Ibiza Fr 115 6th gear issue?

[chrisc33]

Hi guys,

Looking to upgrade from my old banger, I took a 67 plate Ibiza fr 115 for a test drive yesterday. Never had a six speed transmission before and found something very odd with it, so just wondering if there was something wrong with it.
When I shifted into 6th at around 65mph. I noticed that even with foot fully in the accelerator, the car wouldn’t accelerate at all, just hold 65. The speed limiter was not on, and the salesman was trying to convince it’s supposed to do that but I just couldn’t believe him, it was like the car had nothing to give in that gear. I didn’t buy it, but just wanted to ask you guys whether there was something wrong or just me being an idiot?
also the resistance in the accelerator before you could fully depress it was also weird for me, not sure if that’s just the way these engines are.

thanks

 

[Legojon]

I don't have experience with that model. But firstly any gear depends on what revs you change at. If you were at eg 2000 revs in 5th and change to 6th and it drops to 1500 your below the torque band of the engine anyway. Plus, 6th gear is also an overdrive to save petrol and therefore like a more economically geared 5th gear. Also, a 1.0l circa 100bhp wouldn't really throw you back in the seat in it's highest gear.

 

[chrisc33]

Yeah I didn’t expect it to throw me back, realistically sixth is a cruising gear, but from what I recall on the drive, changing to sixth at that speed reduced the revs to around 2000rpm+, but it basically felt like no amount of acceleration beyond that point would have increased the revs or the car speed. Felt very odd.

 

[Jonathan Bassett]

Try it in sport mode next time, it does increase throttle response alittle.

 

[farrar]

Test drive a 1.5 TSI Ibiza if you can find one, that has no problem accelerating in 6th at 65.

 

[RUM4MO]

That sounds like being a shocking situation, I drive my wife's 2015 1.2TSI 110PS and I've never had that feeling, it has been said that the 1.0TSI has a narrower and so maybe higher torque flat band, that probably suits DSG just fine - which is what manufacturers want to get us all into before we move across to EVs.
Sounds like we were lucky that VW Group did not manage to get the VW Polo 6C 2016MY SEL 6MT fitted with that engine in time, as we were warned that our factory order could quite easily end up being a 1.0TSI and not a 1.2TSI as getting that engine into these cars at that moment in time was the original VW Group plan!
1.5TSI back in these cars again would be very nice!

Edit:- and I'll add that my car is an Audi S4 6MT and that car has very low gearing, so I would definitely notice if I had to drive a bit differently when driving the Polo 6C 1.2TSI 110PS.

 

[camelspyyder]

I drive a 1.0/110 almost identical motor and it pulls from fine from under 50 in 6th, unless there's any gradient in which case 6th is a complete waste of time. It's possible you were going slightly uphill when you noticed?

Don't really know why the wholly superior 1.2 was chucked away by SEAT for the 1.0 to be honest, but you can't get a Mk6 1.2, so the 1.0 (or the rare and allegedly buggy 1.5) is what you get.

 

[ayrshiredude]

The 6th gear is really only meant for cruising at speeds over 55 ish mph. If you try to accelerate not much happens. Accelerating will increase the speed but not very quickly. It does however lower the revs and keeps cruising more relaxed than just 5th which would have higher revs and, presumably, use more petrol. hope this helps.

 

[RUM4MO]

Maybe I overstated how my wife's 2015 VW Polo 1.2TSI 110PS 6MT drives - but I'll always know inside my head that 6th gear is for mainly cruising so I don't expect miracles from it - same for any car, being was reading it that the OP was finding that in normal use, 6th gear has no place, might well be true, if only driving in 20/30/40 speed limits.

 

[kwlw]

Check the RPM's, if possible, if it's in max torque (boost) range and not climbing, I would say something wrong with particular car.

My 1.5tsi has not so much higher torque, but I find it useful to switch to 6th gear from ~80-90kph on flat roads and it is really dynamic if compared to your description. Note, that it also comes at 500 rpm earlier than on 85kw.

Here's 1.0TSI torque graph:

1.5TSI torque graph:

 

[Cristian CH]

It’s not only about torque, it’s about power too. From the graphs you can clearly see the power at 2000RPM is less than max power (about 55hp). With my engine it feels easier on the engine to drive at 73mph than 68 in top gear (Especially uphill) even if both are in max torque region.
The choice of petrol seems important for the low end pull. My car came with a free full tank, and immediately after I filled up with some premium high octane petrol I saw a difference. (Something to do with ECU and timing?!)
Normally for spirited driving I drive with the RPMs between max power and max torque and I really enjoy the engine and the fuel efficiency.

 

[KXL]

I had the same experience driving a different car, a Hyundai i20 Zip Car a 1.0T as well, in 6th, it can hold the speed, but can't accelerate, had to use 5th for that. However on a DSG 7 speed 1.0 110PS mk5 facelift, it would accelerate gently, else it woudl just downshift to 6th or 5th.

 

[chrisc33]

Hey guys, quick update on this, turns out the car was broken, the dealer rang me earlier to say they had to replace the turbo as it was eff’d, nice to know my instincts were on point.
Anyway I had already found a nicer example, so now part of the ibiza owners club

 

[Stevoibizafr]

I did some testing in my 115 fr sport that i have a tdi tuning box fitted.
at about 50mph in 6th it was at roughly 1600rpm and accelerated to 70mph in 10secs, in 4th gear it was at about 2500rpm and took about 5 secs to get to 70mph.
The engine is a little different than what i am used to driving but the tuning box has helped swell as adjusting my driving style.