Now I won’t have the same horse power but I am not sure which engine to go for should I got for the 1.5 130ps or the 1.0 115ps?

Go for a car with the 140 or 150 PS engine, its brilliant. We had a Seat Leon with the 140 PS version and a Skoda Superb with the 150 PS version, both were 1.4's and the economy was outstanding.

You will get a much newer Leon for the price of a Golf and if yo get one without "sporty" badges there is less chance of it being thrashed. When we bought the Leon a Golf with the same 140 PS was £5000 more but the Golfs all had big wheels which spoilt the ride. The ride/handling of our Leon was great and tyres were far cheaper.

Just remember that any 2018 car will be due a cambelt change soon so budget that in to the cost.

Would forget the 1.0 115 PS car. We have the 1.0 110 PS engine in a Fabia and whilst its fine and very economical I can assure you the 1.4's (and 1.5's) are far more suited to a Golf sized car especially since you are coming form a Polo GTi.

Hi everyone, first post here.

I have a Polo GTI 2018 and I am thinking of getting a 2018 Golf TSI Evo 1.5. Main reason is I would like a more fuel efficient car and some extra luxuries my Polo doesnt have like adaptive cruise control.

Now I won’t have the same horse power but I am not sure which engine to go for should I got for the 1.5 130ps or the 1.0 115ps?

Ive read on this forum people in the past have had issues with the 1.5 engine and we’re waiting for a software update. Was that ever resolved?

Also are there any known issues with these Golfs I need to be aware of?

like with my Polo the heat pump and thermostat leaked, luckily I had extra warranty to fix it but wasn’t aware it was a common Robles until it happened.

any advice appreciated.

By all accounts, the 1.4TSI is the better and more reliable engine, so you might want to look at (as Skidpan says) a slightly earlier car, possibly a run-out of that engine (it'll be the 2014 - 2019, 150PS version with cylinder de-activation [ACT] as the 140PS version was on 2013 - 2014 cars I think [still very good though]). I too would consider the Leon as you get more for your money than the Golf.

The problem for the post 2014 models with the 150PS ACT engine is that it was only available in FR / Xcellence format on the Leon, which means 17in and most likely 18in rims and low profile tyres only.

Skidpan's earlier 2013 (?) SE model, as I recall, was shod on standard 205/55 R16 tyres (also OEM on my Mazda3) which are still decent for handling but fine on ride quality compared to 17in+ tyres, plus they are very common and thus much cheaper to replace.

The 'downside' of the SE is that it comes only with manual A/C; the FR has climate control, which is an optional extra on Golfs unless you buy a GTI or a continental imported car.

Might even be worth a look at the Skoda Octavia of the same vintage in 150PS ACT format. Not sure which, if any of SE variants around that time had the standard 16in tyres, but all SEs and above have climate control according to the HJ review data (Interior section). Much bigger boot, decent spec, comfortable, at the expense of handling to a degree. Obviously a much bigger car than your Polo though.

The pretty Leon SC (3dr version) and its sister car the Golf 3dr are, I think, the best looking of the bunch (and good in red, silver or black, especially the Leon), but all are good in that regard. The Golf will have the lowest spec for the money.

I would've gone for the Leon SC or Golf 3dr in 1.4TSI 150 format had a TC auto been available rather than the DSG.

We went from a 2015 A3 with the 150ps 1.4 to a 2018 Arona with the 150ps 1.5 (company cars). When we were changing I assumed that the more recent 1.5 was the one to go for, but I didn't notice any improvement, and if I was looking at second hand cars now, I would go for a 1.4, other things being equal.

Regarding the 130ps 1.5, I have read that it's not great - I think it was in a Golf review, where it said that it didn't feel very lively, unlike its more powerful sibling. But I've never driven one.

I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I bought my polo with a personal loan and ow about £14,500 left but now realising my polo is depreciating faster than I'm paying it.

My thought was just do a straight swap from the polo to a more economical car and carry paying the loan off.

But from what people are saying and it makes sense I'm in a crappy position.

I was just looking to get a more sensible car I can keep for the long term. Something reliable, that's comfy to drive. Android auto and a little bit of oomph but nothing like my GTI as I don't rag it due to crazy petrol prices.