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2015 Leon 184tdi VS Ibiza Cupra 1.8TSI

Jazzjames

Active Member
Sep 13, 2018
160
68
Germany
So I did a fuel cost calculation for the Ibiza Cupra 1.8 tsi and the Leon TDI with and without DSG. I got the economy figures from honest john, and the fuel prices were averages of the current prices in the UK.

Economy:
Ibiza Cupra: 42mpg
Leon 184 tdi: 50 mpg
Leon 184 tdi DSG: 44.5 mpg


Fuel price:

Petrol: 128.9 p/L
Diesel: 131.8 p/L


12,000 miles. Cost per year:

Ibiza Cupra: £1674.26

Leon 184 TDI: £1438.02

Leon 184 TDI DSG: £1615.75


When you factor in insurance, servicing, and depreciation, maybe one car is significantly cheaper to own, but when looking at the cost of fuel, they’re pretty close.
 

Speedbird

Active Member
Aug 10, 2018
268
135
I have a 184 TDI FR ST.

I have done 10k miles in the past 12 months (normally I do more, ill health etc). I have had no DPF / EGR issues.

Tax costs £30 per year, on the daily commute (35 mins of motorway and A road) I get 50-55mpg, and when I want to get a shift on, its pretty quick and handles well (all in my opinion of course).

I am doing more annual miles now, which makes the diesel the right choice for me. However, at 12k annual miles, I would still choose the diesel. Only thing I would do differently is go for DSG (I have a manual).
 

LouG

Active Member
Dec 1, 2017
1,319
481
Nelson, New Zealand
Joking aside a diesel will feel quick because of tbe torque and low down grunt but for me it's just the noise on tickover that ruins it for me , it always reminds me of a taxi where a petrol is just quiet and smooth.
Just like electric cars. Their owners actually think a Leaf is quick
 

Hag

Active Member
Sep 15, 2018
399
193
Bear in mind the 184ps TDI Leon’s have the updated rear suspension and updated brakes so they do drive that little bit sharper than a normal Leon FR too. I agree with DSG being a game changer too. Makes the car feel more modern/ special


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

GordonMcC

Active Member
Feb 8, 2017
284
153
32
Ayrshire, Scotland
42mpg in the Cupra would require concentration, 50mpg in the Leon Tdi would not. like all turbo petrol cars, they are not to bad on fuel on a steady cruise but when driven hard they are hard on the fuel tank aswell. i know this is obvious but 42mpg would very quickly become 30-35mpg or worse
 

Jazzjames

Active Member
Sep 13, 2018
160
68
Germany
42mpg in the Cupra would require concentration, 50mpg in the Leon Tdi would not. like all turbo petrol cars, they are not to bad on fuel on a steady cruise but when driven hard they are hard on the fuel tank aswell. i know this is obvious but 42mpg would very quickly become 30-35mpg or worse

I agree, but that’s the real MPG quoted on honest john, which I gather is an average of owners’ experiences. And it’s the Ibiza is a smaller car so I can believe it. My mpg in my leon with the 1.8 tsi is 39mpg, and I live in Germany and frequently travel distances over 100mph, which obviously doesn’t do wonders for fuel economy. Therefore I find 42 mpg a believable average for a uk driver in an ibiza.
 

SRGTD

Active Member
May 26, 2014
2,551
1,396
42mpg in the Cupra would require concentration, 50mpg in the Leon Tdi would not. like all turbo petrol cars, they are not to bad on fuel on a steady cruise but when driven hard they are hard on the fuel tank aswell. i know this is obvious but 42mpg would very quickly become 30-35mpg or worse

To put a different perspective on it, I’ve owned a number of 1.9 and 2.0 litre VAG diesels (Golfs) and I found the fuel consumption worsened by 10-15% during the colder (winter) months. The long therm average consumption in my 1.8 petrol Polo GTI (same engine as the Ibiza Cupra) only seems to drop by a couple of mpg during the winter months, so it’s much less affected by seasonal changes than my diesel Golfs were.

I can remember when the mk7 Golf GTD was launched (same engine as the Leon FR diesel) that many owners over on golfgtiforum.co.uk were quite disappointed by the mpg figures they were achieving during the winter months.
 

SRGTD

Active Member
May 26, 2014
2,551
1,396
I agree, but that’s the real MPG quoted on honest john, which I gather is an average of owners’ experiences. And it’s the Ibiza is a smaller car so I can believe it. My mpg in my leon with the 1.8 tsi is 39mpg, and I live in Germany and frequently travel distances over 100mph, which obviously doesn’t do wonders for fuel economy. Therefore I find 42 mpg a believable average for a uk driver in an ibiza.
The long term average mpg in my 1.8 Polo GTI (same engine as the Ibiza Cupra) is currently 42-43 mpg. Admittedly, I’m not a boy racer, but I don’t drive at a snail’s pace either. So I agree, 42 mpg should be achievable in the UK in an Ibiza Curpa.
 

Syerate

Active Member
Sep 6, 2019
14
5
I have the TDI FR DSG, I get around 50mpg constantly every day for a 45 min journey (sometimes easily 55+). Personally I probably would have gone for the 1.8 but due to mileage I cover, I would be spending a lot on fuel. I haven't had any issues with mine and I do love the low down grunt it has in terms of a torque, it goes really well when needed. My friend had a 18 plate 1.8 FR DSG, I think he travels about 20 mins to work and was getting late 30's early 40's MPG depending on driving, if you drive it hard, easily 35, and I used to get around 32 out of my MK5 gti.

My dad has the Mk7 GTD and gets similar figures to me, but mine are slightly higher, as his is manual.
 
Apr 7, 2022
2
0
Interesting, I do such a wide range of short medium & long journeys so I'm hoping if I was to go down the 2.0TDI route it would hopefully cope okay. Those MPG figures seem pretty good as well.
I have the 1.8tsi cupra with 1st stage mapping. around 268bhp.. I travel a lot so my mpg isn't too impressive plus I have a heavy foot.... last run was almost 1000km.. two tanks and a bit and with petrol priced as it is its expensive... but I love the car the exhaust system is the central double pipe and has a nice note.
 
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