Chris
Pretty much sums it up although it sounds like you missed the typical hole in piston 3 under 100,000 km and fight with VW for a goodwill engine replacement. The service attitude, oh the service attitude. I had a Skoda, tried VW and Skoda dealers. Crazy expensive, arrogant, incompetent. Just wow.
240
Will avoid the 118 then! 90 sounds like the aay to go.
V50 is definitely a consideration but uses a fair bit of fuel compared to Golf. I'd assume similar from a reliability/service cost point of view though.
Will look at the Skoda.
I know i30s are good but I just find them bland and the interiors feel poorly made. Will show it to my mum as an option though.
Chris
If you can find a D5 the V50 or ẞ40 are economical as well as swift. Relaxing to drive.
Like all European cars both Volvo and VW can be good or bad. Law of averages I'd say the Volvo is more robust than the VW.
Any reason an Impreza is out other than maybe plastics?
Philia_Bear
240;120152 wroteWill avoid the 118 then! 90 sounds like the aay to go.
V50 is definitely a consideration but uses a fair bit of fuel compared to Golf. I'd assume similar from a reliability/service cost point of view though.
Will look at the Skoda.
I know i30s are good but I just find them bland and the interiors feel poorly made. Will show it to my mum as an option though.
Service cost on the volvo would be way lower than the vw in most cases
Worse on fuel for sure but much safer in an accident
I30wise
Anything later than 08 (eg 09) has stability controll as standard which nuters the diesel
Also they mostly come with the 15" rims which are again the same
Putting 17" rims on fixes the handling and makes it feel like a go kart
The petrol motor is at best shit and slow as grandma so the only good option was the 08 crdi auto in the base model sx
240
V50 has common issues live PCV ... any things like that with VW 90TSI?
Impreza is a good option I know but doesn't seem like as good a car as a Golf, and certainly would feel like a step down from the Outback I think.
Chris
I really recommend VWWatercooled. It's a great forum, though of course very pro VW so you have to filter what you read. But certainly you could get advice there on the 90.
Philia_Bear
240;120158 wroteV50 has common issues live PCV ... any things like that with VW 90TSI?
Impreza is a good option I know but doesn't seem like as good a car as a Golf, and certainly would feel like a step down from the Outback I think.
V50 2.4i had pcv issues until 08
Most any of them with the issue were replaced already with the upgraded part
None of the t5 had the issue
egads (she/her)
Real world fuel difference between V50 and Golf is not big. Some really nice looking V50's up at the moment on car sales and gumtree.
240
@egads really? From what I've read a Golf can get around 7 per 100 in the city, but I know someone with a 2.4i S40 and they average about 11...
Thanks for the info PhilaBear
Did any s40-v50 models come with BT and hands free?
Philia_Bear
240;120173 wrote@egads really? From what I've read a Golf can get around 7 per 100 in the city, but I know someone with a 2.4i S40 and they average about 11...
Thanks for the info PhilaBear
Did any s40-v50 models come with BT and hands free?
Most did and all without can be easily retrofitted for cheap with the volvo kit
Major Ledfoot
Wife has a 2005 auto Golf, which is being sold after Oz Volvo. The only reason we're selling it is because she has the S80 V8 now.
For what it is, the Golf goes okay, handles well, stops very well, is very light on fuel, and it's not too bad at all around town or on a trip.
The only trouble she's had with it has been a dud coil pack. It did a fuel pump recently after it was in the panel shop getting a parking ding removed, but that may have been due to the panel shop.
Also, we rented a 6 speed manual Golf while in England and en route to VROM in 2015. It literally ran on the smell of an oily rag - like, 40+ MPG with my lead foot - and had plenty of 'go' for a NA FWD gadget.
Both Ms Wife's Golf and the Britain Rent-A-Golf feel far more solid than any crappy Korean road gnat which I've been forced to endure as rentals.
TerryA
Something left field to consider, Kia Cerato. I purchased a 2012 Cerato with 57K for $11K. Excellent on fuel, still has new car warranty, space to boot as well as grunt. Being base model it has full electrics, Bluetooth etc etc etc. We have had the car for 2 years and no issues at all. I think the build quality is better than the Hyundai as well. So much so I ended up buying a 2015 Sportage new for the wife.
Vee_Que
Diesel vws as a manual is a very economical car, you can drive it hard and they return 7l/100, a petrol one na will be like my s40, the mileage goes up above 10.
240
Any problems with diesel and city driving?
Eg DPF?
I saw one for sale that had had a replacement engine, apparently due to not enough highway driving (put probably just poor maintenance).
A friend has a diesel mk V and it returns that sort of economy so I assume a VI would be as good if not better.
Vee_Que
My experience is with an 07 so euro iii, post 07 are euro iv and euro v is 2011-12, they brought in more disablements with more systems that don't otherwise stop the car driving. The dpfs definitely like highway drives more, in between city runs. The fuel filter is the only extra cost and is done every 3RD service or so. Which should be no more than 10,000kms apart.
Vw stopped offering manuals at some point in the early 2010s too.
240
So they do have DPF's?
For a car that's only used in the city that effectively rules out a diesel right?
Chris
Depends what year etc, but mostly they had DPF. My Skoda Octavia was the 1.9 TDI (sold from 07 to about 09 from memory) and it didn't have one. Pretty slow and grumbly, but a tough engine. Turbo failure not unknown but not endemic either.
You can run diesels in the city, but if all you ever do is short trips then best not. Need a highway/freeway run regularly to avoid clogging the DPF.
BUT, against the petrol Focus that replaced it the fuel savings were small and the Focus was faster so overall a modern direct injection petrol engine can perform comparably in the real world.
I'd second what @TerryA said about the current gen Cerato. You'll probably feel like the plastics aren't up to Golf standard, but having driven one I was impressed by it. It was quiet, roomy, comfortable etc - a solid A to B type car that was much better than I expected. I've mentioned it to a few people and it's surprising how many reject it on badge snobbery alone.
Ex850R
Would more frequent servicing be needed for a city only driven car?
Would a blast up the freeway every week or two keep it happy? (if you remember or have time)
Is there a self cleaning method of dpf like truck and bus have? (shuttle bus I go on had to do it everyday, poor servicing and very short city trips)
240
I muse say that I can be guilty of a bit of badge snobbery! But the car isn't for me so I shouldn't let it get in the way.
Honestly at this stage it looks like it can boil down to personal preference as long as I remember things like avoid the 118 etc etc.
Despite what I said before the Impreza still isn't ruled out... so I welcome opinions/experience in regards to them too
Vee_Que
What year impreza?
The Dpf doesn't self clean the same way as a truck, they need flaps to block exhaust flow for that. More complications.
More frequent oil changes are always needed on vehicles that do short city driving or heavy towing and a few other variations anyway.
