Golf GT TDI or Upgrade the Passat V6TDI

[LWW]

I've got an 01' Passat V6 TDI saloon (150bhp, 6spd). I love the car but the driving experiance has become a bit staid and predictable. I've recentley bought the wife an 02' Passat Estate TDI Sport (130bhp, 6spd) and have found that the estate has become the main family car due to the practicality and lower runing costs and the V6 is now an 'expensive' 2nd car that I just use to commute to work or the odd occasion when I'm driving without the family in tow. The estate is about £350 pa cheaper to run than the V6 based on our mileage (6k each) to be frank it also seems more exciting to drive.

It's got me thinking about making the 2nd car cheaper to run. I have a choice of changing it to a cheaper to run, nice 01' Golf GT TDI (130bhp, 6spd) with all the kit (BTW I'd have to put about £1500 - £2000 to the V6 part ex value to get the Golf but this is partly offset by the fact that the V6 is due a cam belt in 10K and the Golf has had it's first done.) or do I stick with the Passat that's run perfectly for 5yrs and have some work done to make it more exciting and hopefully cost less to run. I'm thinking that the £1500 -£2000 could be spent on the cam belt and then a remap to around 180bhp with a corresponding increase in mpg (is that possible) and then perhaps lower the suspenion to a sport spec. With luck I may even have change but is it money well spent?

The choice is really between these two, I'll only have diesel and the Golf is as small as I can go. The car needs to be relatively tidy for work although I don't use it for business.

Any help/advice gratefully received. Apologies for the long post.

[adamss24]

Hi, have the cambelt done at a vw specialist as its cheaper than at the dealer, get some lowering springs and matching dampers for about 300 pounds and shop on ebay for a PSI Motorsport chip for min 30 bhp and 60-70 Nm torque increase and forget about the golf as the passat will be as thrilling to drive and a bit more roomy inside. As for the Mpg increase, if you dont keep your foot glued to the floor you should not see a noticeable difference ! I drive a quattro a4 2.5 tdi/6 speed thats been chipped with a PSI chip and believe me that i enjoy every minute of drive. Its a real road sleeper now and still averages about 38 Mpg.

[LWW]

Thanks for that. I think that's the way I'm leaning. The Golf is nice but despite the residual value disparity it would probably still feel like I was trading down. The problem is I have two lots of costs. The MPG on the golf is about 10 miles better to the gallon, the tax would be £50 cheaper, Insurance about £50 pa cheaper. I'm not being tight but I am running two cars and it all stacks up. The performance mod on the V6 could potentially ramp up the insurance premium and if it's giving me little in the way of increased fuel efficiancy then it's hard to square the figures. I'm also thinking about the longer term with car tax unlikely to reduce and diesel prices staying high.

[adamss24]

Actually a chip can be removed in 2 minutes and there is no way the insurance company will know you had one unless you afraid to tell a little lye...:-) . If its fuel economy you after then pay the premium and buy the golf but if you want a roomy 4 door saloon with a silky smooth v6 then stick with the audi... Your choice i'm afraid ! Also remember that the PD engines are very pricey to service when its injector time, and remember the stresses that are put on these engines because they are highly tuned from the factory. Add to that when the camshaft will need replacing( the Achile's Heel on the PD !) you looking at another grand to repair. If its fuel economy and reliability you after, buy an old shape c4 A6 with the 140 Bhp and 6speed g'box, as they were bullet proof but not very exciting to drive on the bends...Hope this helps.

[LWW]

Hi adamss

I really appreciate the time you've taken to reply on this. I would be sorry to see the V6 go and like I said it would feel a bit like trading down. It's now academic anyway because the Golf I was looking at had outstanding finance on it. I offered the dealership a deposit to hold it for me until they sorted their finance issue but they wouldn't. Some poor sod who neglects to do an HPI check will end up buying it.

As if to redeem itself the V6 did 41mpg on a 13 mile run this evening and to be honest that's pretty good for a car of that size & spec. I've been pointed in the direction of a local VAG independant for the cambelt and then I'm going to have a good look at the types of upgrades you suggeted. I'll probably come back onto the forum to narrow the field for a chip/remap and suspension choice.

Thanks again & cheers.