The year was 2009 and diesel was king! – and the 1.6 TDi was as popular as the models it was being applied to. To a large degree it replaced its petrol counterpart, the 1.6i naturally aspirated. With the TDI in various states of tune, it was suited to small & mid-sized family cars; providing the fuel economy that diesel is famous for along with a shove of torque to keep up with motorway traffic. Both points went a long way to make up for the fact your new Polo sounded a bit agricultural.
The CAY generation was fitted throughout the group for the best part of a decade and while the small TSI units have now taken their place, there are still hundreds of thousands of TDi’s still operated across Europe.
This version of the 1.6 was applied to some larger, more questionable applications like the Passat, Octavia & Superb, all of which had to be driven hard to get up to speed this side of Christmas. Due to a combination of cold start thrashings, age & subsequent mileage, many are in need of a quality repair solution.
Here are some of our fastest movers with more available online faiauto.com/ecat
