Should I be carefull of VW's V5 engines ?

[disasterbus]

I've only driven a V5 once, it went well but was shocking on fuel.
My old new beetle was a 1999 LHD 2.0 petrol - drove fine and I really liked it, only sold it because the boot was too small.
Currently got a Mk 4 Golf GTi 1.8 T which goes like stink, and still averages 33mpg even when I drive it 'enthusiastically'!
There are a few new beetles around with this engine and I'd buy one of these given the choice.
That said, a girl I work with has an 02 TDi beetle which is really nice to drive, surprisingly quick and she says it's very economical but I think the TDi's are relatively rare.

[skinnylew]

I wouldnt say the V5 is shocking on fuel, yes its not good but i give mine the worst treatment and she was still returning factory urban figures of 21.8mpg average. Granted she's a bit looser now and needs a new rad but see if you can find a V5 and at least try it as they are cracking engines and quite underrated.
Parts arent to hard to find either due to the engien being available in a variety of models some more popular (Golf/Bora).

[jrevillug]

Jan 28, 2010 0:49:56 GMT 10mpg said:

Jan 28, 2010 0:26:50 GMT cairyhunt said:

I've always wondered why did vw only make them for one series of cars?? Must have cost a lot to engineer to only take it out of production a few years later, always made me think something was wrong with it, same applys the the 1.8 20v non turbo, only fitted to a few very early b5 passats then swapped for the less powerful, less econimcal and heavier 2ltr 8v from the mk3 gti???

I'd go for the v6 just for peace of mind, bet second hand parts are a t**t to find for the v5.

Coop

My brother in law had a 1.8 n/a 20v which he sold to a mate of mine, completely gutless yet really thirsty (sub 25mpg everywhere often much less) despite being pampered from new, no power at all till just before the red line and even then nothing much at all, plus it spat its' factory cambelt 20k before it was due and bent all 20 valves...

I know I had to replace all 20 of the little sods, horrid engine to work on overly complex and good for sod all, mind you the b5 passats are pretty nasty things to if you ask me

Not much to recommend it in my view!

My Dad's got a 1.8L 20v n/a engine in his Audi A6 - which has visited your workshop.

I agree that it's slow, and that you really need to rev it to get any power out of it, but we get 30-35mpg on a run - which is all it ever does, TBH. That said, it is driven gently, rarely going above 3000rpm. If you thrash it everywhere at 4500+ to getat the power, I can see 25mpg being a regular occurrence.

I can't comment on working on it, but it does seem quite complex.

[Mr S]

My ex-mrs has got a 2.0 Auto 'New' beetle (2000 on an X plate). It's gutless, the engine feels rough and it's horrible to drive. But then I'm used to 6 or 8 cylinder engines and RWD so I've forgotten what a little engine like this feels like - and if this is indicative, I won't be going back either lol

That said, it seems reliable enough (she's had it since May time) although ever since I replaced the battery on it a short while ago, it now stalls after hot restarts. This seems to be a common problem and some say that when you scan it for fault codes it fixes the problem. Hasn't on this one though. Doh!

In the summer I think it got around 26ish mpg on mixed driving but I wouldn't swear to it...