Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

Hi chaps, just been reading the Golf vs Bora thread with interest and wonder if any of you could help here.

My girlfriend wants to spend around £11k on a Golf, it preferably wants to be less than 3 years old, less than 40k miles and be sporty. She has an aversion to diesels so we've come to 2 models, the 1.8 turbo GTI or the V5.

These seem very evenly matched in price and performance, the GTI seems a little cheaper to run. Could any of you give a pro's and cons of each one relative to each other in terms of spec, handling etc?

How do you easily spot the difference between a 150 and a 170 PS V5?

If it makes any difference it'll be a 5 door.

Any common faults / checks to do when viewing?

Many thanks

Justin

Reffro

Spotting the difference between the two V5 versions is easy, besides a 4-valve head on the 170bhp versions the badge on the rear of the 170bhp will have a red number 5, similar to the the way the DI of TDI is red on the Pumpe Duse versions of the Golf.

The 170bhp engine is the one to have, much quicker, and certainly no worse when it comes to fuel consumption. Make sure it has the sports suspension though.

V5

I've got the V5 and love it ( this is in comparison to other repmobiles...!) but don't forget that the 1.8T can be easily chipped to about 220bhp.

IIRC the V5's spec is defo better - rain sensitive wipers, auto-dimming rear view mirror etc.

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

Thanks. Did all the mkIV golfs get a minor spec revamp at around 2001?, for example the GTis getting 16" wheels as std.

I also have seen a few V5s with elec front windows only rather than all round, is this common?

I also read about the sport suspension, WRT to the V5 was this always an option or was it std with the 170 versions?

All these Q's It seems we'll go for a 2001 V5 170PS with sport suspension, thing is how would you know if it has sport suspension? (I suppose driving it but I wouldn't want to waste a journey)

Justin

V5

Mine's a Sept 2001 51 reg and was built to order, so it wasn't one they had hanging around! Anyhoo....the sports suspension was not standard when I ordered mine, and I don't know how you could tell if it was fitted or not, I'm afraid!

Simon S3

I`ve owned both 1.8T (150bhp) and V5 (170bhp) Mk4 Golfs and would go for the 1.8T every time.

Performance wise there really isn`t much in it, and the turbo Golf just feels more urgent than the V5. The V5 engine, while a lot more refined (sounds better than the turbo too) just feels a bit lazy.

Economy wise, the turbo wins hands down every time, easy to get 33+ on a run (28ish for the V5) and around town the V5 is downright thirsty.

If you can find a nice turbo with Recaros (they were standard for a while) and climate I`d pick it over a V5 every time.

Just my opinion of course!

Oh, and the rain sensitive wipers on my V5 were awful, they easily got confused in spray, best avoided IMHO!

[Edited by Simon S3 - 6/24/2003 7:11:43 PM]

Dracoro

Don't rely on the red badge as I'm sure it's a popular 'mod'. Audi 180bhp TT drivers are well known to put the extra exhaust pipe on to make it look like a 225bhp model too!

Check the V5? (the log book not the car ) and under bonnet stuff etc.

[Edited by Dracoro - 6/25/2003 9:58:19 AM]

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

Hmm decisions, decisions... looks like we'll be looking at both types this weekend.

It seems that theres a lot more turbos to choose from.

Any common faults to look for?

Justin

[Edited by Jay m A - 6/25/2003 10:03:23 AM]

julesm

Justin,

The Sports Pack on the V5 was an option which consisted of stiffer suspension that's been lowered by 15mm, and 17in Alloys with 225/45 tyres as opposed to 16in Alloys with 205/55 tyres. According to most road tests this made a vast improvement in terms of handling, so well worth the extra grand on top of the original list price of 18k.

The V5 is a much better engine than the 1.8T, performance wise not a lot in it but ultimately the V5 always has the upper hand, it also sounds so much better....

The choice is yours....

GTI

I'd personally go for the Turbo feels like it has more kick to me, might have been the 180bhp I drove tho!? (did they do the 180 on a 51 plate out of interest?) Both nice cars only driven the V5 for a quick blast, but heard day to day the V5 is much more nose heavy - dnt know if thats true.

Simon S3

It is true, and it`s a lot more thirsty.

The turbo is the way to go unless you really want to have a car that sounds like an old Audi!

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

We got one!

X reg 2001 turbo with 33000 miles on the clock fVWsh, remainder of warranty, one non-lease owner for £10,600.

Finding a V5 to test drive was difficult, the 26000 mile example we did find interior wise was very tired aleady! Pulled well but as mentioned in a previous post didn't feel as urgent as the turbo, or as refined which I didn't expect - probably was a dog that had lead a hard life. It didn't have the sports suspension either and handling (compared with the turbo) was relatively nose heavy with the expected roll.

There wasn't one 170 V5 with sports suspension in our price bracket or area (and not in black ) so the decision in the end was made for us.

My girlfriend is very happy with her purchase, and I would like to thank everyone for their advice and comments

Cheers

Justin (whose weekend tasks are now back to decorating the house...)

Simon S3

Glad to read you got the turbo! They aren`t as bad as people make out. Hope you and your girlfriend are happy with it............



........now go paint the house!

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

She's picking it up today , I'm off to join the mkIV forum


oh, and the new bathroom will be delivered by Friday, so its paintbrush down and on with the tiling, whilst she'll no doubt clean the car even though it was valeted the other day...

I remember that 'I've got myself a new car' feeling - big grin-tastic!

P.s. its got Recaros and the later spec 12 spoke wheels, which IMO really suit the Golfs

Simon S3

Jay,

For a standard seat, those Recaros are fantastic, better than the leather ones in my S3 for some reason.