Pah chipped diesels are crap -Dervy

They feel like that if you go chasing the redline.

Break the habit of chasing the redline and you'll find it's a surprisingly decent, flexible engine.

Glad we understand each other.

Well, lets look at the options.

150bhp 1.8T Passat. Torquey, heavy, solid, dull. 150bhp 318is - Revvy, lively, solid, overpriced 150bhp Rover 75 2.0V6 - Revvy, solid, rolly, soft, fragile. 150bhp Mondeo - was there one in 2000? 150bhp 2.2 Vectra - Dull.

Of the above (not sure if there was a 150bhp mondeo) I've driven them all, owned the rover which matches the Passat for being a soft riding unexciting handling car but I think was actually more capable point to point and had an engine that ran beyond 7000 without complaint all day every day. The 318is is the best to drive but is likely to be s**te spec wise, the Vectra has the most excitement for the money and in SRi spec has respectable handling.

None of the above have crappy engines, other than the 1.8T. I'm sure putting five valves per cylinder in was a mistake - didn't seem to do anything for the performance.

But that's the problem, change up at 4000 and you might as well have bought the 130 bhp diesel.

No, because in the diesel you'll have changed up by 3k rpm.

Only when using all of the power.

Eww. First it sounds wrong. Second the gearing is too high. Third, it's quiet because of low gearing. Fourth, shorten the gearing to make it pull as well and it gets noisy.

In the TDI your cruising gear is your good acceleration gear.

In the 1.8T you need a gear or two lower for equivalent acceleration.

And about diesels, or did that escape you?

One, it suited the Golf GTI.

Two, it suited the Passat.

Three, taxation and emissions.

Four, it could then hope to make it the most reliable turbocharged petrol engine in the world...

And you'd be at a similar speed, gear for gear...

I don't understand why it's okay for you to short shift at 4,000 rpm in one machine but not at 3,000 rpm in another?

Aye but thats chipped.

Its fairly well known that the 2.0T (180) is held back at higher revs otherwise it would be faster than the 2.4T (200) which would be useless for a sales point of view.

The 2.0 motor's design makes it more revvy and thus more powerful at the top end than the 2.4.

Tim..

If Carlsberg made turbocharged petrol engines..........

Reliant. The best car in the world. Probably.

Five with the K04 it moves the TT sport from 0-62 in 5.9 and even the standard S3 at a good pace so they only needed to make one engine to sell with a 90bhp power range so with so many of one basic engine in use the cost per unit could come right down.

So you should I'm putting out a good 20-30bhp more than you and still average

50 over a tank of combined town and 110+ autobahn use. Dropping into the low 40s if I thrash it down backlanes. You may need to try taking the handbrake off I know it's easy to forget with all that torque.