# 1.4 or 1.6 Litre ?



## Astro (11 Jun 2008)

Hello,

I am thinking about buying a 1.6 litre 02 VW Passat but am concerned that it will cost me a fortune to run ?!

Is there much difference between a 1.4 and 1.6 litre ? Am also considering buying a Golf.

I realise that insurance and tax will be more expensive but we've our first new born on the way so might just need the extra room...

Thanks in advance.

A


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## Pique318 (11 Jun 2008)

1.6 Passat is a pointless exercise...
It'd be like having an asthmatic car.

If this is your first child, why will you need a large saloon ? A Golf will be perfectly fine and will be a much better option.


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## RMCF (11 Jun 2008)

To be honest, my OH has a 1.4 Golf and its really slow to drive.

The car is just too heavy for the engine. I would say you would need at least 1.6 with these 2 cars.


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## modemnut (11 Jun 2008)

have a look at the 1.4 TSI 120bhp Golf. Same engine as the 1.4 but with a turbo. Its a few grand more than the base 1.4 but well worth it. I believe this engine is available in the passat as well.


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## aircobra19 (11 Jun 2008)

Pique318 said:


> 1.6 Passat is a pointless exercise...
> It'd be like having an asthmatic car.
> 
> If this is your first child, why will you need a large saloon ? A Golf will be perfectly fine and will be a much better option.


 
Bigger boot. Carrying another person and passengers. It doesn't seem that unreasonable to me. 

I think people are obsessed with speed. Theres more things to consider than just engine capacity. Engine size does not = more powerful. You have to look at overall cost of running the car, does it suit your usual driving. No point buying a V6 3.0 if you sit in urban traffic all day and never overtake anything 99% of the time.  Or buying a diesel if you only do 4k a year.


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## Pique318 (12 Jun 2008)

aircobra19 said:


> Bigger boot. Carrying another person and passengers. It doesn't seem that unreasonable to me.
> 
> I think people are obsessed with speed. Theres more things to consider than just engine capacity. Engine size does not = more powerful. You have to look at overall cost of running the car, does it suit your usual driving. No point buying a V6 3.0 if you sit in urban traffic all day and never overtake anything 99% of the time.  Or buying a diesel if you only do 4k a year.



Well all other things being equal, bigger engine DOES = more power.
Also, if you have a car that couldn't pull the skin off boiled milk, how is it going to overtake safely with Jr in the back seat ? No-one mentioned speed. However, the safety aspect of a 1.6 Passat (or a 1.4 Golf) is severly reduced by it's utter gutlessness and lack of power to get you out of a tight spot.

If the OP is asking about the diff between Passat & Golf then the answer is that aq 1.6 Golf (or a diesel, if you put up a fair few miles) will be a much better option than a 1.6 Passat or a 1.4 Golf.


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## aircobra19 (12 Jun 2008)

Things are rarely the same across different engines. Which is why people should look beyond simply the engine size. If you are doing country driving all the time then perhaps overtaking is a big thing for you. Personally I mainly drive around the city and would rarely get a chance to overtake. So its a non issue for me. Certain if you have a faster car, then overtaking is easier, but with a slower car its still doable, you just have to plan it better and take more time to do it. If you need to get out of tight spots, or overtake faster that you need a faster car, I reckon thats more to do with your driving style than everyone having a need to overtake. 

The orignal poster is primarily at running costs and a space. So recommending a smaller car with a bigger engine, isn't better than a bigger car and smaller engine. Besides you need to look at the whole ownership costs, tax, insurance, purchase price, depreciation etc. Not simply which is faster.


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## Astro (12 Jun 2008)

Thanks Everyone 

I travel about 300 KM per week (Maynooth - town) so am concerned how much a 1.6 would cost me but I imagine there wouldn't be that much of a difference between 1.4 and 1.6 ??

Thanks again,

Rgds,
A


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## aircobra19 (12 Jun 2008)

You could work it out

tax 426 vs 320
insurance Dunno
petrol mpg difference per 10k a year. 

I can't find figures for a 1.6 passat, but these give you some idea. 

[broken link removed]
[broken link removed]


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## Caveat (12 Jun 2008)

A lot of performance figures (mpg, CO2, bhp, torque etc) on this site.


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## soy (12 Jun 2008)

In real terms no difference in economy between 1.6 and 1.4 Golf as the 1.4 engine is underpowered and has to be worked much harder to move such a heavy car.


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## aircobra19 (12 Jun 2008)

I can happen for sure. I found my old CRX 1.6 was more economical on fuel than our 1.0 Micra. But when you took into account insurance, tax, the micra was far cheaper to run overall.


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## Tedward (14 Jun 2008)

Pique318 said:


> Well all other things being equal, bigger engine DOES = more power.
> Also, if you have a car that couldn't pull the skin off boiled milk, how is it going to overtake safely with Jr in the back seat ? No-one mentioned speed. However, the safety aspect of a 1.6 Passat (or a 1.4 Golf) is severly reduced by it's utter gutlessness and lack of power to get you out of a tight spot.
> 
> If the OP is asking about the diff between Passat & Golf then the answer is that aq 1.6 Golf (or a diesel, if you put up a fair few miles) will be a much better option than a 1.6 Passat or a 1.4 Golf.


 
Pique318: I had a 1.6 golf and changed to a 1.4 passat. The passat is more powerful, more economical, cheaper to tax and more comfortable than the golf. It is also a much better car than the 1.6 passat. So all things been equal a bigger engine does not equal more power!!!!


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## aircobra19 (14 Jun 2008)

Probably 8v 1.6 and the 16v 1.4.


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## Pique318 (16 Jun 2008)

Therefore all things are not equal in Tedwards case. Different (newer) technologies in the Passats engine, making the 1.4 more powerful or different gearing would make a difference also.

All things being equal, bigger engine DOES equal more power. That's not an opinion, it's just the way it works.


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## aircobra19 (16 Jun 2008)

Are all things equal in real life though...


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