VAG 2.0 TFSI engines. Opinions?
Discussion
Time for a new car! My OH is starting a new job soon which will include lots of short journeys, our current car isn't suitable as it is known for DPF issues (Suzuki Grand Vitara).
I don't want another diesel, I'd quite like another SUV, but can't stomach the running costs of a petrol one.
Seat Leon FRs seem to be good value for money, but I seem to remember one of the VAG turbo engines being troublesome and having high oil consumption. Was it this one?
Will it be robust enough to stand up lots of short journeys? It will get a decent run on the weekends.
Any input would be appreciated!
I don't want another diesel, I'd quite like another SUV, but can't stomach the running costs of a petrol one.
Seat Leon FRs seem to be good value for money, but I seem to remember one of the VAG turbo engines being troublesome and having high oil consumption. Was it this one?
Will it be robust enough to stand up lots of short journeys? It will get a decent run on the weekends.
Any input would be appreciated!
I had an '05 A3 with the 2.0 TFSI. Bought at 50,000 miles sold at 95,000 miles. It did not use a drop of oil, never let me down and I gave it plenty of stick. As I understand they are particularly sensitive to servicing so a TFSI that has been serviced on time, every time, should be trouble free.
I'm now at 74,000 miles on my standard EA113 engine and it uses approximately 1L of oil between services (10,000 miles). I will be switching to 5W40 oil at my next service which will likely reduce the oil consumption.
It had a new injector at 55,000 miles but other than that, has been reliable.
The TSI EA888 is the development of the TFSI EA113 engine - confusingly both use VAG's FSI technology and both are turbo'd so I'm unsure of why VAG dropped the TFSI moniker in favour of TSI.
The EA888 is smoother, more refined and more efficient however the EA113 is gruffer (more noticeably turbocharged) and, in my opinion, slightly more characterful because of this.
It had a new injector at 55,000 miles but other than that, has been reliable.
The TSI EA888 is the development of the TFSI EA113 engine - confusingly both use VAG's FSI technology and both are turbo'd so I'm unsure of why VAG dropped the TFSI moniker in favour of TSI.
The EA888 is smoother, more refined and more efficient however the EA113 is gruffer (more noticeably turbocharged) and, in my opinion, slightly more characterful because of this.
Just remember that for every internet moaner saying they all explode or use a litre of oil every 400 yards there are at least a quarter of a million of these engines worldwide doing good reliable service without anyone giving them a moments thought.
I've driven them in various VAG cars and they are effective but forgettable. Reasonably on fuel, far more refined than a 4 banger diesel, no strong memories of any sort stand out in my mind.
I've driven them in various VAG cars and they are effective but forgettable. Reasonably on fuel, far more refined than a 4 banger diesel, no strong memories of any sort stand out in my mind.
t.They're decent enough work-horse type engines. Utterly devoid of any sort of character but then that's a criticism you could aim at most modern four-pots.
With ours, the engine itself has been reliable but the ancillaries are pretty shoddy and failure prone. Ours uses something like a litre of oil every 4000 miles which is utterly insignificant in terms of running costs but does mean you have to keep an eye on the level; it was higher initially but it turned out the PCV valve had failed and was leaking oil into the intake. They should be fine for short journeys, with the caveat (as with all engines) that it isn't stressed when cold.
Cam chains are a bit prone to failure unless you actively maintain them so the belt driven engines are arguably a better bet.
With ours, the engine itself has been reliable but the ancillaries are pretty shoddy and failure prone. Ours uses something like a litre of oil every 4000 miles which is utterly insignificant in terms of running costs but does mean you have to keep an eye on the level; it was higher initially but it turned out the PCV valve had failed and was leaking oil into the intake. They should be fine for short journeys, with the caveat (as with all engines) that it isn't stressed when cold.
Cam chains are a bit prone to failure unless you actively maintain them so the belt driven engines are arguably a better bet.
Edited by kambites on Saturday 18th June 19:46
kambites said:
You seem to imply that modern engines should use less oil? I'm pretty sure average oil consumption of petrol cars engines has been rising for years.
I'm pretty sure it's been declining. I've haven't owned a car made after the 80's that has used a drop.Edited by lee_erm on Saturday 18th June 19:48
Had an Audi A4 tfsi. Ten days after purchase, whilst doing 70mph on the M4 the chain slipped. Then a few years later I had a TSI TT putting the A4 down to bad luck. Had the TT 6 months and left it on the drive whilst I worked away for a week. Came back fired the TT up and nothing, dead. Seized oil pump, chain slipped, bent valves etc etc. Both TT and A4 were full service and under 60k miles.
Just my experience.
Just my experience.
Edited by Bowen86 on Saturday 18th June 19:54
lee_erm said:
I'm pretty sure it's been declining. I've haven't owned a car made after the 80's that has used a drop.
Hmm, my experience is the opposite. My MGB never used a drop; my Corrado used a bit; the Skoda uses quite a lot. The Lotus it's hard to tell because it only does ~3000 miles a year. Direct injection petrol engines are renowned for using oil; it's not just the VAG ones although they're arguably worse than most. I view a certain degree of oil consumption as just part of owning a modern car.
Edited by kambites on Saturday 18th June 19:57
kambites said:
Direct injection petrol engines are renowned for using oil; it's not just the VAG ones although they're arguably worse than most.
I've not long since bought at Ford with an Ecoboost so it'll be interesting to see how that goes, saying that Ford have overfilled it so much from the factory it'll need to burn a lot before I need to do anything 
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