg.

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