V5 or 1.8T?

[carl s]

Hi,

New to the forum, I'm considering buying a '03 Passat Estate, either a V5 or a 1.8T. I've had an Octavia and a Mk4 golf with the 1.8t engine and liked them both. I don't know however if the Passat being a bit bigger will have the enthusiasm of the 1.8t swamped by its wieght? Also I have no real experience of the V5 at all.

My other car is an Elise so the car doesn't have to be a firecracker, but it needs to be powerful enough to carry the family & all the gear on long holiday trips

Thanks in advance

[Lex Luthor]

If you want to chip it then it has to be the 1.8T
Have you driven a PD130 ?

[Bajie]

I have an R32 GTR for fun and wanted a smooth car for the drive to work and sons football.

Opted for a '51 Passat V5 and am very happy and impressed with it.

Had it for around 2000 miles now and not a squeak, rattle or anything else to annoy me.
Did not want another turbocharged car as I knew I would go looking for what I could do to get more out of the engine.

I have no experience of the V5, I bought one with full dealer history and although mine is a saloon the boot is a cavern, more than big enough for two sets of footballs, cones and a couple of holdalls.

I'm very impressed with it. Mine seems to have all the options I could have wanted, stereo has six disc in dash cd multi-changer so again, no system upgrade required.

Heated seats, auto dimming rear view mirror and rain sensitive wipers make me laugh but they don't half come in handy.

I get an indicated 420 miles to a tank of SUL.

[carl s]

I haven't tried the TDI but I have a fuel card from work so mpg isn't a concern therefore the £2k premium the TDI 130 demands is not worthwhile. The V5 is tempting as it comes with all the toys, I guess I'm a bit worried about the wallowy ride the car gets bad reviews for, does the Sport solve this? if so, does the V5 come with the Sport suspension as standard?
Also, out of interest what would you say is a reasonable mileage to expect out of a 1.8T ? I've been offered one with 70k and one with 115k, if they were the TDI's I'd not be too bothered, but 115k sounds like it's going to need some attention soon.

Thanks for the feedback so far !

[Bajie]

My car is on 120K but does not feel like it at all.
Belts etc have all been changed at the right time.
The ride is a bit soft but I just don't care. I drive the car in a relaxed manner, its very happy on the motorway and doesn't get overly affected by speed bumps. My mind did go toward changing suspension but I don't want to go there with this car.
Another friend of mine has a Passat approaching 200k. Was owned by a soldier stationed abroad who only used it to drive from base to England and back. That car has not missed a beat.
I found the TDi a bit noisy [engine wise] on the inside. Not saying this is the norm, just what I found.

[Lex Luthor]

I've been offered one with 70k and one with 115k, if they were the TDI's I'd not be too bothered, but 115k sounds like it's going to need some attention soon.

I would ignore the mileage and buy on age and condition.
I ran to 155K on my 1.8T Audi A4 with no problems at all.

[carl s]

Thanks for the responses so far, I would agree with you on the age & condition being important, I've been stung a bit on my current car, a 2004 Legacy tourer, great car, but I've had it for 6 months and it's due to go back to the dealers next week for it's 6th visit ! this time they want it for a week to decide whether it needs a new gearbox or just the clutch

Been a bit of a catalogue of faults, brakes, suspension, battery, gearbox, clutch, engine idle etc... Just want it fixed this time so i can sell it on before teh warrenty ends !

[davegwynn]

I agree with the above - age and condition much more of a concern than milage. To date, 'part from consumables (inc. a set of disks), my 1.8T has had a pair of rear shocks shocks (<40K miles - one was leaking), and a spring on the front shocks replaced. Original clutch, turbo etc etc. Apart from some wear on the drivers seat, you wouldn't guess it has done over 100K. I really don't think milage is too much of a concern, but check that it has been properly serviced!

[calum]

A few thoughts on the choice you have,the v5 will be very thirsty as it is a 2.3 litre,tuning is limited if you decide you want more power and worst of all this engine has known problems with the timing chain tensioners around the 100,000 mile mark,it needs done or the engine will self destruct.
As for the1.8t which can be thirsty too,but not as bad as the v5.Tuning is easy from a simple chip up to a Ko4 turbo and so on.Timing belts need done too,but should have been taken care of at around 70,000mile mark.As far as suspension goes,new shocks all round cost around £160-£180 + fitting,hope this helps you some,cheers Calum.

[carl s]

Thanks for all your responses so far, lot's to think about...