The 1.8T seems to be quite rare. There is only one on Autotrader UK and it is a looooong way away.
Old VW Bora 2.0 115PS - Reliable? Things to look out for?
- Thread starter Akagi
- Start date
Stick the boring vag's - if you're looking for cheap to buy fun, vw and not a fortune to maintain then just buy something like a polo gti or Ibiza cupra (1.8t) if they're in budget.
Rubbish inside but small, nimble and actually good fun to horse around the place whilst being reasonably reliable. I personally think you're expected economy is unrealistic though
http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/111352986162?cmd=VIDESC
If you really, really, really want a bora then either find a 1.8t or save up a bit more, accept 28mpg and buy a vr6
Rubbish inside but small, nimble and actually good fun to horse around the place whilst being reasonably reliable. I personally think you're expected economy is unrealistic though
http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/111352986162?cmd=VIDESC
If you really, really, really want a bora then either find a 1.8t or save up a bit more, accept 28mpg and buy a vr6
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[TW]Fox;26414351 said:
They aren't that bad IMO. It's no ball of fire, and it quickly feels asthmatic if you try to extract any kind of performance from it, but on the plus side it produces a reasonable amount of torque at lower RPM which makes motorway cruising etc. fine. They are not particularly thirsty for a 2.0L petrol engine either, not many similar sized petrol engines from the same era will consistently return high 30s to low 40's on longer journeys.
It's a SOHC engine which makes a timing belt change very simple (i.e. cheap) and they are generally reliable. Some of them do tend to use oil, though my wifes car is on ~130k and only needs topping up a few times between oil changes.
Soldato
It's not so much that they're thirsty for a 2.0 engine, it's that they're thirsty for 115BHP.
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![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
Plenty will and frankly most other manufacturers needed only a 1.6 to get 115bhp not a 2.0. My 2.0 Mondeo from 15 years ago did low 40's on long trips and had 140bhp not 115bhp..
Soldato
I can't quite get my head around why the 2.0 8v 115bhp engine lasted as long as it did, VW are/were not shy from introducing much more complex engines across its model range (look at the compound charged 1.4 TFSI, the 1.8T in everything late 90s onwards...) nor were they short of a bob or two to develop new engines.
Soldato
I remember my dad buying a K reg passat estate when I was pretty young, he got the car about 1995 I think, I remember finding out about the car then and being disappointed to hear it was only 115bhp rather than the 150bhp ABF engine....
Now the 2.0 8v is a simple, honest and fundamentally reliable engine, but even if I was buying a car of the Mk4 Golf/Bora era for relatively little money, I'd still be seeking out something with a more modern engine.
Now the 2.0 8v is a simple, honest and fundamentally reliable engine, but even if I was buying a car of the Mk4 Golf/Bora era for relatively little money, I'd still be seeking out something with a more modern engine.
You could get a Golf TDI and a Golf 1.8T with GTI on the tailgate too, at the same time. The MK.IV Golf 'GTI' was a weird one.
Don
[TW]Fox;26416057 said:
We had these as company cars back in '98/99. They were utterly awful but the young sales guys loved them "coz it's a GTI innit".
I took the car allowance instead and bought a nice E32 735iSE.
I agree that a 1.8T looks like the best bet. Will have to check insurance etc. It will be a bit of a pain though as they are few & far between, so finding a good example, and even finding one reasonably close by for an initial test drive, could prove difficult.
Damn, quotes are pretty high.
Damn, quotes are pretty high.
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