Introduction and a question

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to introduce myself on this forum.
I'm a car enthusiast from the Netherlands with a broad interest in cars from mostly youngtimer age probably because I'm getting older (just hit 40). Currently I drive a Golf GTE for work, a Subaru Forester XT for my wife and a BMW E34 M5 Touring as a hobby car.
Because of a new job for my wife and a longer commute (300 miles per week) we're looking for a reliable, safe, practical (2 small kids) and economical car. After considering different options (new Renault Zoë, Seat Ibiza and so forth) we are really keen on getting an nicely specced Audi A2.

What do you think?
Because of the highway miles should I go for a 1,6 or is a 1,4 just as good as a cruiser? And what about the power difference? Is it substantial in real world driving?
Diesel is no option for my wife because of the environment she prefers petrol.

I will spend so time to come on this nice forum and hope to find to find an A2 soon.

Look forward on your views on a 1,4/1,6!

Greetz,

Martijn

Welcome to the forum Martijn.

Having owned both petrol variants (including a TDI), there are perhaps a few things to consider between the two. On paper at least the 1.6 FSI should return a better mpg figure. I can achieve 50mpg with a fully loaded FSI on a run - this drops to late 20 to early 30 around town. The long-range mpg achieved being fully compliant with UK 70mph speed limits. Speaking to an owner of a 1.4 petrol last week, and they saw a similar return too - so it is possible to get decent mpg out of the 1.4 - though we never achieved close to that in our one - early to mid 40 at best.

The 1.6 FSI definitely runs smoother on premium fuel and I would say this is essential, not a luxury. It is a sensitive engine with many sensors which can often make diagnosis of faults time consuming. The 1.4 petrol is typically more reliable and bullet proof compared with its FSI bigger brother. The 1.6 is known to be delicate and many avoid it because of potential problems. This said a sweet running FSI offers the better overall driving experience IMHO. The 1.6 FSI is more consistant in its power delivery across the rev range, whereas there is a notable flat spot in all 1.4s which I have driven in the same range. That isn't to say the 1.4 doesn't accelerate, just that the FSI is smoother and keener here.

If the journeys will be mostly or wholly 5th gear cruising, then both engines are great once up to speed. The mpg may be slightly higher on the FSI, but then the fuel cost will be higher if sensibly using premium fuel. If the journey involves lots of gear changes, then for me the FSI offers more flexibility.

Key is finding a decent model with a good service record, cambelt change etc. It may prove more challenging to pair this combination when looking for a sweet 1.6 FSI, but there will be cars out there, so don't unduly be put off. Price; intuitively a comparable 1.4 would be cheaper, but this isn't a rule, as many folk don't want potential problems, so opt for the more reliable 1.4 over the 1.6. This means that 1.6 petrols may not command a higher price at all. A2 pricing overall, in the UK anyway, varies considerably and is mostly based on condition, mileage, service history and specification.

Check out the forum, I'm sure this will have been discussed in greater detail many times over.

Good luck with your search.

Cheets,

Darren

Hi Darren,

Thanks for your reply. It certainly makes things clearer. As I'm looking for a low mileage one (max around 65k miles) a nice 1,6 would be perfect. If a specced and low mileage 1,4 comes along that would be an alternative.
Can't wait!

MartijnA2 said:

Hi Darren,

Thanks for your reply. It certainly makes things clearer. As I'm looking for a low mileage one (max around 65k miles) a nice 1,6 would be perfect. If a specced and low mileage 1,4 comes along that would be an alternative.
Can't wait!

Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum. I felt exactly the same when i was looking recently,but the wait for a suitably high specked 1.6 was taking too long,8 months, so when a high specced 1.4 came up i had no choice really and jumped on that. Best of luck in finding that high specked 1.6 fsi.

Vorsprung durch Technik said:

Welcome to the forum. I felt exactly the same when i was looking recently,but the wait for a suitably high specked 1.6 was taking too long,8 months, so when a high specced 1.4 came up i had no choice really and jumped on that. Best of luck in finding that high specked 1.6 fsi.

Click to expand...

Hi VDT,

Makes sense to me. And are you happy with your choice? As I understand now there is no real wrong way to go. As it is, I'm looking at a nice 1,6 and a beautiful 1,4. Difficult..

Hoi Martijn,

I'm likely to make myself unpopular with some for saying this, but I'd personally have a 1.4 over the FSI.

The FSI is a great engine when it's working properly. If I was looking to buy a car simply for the joy of driving it, the FSI is undoubtedly the choice I'd make. However, it sounds like you need an A2 not just for pleasure purposes but also as a functional, dependable machine.

The 1.4 petrol isn't particularly exciting or interesting, but it features in absolutely loads of different VWs, Skodas, Seats, etc. It's common, simple and well understood by mechanics all across Europe.
The FSI, on the other hand, is by far the least reliable of all the engines available in the A2. Whilst some have been lucky, I think even its biggest fans have to concede this to be true. It was VAG's first attempt at a direct injection petrol engine and therefore features the inevitable teething troubles of a new system. They are relatively rare, don't feature widely in other cars and are very poorly understood by a vast majority of garages. People have spent huge amount of money just trying to get the engine management light in the instrument cluster to switch off. When you then take into account the troubles with fuel injectors, coolant loss, swirl flap actuators, coil packs, etc, you can understand why some owners keep an emergency fund. I'd suggest that a large majority of threads started on this forum about engine difficulties relate to the FSI. Whilst it is marginally more fuel efficient than the 1.4 petrol, the savings are offset by the need to run it on 99 fuel rather than the cheaper 95.

Flame suit on!

Cheers,

Tom

Hi Martijn,
Welcome to this great Forum! I have a Dutch partner and we visit The Netherlands 3/4 times every Year. I don't see many A2's there, that's for sure! If I lived there I would purchase a 1.2 litre diesel for the incredible economy! I'd be looking for one in Germany and with a good spec. I'm not sure why you want a petrol A2? Why is that? You do say that you have a reasonable commuting distance to do each week?

David

Hi Tom,

I do like a bit of power. My GTE is tuned to 240 bhp so I can surprise some people. But you're right that the car needs to be dependable for the Mrs. A 1,4 might be the saver bet.

Thanks!

MartijnA2 said:

Hi Tom,

I do like a bit of power. My GTE is tuned to 240 bhp so I can surprise some people. But you're right that the car needs to be dependable for the Mrs. A 1,4 might be the saver bet.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Hi Martijn,

I can understand why you like a bit of power; acceleration is fun! But you've got your GTE for that. The 1.4 is definitely the safer bet. If your wife buys the FSI and it turns out not to be very reliable, she may end up hating the A2, which wouldn't be fair on one of the best pieces of automotive engineering of the last few decades.

Groetjes,

Tom

Hi David,

My wife is concerned about the environment and vetoes diesel because of it. Thereby, in Holland there are some cities already where you can't drive an older diesel. Working in one of the four major cities chances are that it will come there too.
The idea is eventually to consider to privately take over the Golf. With an economical A2 in the family it wouldn't have to go when that happens.

My vote is also the 1.4 petrol, reliable and bullet proof, and a well sorted example (of which I have owned two) as no real world problems keeping up with the flow of traffic and cruises on the motorway at 70 to 80 effortlessly and returns 48 to 50 mpg on 70mph, low 40mpg around town when warm. In fact the warm up period is sooooo much quicker than the TDI.
An the lightness of the 1.4 petrol over the TDI certainly makes it feel for nimble around town
Cheers

timmus said:

Hoi Martijn,

I'm likely to make myself unpopular with some for saying this, but I'd personally have a 1.4 over the FSI.

The FSI is a great engine when it's working properly. If I was looking to buy a car simply for the joy of driving it, the FSI is undoubtedly the choice I'd make. However, it sounds like you need an A2 not just for pleasure purposes but also as a functional, dependable machine.

The 1.4 petrol isn't particularly exciting or interesting, but it features in absolutely loads of different VWs, Skodas, Seats, etc. It's common, simple and well understood by mechanics all across Europe.
The FSI, on the other hand, is by far the least reliable of all the engines available in the A2. Whilst some have been lucky, I think even its biggest fans have to concede this to be true. It was VAG's first attempt at a direct injection petrol engine and therefore features the inevitable teething troubles of a new system. They are relatively rare, don't feature widely in other cars and are very poorly understood by a vast majority of garages. People have spent huge amount of money just trying to get the engine management light in the instrument cluster to switch off. When you then take into account the troubles with fuel injectors, coolant loss, swirl flap actuators, coil packs, etc, you can understand why some owners keep an emergency fund. I'd suggest that a large majority of threads started on this forum about engine difficulties relate to the FSI. Whilst it is marginally more fuel efficient than the 1.4 petrol, the savings are offset by the need to run it on 99 fuel rather than the cheaper 95.

Flame suit on!

Cheers,

Tom

Click to expand...

This was pretty much my conclusion after researching which variant would be the most suitable A2 for us. On paper the FSi 1.6 was perfect but the potential for things to go wrong and require trips to the garage meant I reduced the choice between a 1.4 petrol or diesel. Eventually bought a diesel and totally happy with it.

MartijnA2 said:

Hi VDT,

Makes sense to me. And are you happy with your choice? As I understand now there is no real wrong way to go. As it is, I'm looking at a nice 1,6 and a beautiful 1,4. Difficult..

Click to expand...

Yes i'm happy with the choice,it's a fine car and came with some very desirable options so very pleased. Ultimately i would have preferred the 1.6 but i think nice options and great condition are more important buying factors and maybe the reliability factor the 1.4 gives. Have fun choosing.

I got one!

Hi everyone,

A quick update: I got one. It's a 1,4 with 80K km's in pearl green and nice goodies.
I need to be import it to the Netherlands before I can drive it.

Greetz!

MartijnA2 said:

Hi everyone,

A quick update: I got one. It's a 1,4 with 80K km's in pearl green and nice goodies.
I need to be import it to the Netherlands before I can drive it.

Greetz!

Click to expand...

Well done,

It looks like a very nice one too, Alcantara / Leather seats and the car is a Sport model too by the look of it.

Nice low mileage too, I am sure that you will be VERY happy with it.

Steve B