ŠKODA have announced prices for the new 1.0 TSI, 115bhp petrol engine that they will introduce to the Octavia range this July. Reducing engine capacity in favour of turbo charging has become a popular trend in petrol technology in recent times with ŠKODA leading the charge when they introduced their 1.2 TSI back in 2010. ŠKODA will in fact be the first brand within the Volkswagen group to utilise the 1.0 TSI unit in the MQB platform. The new engine will replace the 1.2 TSI 110bhp power unit that has been used up to this point. Despite a reduction in engine capacity the new engine delivers superior performance in every area including: power output (+5%) acceleration time (-3% from 0-100km/h), fuel consumption (-7%) and top speed (+1.5%).
The new 1.0 TSI engine is so efficient that it gives the comparable Octavia 1.6 TDI 110bhp diesel engine run for its money in terms of overall running costs. Speaking today, Cathal Kealey, PR Manager at ŠKODA Ireland, commented: “The primary reason for purchasing a diesel vehicle is to acquire annual taxation and fuel savings over a petrol vehicle. The basic premise is that you pay a premium for the diesel car but over time you will recoup the savings by reducing your operating costs. The question is how long will it take to achieve these savings? Take the new Octavia 1.0 TSI, 115bhp engine which consumes just 1.1 litres more per 100km than the 1.6 TDI 110bhp engine. Using today’s fuel prices it would take 6 years for the diesel version to justify and recoup the savings on fuel alone! This really brings petrol back into the equation.”
ŠKODA recently celebrated 20 years of Octavia production. To further illustarte the advances in technology, Kealey addded: “The original Octavia was launched with a 2.0 MPI litre petrol 8 valve unit. The new 1.0 TSI produces the very same power output, superior torque, better acceleration and 44% less fuel consumption with an engine half the size. It is essentail that Irish customers focus on performance rather than engine size when selecting their vehicle. ”