SDI (Suction Diesel Injection)

I know, that in my earlier "1.9 TDI, PD (Pumpe Duse) TDI & SDI (Suction Diesel Injection)" (http://allaboutdieselz.blogspot.ro/2015/07/19-tdi-pd-pumpe-duse-tdi-sdi-suction.html) article I mentioned the SDI a.k.a.Suction Diesel Injection VAG (VW-Audi Group) engine,but this powerplant is no longer in production since the Golf mk5 and Caddy typ 2k, so I decided to write a whole article about it. These were the last undying, naturally aspirated 1.7, 1.9, 2.0 and 2.5 L diesel engines manufactured by VW Group, and I had the honor to deal with some of them. Recently, my friend Alex, who is entering his 70's asked me to find him a car which is cheap, cheap to run, reliable and low consuming; the budget was 1600 euro, so there weren't too many options to choose from. Then I remembered the SDI and started searching it on the net. We found a 2001 Seat Cordoba Estate 1.9 SDI (68 HP) for that money, with 2x electric windows, sunroof, power steering, ABS, central locking, 15" alloy wheels + resprayed and without rust. It's got somewhere around 208000 km and averages 4,6 L/100 km. The other 1.9 SDI which I had to deal with was a VW Polo Classic (Sedan) from the early 90's and it had over 400000 km, because it was from a rent a car company. Even trough she was running perfectly, no vibrations or any other signs of braking down. The point where I'm trying to get with these bedtime stories is that if you buy an SDI, it will last forever + consume very little. No turbo=you can change gears at very low rpms without problem/lower consumption/higher lifetime/fewer fading and so on. The only disadvantage is the lack of power, but if you use it in city, it's perfect!

Now after my personal experience, here are some official data:
The SDI engine is a design of naturally aspirated (NA) direct injection diesel engine developed and produced by Volkswagen Group for use in cars and vans, along with marine engine (Volkswagen Marine) and Volkswagen Industrial Motor applications.

The SDI brand name (derived from "Suction Diesel Injection" or "Suction Diesel Direct Injection", the latter a translation of the German: Saugdiesel Direkt Einspritzung) was adopted in order to differentiate between earlier and less efficient indirect injection engines, called SD or "Suction Diesel", which were also produced by Volkswagen Group.

SDI engines are only produced in inline or straight engine configurations; and as they originate from a German manufacture, are designated as either R4 or R5, taken from the German: Reihenmotor. They are available in various displacements (from 1.7 to 2.5 litres), in inline 4 (R4 or I4) and inline 5 (R5 or I5), in various states of tune, depending on intended application.

The SDI engine is generally utilised in applications where reliability and fuel economy are of primary concern. These engines lack any type of forced induction, hence the use of 'suction' in the title, and as such, their power output is lower when compared with a similar displacement turbocharged engine. For example, the 2.0 SDI engine fitted to the Volkswagen Golf Mk5 has a peak power output of 75 HP whereas the same engine in Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) form is rated at 140 HP or 170 HP, depending on specification.

SDI engines: specifications, performance and applications

model	designation or ID code(s)	engine displacement	peak power at rpm (Directive 80/1269/EEC)	max. torque at rpm	notable design features	notes & application(s)
automotive engines
1.7 SDI	AHB, AHG, AKU, AKW	1716 cm3 (104.7 cui)	60 HP @ 4200	115 NM (85 lb-ft) @ 2200	Bosch VP37 (German:VerteilerPumpe) electronic distributorinjection pump	Volkswagen Lupo, SEAT Arosa, Volkswagen Polo(some markets),Volkswagen Caddy Typ9K
1.9 SDI	ASY, AEY, AGD	1896 cm3 (115.7 cui)	64 HP @ 4200	125 NM (92 lb-ft) @ 1600-2800	Bosch VP37 (VerteilerPumpe) electronic distributor injection pump	Volkswagen Polo Mk3,Volkswagen Polo Classic, Volkswagen Golf Mk3, Volkswagen Caddy Typ 9U/9K, SEAT Inca, Škoda Octavia(Mk1), Škoda Fabia,Volkswagen Bora (some markets)
1.9 SDI	AGP, AQM	1896 cm3 (115.7 cui)	68 HP @ 4000	133 NM (98 lb-ft) @ 1800	Bosch VP37 (VerteilerPumpe) electronic distributor injection pump	Volkswagen Polo Mk3,Volkswagen Golf Mk4,Volkswagen Caddy Typ9U/9K, SEAT Ibiza,SEAT Inca, SEAT León Mk1 (1M), Škoda Octavia (Mk1)Volkswagen Bora (some markets)
2.0 SDI PD	BDJ, BST	1968 cm3 (120.1 cui)	69 HP @ 4200	140 NM (103 lb-ft) @ 2200-2400	Bosch Pumpe Düse technology	Volkswagen Caddy Typ2K
2.0 SDI PD	BDK	1968 cm3 (120.1 cui)	75 HP @ 4200	140 NM (103 lb-ft) @ 2200-2400	Bosch Pumpe Düse technology	Volkswagen Golf Mk5
2.5 R5 SDI	AGX	2461 cm3 (150.2 cui)	75 HP	160 NM (118 lb-ft)	Inline-five engine, Bosch VP37 (VerteilerPumpe) electronic distributor injection pump	Volkswagen LT28 and LT35 vans (05/96-04/01)
SDI engines: specifications, performance and applications

Seat Cordoba Estate (this is not the one we bought)

VW Polo Classic