VAG 1.8T running costs

[Fidgits]

I'm looking at replacing the daily, and noticed an A3 1.8T sport at a rather reasonable price...

I was wondering what the running costs of this were, as ideally i was looking for something economic, low insurance/tax etc... though i dont mind trading it for performance slightly, I have the 911 for spirited driving..

[Plotloss]

Pretty frugal unless you nail it.

Av high 20s

[Fidgits]

Plotloss said:

Pretty frugal unless you nail it.

Av high 20s

that doesnt sound frugal...

I have the 911 for drinking fuel, i was looking for something with mid 30's to 40's on the fuel, and reasonable overall running costs..

[J400uk]

Then perhaps if you want somethin economical you should look at gettin a TDI. The 1.9/130 and 2.0/140 both deliver super economy and performance comparable to the petrol engines and then you have the increased torque.

[Fidgits]

yeah, it was just because i saw this one at a good price, i hoped it wouldnt be too thirsty or expensive... after all, its only a 1.8..

[LaSarthe&Back]

the average MPG on my A3 1.8T was 34, and that's with a regular hoon. Get 330 to a 50 litre tank.

Service is 120 at a specialist, cambelt should have been 600 at dealer, but DIY'd it.110k and looking good. Should go past 250k easily!!

Depending on how many miles a year you do, the 1.8T maybe cheaper...

Edited by LaSarthe&Back on Thursday 31st May 21:48

[fidgits]

[quote=LaSarthe&Back]the average MPG on my A3 1.8T is 34, and that's with a hoon two or three times a week. Get 330 to a 50 litre tank.

Service is 120 at a specialist, cambelt should have been 600 at dealer, but DIY'd it.110k and looking good. Should go past 250k easily!!

Depending on how many miles a year you do, the 1.8T maybe cheaper...[/quote]
that sounds more like I was expecting..

[mat205125]

Plotloss said:

Pretty frugal unless you nail it.

Av high 20s

You got lead feet?

My auction banger 1.8T passat never drops below 30mpg, and regularly averages 35mpg on my weekly 500mile commuting.

[Gren]

Lead feet indeed heheh

I've the same engine in mine although with 50% more BHP (225) and still average around 30MPG across a tankful. Can get up to 35 or so on a long motorway journey. Can also get into high teens in traffic. You have to get into 3 figures (on those notorious private roads) to get the consumption to take any real hit.

Must be the slippery shape that my 'A3 in drag' has.

[monkeyhanger]

9mpg...3/4 of a tank left and the fuel computer showing a range of 75 miles....but that was around Croft

Anywhere from high 20's around town up to 37mpg on a good run.

[joe6886]

I get about 24mpg on average in my S3, suppose it depends on the driver/car/bhp. I very rarely go on the motorway but when I do it does creep up a bit.

[51mon]

Not too bad economy wise IMO. I get about 28 ish in my remapped S3 (approx 320 miles to 50ish quid of V power), however servicing costs can be horrendous if you use an Audi dealer, my local stealer charges £108 an hour!!

If you find a decent independant then it's not too bad, I had the cambelt, tensioners and water pump replaced, and a full service at 60,000 for about £600. Of course even better would be to buy one thats just had this work done!!

Oh yes, nearly forgot to mention, check that it's had the coil packs replaced, mine has broken down twice due to this, first time Audi just replaced the faulty one and insisted there was no problem known with them, and the second time it took a lot of persuasion to get them to replace them all under warranty!!

[Fidgits]

Test drove this the other day, a Audi A3 1.8T 'sport' - on a '99 with about 75k on the clock.

I was somewhat surprised, while it picked up reasonably well, I didnt feel a 'surge' at any point suggesting the turbo had kicked in.

Now, unfortunatly i had driven the Porker to look at it, so obviously I was used to more power, but I just couldnt tell when the turbo came in, unless it was really low (around 2k) when i would expect any N/A engine to pick up anyway?

Any thoughts?

[PJR]

Fidgits said:

Test drove this the other day, a Audi A3 1.8T 'sport' - on a '99 with about 75k on the clock.

I was somewhat surprised, while it picked up reasonably well, I didnt feel a 'surge' at any point suggesting the turbo had kicked in.

Now, unfortunatly i had driven the Porker to look at it, so obviously I was used to more power, but I just couldnt tell when the turbo came in, unless it was really low (around 2k) when i would expect any N/A engine to pick up anyway?

Any thoughts?

Sounds about right, as the engines are in a low state of tune, and the turbo is tiny, so does spool very early.
You wont generally feel that kick you were expecting unless the ecu/engine has been remapped, which makes a very distinct difference.

P,

[greatgranny]

They are only 147bhp which is about the same as a Ford n/a 2L zetec.

It does have better midrange than the zetec due to more torques.

As said before they are in a low state of tune for good reliability and running costs.

[Fidgits]

thanks guys, I decided not to go for it in the end as it didnt have air con, and i figure there are enough around to be picky...

(its the daily, so performance not key)

[mat205125]

After having Air Con, it's really not an option box that I could live without. CD player is my only other genuine requirement in a car (plus wheels and an an engine!)

[daytona600]

Fidgits said:

Test drove this the other day, a Audi A3 1.8T 'sport' - on a '99 with about 75k on the clock.

I was somewhat surprised, while it picked up reasonably well, I didnt feel a 'surge' at any point suggesting the turbo had kicked in.

Now, unfortunatly i had driven the Porker to look at it, so obviously I was used to more power, but I just couldnt tell when the turbo came in, unless it was really low (around 2k) when i would expect any N/A engine to pick up anyway?

Any thoughts?

Just picked mine up 2 weeks ago... I would agree about the lack of surge (I'm coming from an integrale), but it's deceptive - just watch the speedo. I've been pretty blown away by the mpg - 30 average, almost 40 on a run.