VW Golf - 1.4 TSI engine reliability

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Sat 31 Mar 2012 22:20
VW Golf - 1.4 TSI engine reliability - ACE - Surrey

I am looking to change my Ford Focus turbo diesel. I now only do 10K miles pa with lots of short runs and need a small car for day to day use but which is large enough and powerful enough for comfortable holiday touring in France. Having read all Honest John's warnings about the potential problems with modern turbo diesels particularly on short runs, I have been looking for a petrol engine. The VW Golf with the 1.4TSI 122ps engine seems to meet all my requirements and the flexibility of the engine makes it a good replacement for the turbo diesels that I have been used to. But I am concerned that I am getting a very complex engine which has the potential for just as many expensive failures as the more frugal turbo diesels that I am rejecting. Should I be concerned about the reports of problems with this engine that can be found on other internet forums?

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Sat 31 Mar 2012 23:54
VW Golf - 1.4 TSI engine reliability - MikeTorque

There are lots of 1.4 TSi engines running quite happily as well. Sure they have a turbo and are direct injection but so will most of the petrol engines of tomorrow cus that's the way the technology is going.

If you buy a new Golf 1.4 TSi you'll have a 3 year warranty so if you get any problems you should be covered ok. It's worth considering the 1.2 TSi 105 engine, smooth and really torquey, more economical to run than the 1.4 TSi and cheaper to purchase, it'd be the one I'd go for in the petrol range.

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Sun 1 Apr 2012 09:32
VW Golf - 1.4 TSI engine reliability - ACE - Surrey

Thanks for the reassurance. I agree that the 1.2 TSI 105 is likely to be adequate for daily use round town but would it be powerful enough for relaxed driving when the car is fully loaded on long journeys across France?

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Sun 1 Apr 2012 10:34
VW Golf - 1.4 TSI engine reliability - daveyjp
If you are looking at buying new you can only hope VAG are picking up on warranty claim issues and modifying the design, as they did with the oil cooler on the early 2.0 TDi.

I'm biased, but a Mercedes B180 may suit you. New model just launched, so old ones should be available at sensible money and no turbo to worry about.
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Sun 1 Apr 2012 10:57
VW Golf - 1.4 TSI engine reliability - thirts

When you say fully loaded, what do you mean?

Unless you're towing, I suspect all the extra weight of being fully loaded, is less than the weight of an extra passenger. And I'm sure the 1.2 TSI could handle that

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Sun 1 Apr 2012 11:08
VW Golf - 1.4 TSI engine reliability - ACE - Surrey

'Fully loaded' is usually the driver and one passenger but with the boot and rear footwells full of luggage and possibly two or three cases of wine on the return journey - sufficient to make a difference in the handling of the car.

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Sun 1 Apr 2012 17:30
VW Golf - 1.4 TSI engine reliability - Avant

I agree with others - go for the 1.4 122bhp. The 1.2 would have been fine for your short runs but you'll appreciate the 1.4 for the French trips. The Golf estate or Skoda Octavia hatch / estate are worth considering if you need the room.

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Sun 1 Apr 2012 21:54
VW Golf - 1.4 TSI engine reliability - MikeTorque

I'd suggest test drives with the 1.2 TSi 105 and 1.4 TSi 122, then decide which you prefer after the test drives, both have enough grunt for long runs. However, check on delivery times as they can be around 5 to 6 months for some engines.

Edited by MikeTorque on 01/04/2012 at 21:56

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Mon 2 Apr 2012 20:40
VW Golf - 1.4 TSI engine reliability - ACE - Surrey

Thanks to everyone who contributed responses to my query. I was very impressed with the 1.4TSI engine on a long test drive and have now bought a low mileage used Golf to avoid the long delays in getting a new car. I have forgone a couple of extras I might have had but the Match trim has more than enough toys to keep me occupied. I will let you know how I get on.

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Mon 2 Apr 2012 23:19
VW Golf - 1.4 TSI engine reliability - balleballe

I drove a golf with a 1.4TSI today

I have to say - i'm very impressed. If the engine proves reliable long-term then I may just look into it for my next car

The torque seems to kick in very low down in the rev-range, I was expecting it to kick in at perhaps 2k, but it was there in sufficient quantity even at 1.5k

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Thu 29 May 2014 20:55
VW Golf - 1.4 TSI engine reliability - IRC

I've got the 1.4Tsi in my 2012 Octavia. 16k miles. No issues. In relaxed driving it pulls well from around 1400 revs, even in top gear.

I test drove the 1.2 but felt that a big car needed a bit more power for A road overtaking.

MPG? I get around 47mpg at 70-75mph motorway driving. An A road trip from Glasgow to Skye and back at 45-60mph speeds got 52mpg.

I've not measured the mpg in mixed local driving but I'm sure it gets far more than my old 1.8 petrol Mondeo while delivering similar performance.

Between the two engines - the 1.4Tsi pulls far better from low revs but the Mondeo was slightly faster overtaking at high revs.

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