VW Jetta 1.4 TSI vs BMW 323i

[Nikolaiski69]

In my first proper VW review at my new workplace..we took the BMW 323i out and the Jetta 1.4 TSI..

 

http://www.sgcarmart.com/news/review.php?AID=30

 

Keeping in mind that the 323 and Jetta wasn't meant to be an apples to apples comparison but rather, to test the fact that the Jetta indeed can put up to 2.5 litre engines, they're both pretty much on par in the wet. I feel that the Jetta could've been faster if not due to the fact that it doesn't really inspire enough confidence in the wet while going at speed as the BMW, but then again, they are very different cars, and "at speed" often meant waaaay past legal highway limits..

 

don't like the fact that it doesn't have flappy paddles :(

 

as usual, any sort of feedback in an effort to improve the quality of our articles will be greatly appreciated )

Edited March 28, 2008 by Nikolaiski69

[Azarael]

enjoyed your article

 

Jetta has a real ugly backside though....also , for the money.....hmm.....performance is top notch though.....i guess people who want a golf with a boot have a good choice now !

 

nice car.........this V dub

 

IMHO i feel that people who buy the 323i bmw are dumb....

 

why buy a downgraded engine...

 

if it was fuel economy one wanted, a 320i would be the one

 

to me the 323 fills a very blurred role, there is no real niche for it except for those people who want to compromise

 

it would be a 325i or a 525i for me if i had to select a 6 cyc bmw......the thought of owning a engine that is not at it's full potential is upsetting

[Nikolaiski69]

on the contrary, i think people who consider 323s are quite smart..BECAUSE you are getting almost, or PROBABLY the same engine internals as the 325i (can anyone verify this?) and then, send it to an aftermarket tuner to fully harness the horsepower of the 325 for a much much cheaper price...or perhaps...tune it differently.

 

But yeah, I think it was unfortunate that the 320i had to become an inline-4 because I would only buy a BMW for it's straight 6 FR layout..and brilliant chassis of course

[Kelpie]

I have the same thought here. Buy BMW, must get their in-line 6, afterall, thats what BMW is known for.

 

Regards,

[Frozebite]

you mean that the test is carried out at your workplace??? Or carried out by you

[Fcw75]

Wow, the review done is really good for the Jetta 1.4 TSI. 16.5km/l really?

[Frozebite]

Bro base on the review they say that trhey have clock 745km and can carry on for another 230km before the car run out of petrol and the fuel tank is 55l.

 

 

So 975/55l=17.27km/l

 

 

And they say that the car is driven hard and can achieve this fc seems too good to be true. If the fc for jetta is so good than jetta will confirm be the choice for my next car

[Coolad]

If its so easy... everyone buy 323 liao and then "upgrade" to 325 power ...this has been advertise by many "shady" workshops and the few brave souls to try out... eventually revert back to default ECU programming... reason being... car becomes jerky even at low speed... and power delivery becomes inconsistent

 

the local 323 somemore is the lousier one lacking the 3stage DISA manifold unlike the canadian 323... so even worse.... the exhaust runner is also different...

 

BMW not stupid one... if its so easily done... 325 who will buy...

[Frozebite]

I think taht the tail light look ugly but we can change the taillight to more spoty one and put bidy kit to make it looks chio. If the price and that fc i am willing to spent some money on the taillight

[Koolaba]

"Plus, being German-made, you can be assured that the next time you knock over a potted plant, you won't be needing to change your entire bumper."

 

I stand corrected that the Jetta is made in Mexico.

Edited April 6, 2008 by Koolaba

[Teoky]

Ya man, the FC is so amazing ! Even better than hybrid especially with the city and hard driving leh. If I know so good, I would also have bought it.

[Friendstar]

i enjoyed the readup!

[Friendstar]

enjoyed your article

 

Jetta has a real ugly backside though....also , for the money.....hmm.....performance is top notch though.....i guess people who want a golf with a boot have a good choice now !

 

nice car.........this V dub

 

IMHO i feel that people who buy the 323i bmw are dumb....

 

why buy a downgraded engine...

 

if it was fuel economy one wanted, a 320i would be the one

 

to me the 323 fills a very blurred role, there is no real niche for it except for those people who want to compromise

 

it would be a 325i or a 525i for me if i had to select a 6 cyc bmw......the thought of owning a engine that is not at it's full potential is upsetting

 

azarael we share very similar opinions. i concur that its either a 320 or a 325. buying a detuned 323 is just... wrong, expensive, heavy and short changed.

 

however, will it be possible to retuned the engine back to its 2.5litre variant? since the capability is there.

[Nikolaiski69]

the fuel consumption...i have a biting suspicion that the trip computer is screwed...because the last time we took a golf GT for a week or so, we could only average about 720km per tank of petrol, but yeah, we did the occasional hard start, then cruise all the way.

 

As for the jetta, i doubt we would have a genuine 230km left on the trip meter to run, but yes, if you are light footed an average of 16-17l/100km is entirely possible with minimal start-stop traffic. Any 1.4TSI owners here care to own up?

Edited April 7, 2008 by Nikolaiski69

[Nikolaiski69]

If its so easy... everyone buy 323 liao and then "upgrade" to 325 power ...this has been advertise by many "shady" workshops and the few brave souls to try out... eventually revert back to default ECU programming... reason being... car becomes jerky even at low speed... and power delivery becomes inconsistent

 

the local 323 somemore is the lousier one lacking the 3stage DISA manifold unlike the canadian 323... so even worse.... the exhaust runner is also different...

 

BMW not stupid one... if its so easily done... 325 who will buy...

 

Hey Coolad...

 

Is it possible to buy the DISA manifold aftermarket, OR tuned manifolds/runners for the 325i and work from there? I believe the "jerkiness and inconsistent" power delivery should be the software, and not the physical engine itself right? It would be interesting to see if ANYONE got it right..haha

 

As for a close friend of mine, I know he managed to succesfully retune his 523i to about 195hp..this was the older engine before the newest "princess on stilts" engine, as he likes to call it.

[Veryfree]

a jetta will make you drive lay back, an extreme opposite to a 323.

beside this, there is nothing to compare if you are comparing

an apple with a durian.

[Azarael]

if u rechip the car, if PML finds out, u can kiss your warranty goodbye..also the rechipping is not cheap, at least a few thousand bucks. Also if u rechip, there is a chance that when u send the car to PML, the whole system can be reset by the com....

 

best u dont mess with the car's "princess" engine

 

the trip computer on the jetta GT cannot be trusted. if u drive hard, consumption goes down to 10-11km/L .....according to a golf 1.4 twincharged GT owner i asked.

 

seriously, bmws are never meant for people who bother about FC

 

if u so concerned about FC, PLS PLS PLS don't buy a bmw.....

 

dont be like the fool who put a CNG tank into his Porsche....

[Teoky]

I believe you can't get power without increasing FC. Something is not right since you did mentioned that you did hard drive.

 

I think you meant to say 1 litre/17km instead of 17l/100km ? If it is the former, it is definitely possible with cruising all the way. I did a test of the 2.5V6 engine used by Mark X (IS250 engine) and I got 17.6km/litre by cruising on all the expressway for around 1 hour ! I would think the TSI engine in such a scenario might give more than 20km/litre.