Mark 4 V6 Golf MPG

[bracken78]

Hi all.

I'm thinking about getting golf and am contemplating a V6. What MPG do you get in the real world? The car would be used mainly for longer distances as we have a Saxo for town.

Also are these cars troublesome?

[somouk]

No more troublesome than any of the other golfs really. You will still have suspensions bushes go and probably the odd MAF.

The V6 itself is a reliable unit but does like a drink if pressed on.

Expect 35 mpg on a run and depending on how grand ma like your driving is 25 tops around town. Probably more like 22.

[TeaVR]

I ran a V6 4Motion for about 6 months. If you are gentle, on a trip, then you can get over 30. I had no issues with reliability.

Nice car - but not as quick as I had imagined.

[brisel]

Which V6 are you thinking about getting? The 2.8l V6 4Motion or the 3.2l V6 R32?

My R32 has 23 mpg as a long term average but it is mostly a weekend hooning car. I'd say 25 - 27 mpg for a sensible daily driver. 28 for long hauls.

No major issues beyond the odd coil pack failure.

If the engine rattles at all at working temperatures then don't touch it. Some V6s have dodgy timing chain tensioners which damage the chain until the valves meet the pistons. It's a pretty rare fault.

With climate control set to auto and engine ticking over, check that the radiator fans run slowly all the time not pulse at high speed. Fan resistors do fail and a new fan unit is £550 & there are 2 of them.

Edited by brisel on Thursday 10th July 20:46

[bracken78]

I'm thinking about the 2.8 V6 as the R32 is out of my budget of max 7K and I’m sure I could find a very nice lower mileage car for this kind of money. I currently have an S2000 which I run on SUL fuel and the best I saw was 30MPG with the worst about 25MPG and so what hoping maybe a 2.8 would do the same which looks possible.

Sounds like there could be some potential problems with them, I will have to do some research on them and see what that turns up. Does anyone know where I find a buyers guide on golfs?

Thanks for your answers.

[Fourmotion]

somouk said:

No more troublesome than any of the other golfs really. You will still have suspensions bushes go and probably the odd MAF.

The V6 itself is a reliable unit but does like a drink if pressed on.

Expect 35 mpg on a run and depending on how grand ma like your driving is 25 tops around town. Probably more like 22.

They are very optimistic figures. The computer on mine shows a long term average of 25 mpg. On a recent run down to Wales, on an empty road with little or no need to slow down then accelerate, I achieved 29.8 mpg, travelling at about 85. This is pushed to 32-33 at 70, but I have never achieved anywhere near 35.

My journey to work see's about 18mpg around town.

Also bear in mind that the trip computers tend to be optimistic. The most I have ever got out of a tank is 340 miles. It has a 13.1 gallon tank. Which is 26mpg. Usually I get 300 miles.

The fan units are about £450, and contain both fans, so you only need one. Until that one fails and you need another.........

[funinthesun]

Im about to put the wifes 4motion ( v6 2.8) up for sale. - is a 2000 model with 64k on the clock - services 2 weeks ago with new disks and pads all around, new MOT next week.

It averages around 33mpg , if you go by the trip computer/ Its dark blue, cloth seats... but goes pretty well, and hasnt missed a beat in 2 years or so...

[jo strummer]

Hi just got 2001 VR6, very happy but got it home done about 50 miles now rattle drivers side, sounds high up almost soounds like something about to fall off, had a look nothing obvious, the this evening read post on here....should I be worried or just get it into a dealer quick? Bought from a trader so not come back before anyone says take it back. It has full service history, last service 4 months ago.

[Vee]

somouk said:

Expect 35 mpg on a run and depending on how grand ma like your driving is 25 tops around town. Probably more like 22.

No chance of 35mpg.
I did London to York weekly in mine for 2 years.

31 if you're really trying, but more like 29 on the motorway.
Around town is around 22mpg at most.

Decent motorway car but far too thirsty.

[ingham]

my mk3 vr6 does 33mpg on a run and around 28 in town and 7 when at santa pod

[bracken78]

Thanks for all your replies. Just so you all know the reason I decided on a basic GTI was due to potential fuel cost of the V6 and 'if' something went wrong with the car it might have cost a bit more than the GTI to fix.

The GTI is fine for what I need now as looking for a house need all the money I can find for that and sailing is talking up time and money also. This extra the V6 would cost is money I would now rather spend on the house/boat than the car.

[jo strummer]

To follow up drove to work this morning, doing about 70 changed into 6th and car started really juddering, very much like it was about to run out of fuel, was able to pull over, waited 5 minutes ( whilst panicking that I've bought a wreck ) and then continued to work no problem. Into VW specialist just outside Colchester tomorrow and just got full recovery service from Green Flag just in case.

Any thoughts? Getting a little worried to be honest. Any comments welcome

[Fourmotion]

jo strummer said:

To follow up drove to work this morning, doing about 70 changed into 6th and car started really juddering, very much like it was about to run out of fuel, was able to pull over, waited 5 minutes ( whilst panicking that I've bought a wreck ) and then continued to work no problem. Into VW specialist just outside Colchester tomorrow and just got full recovery service from Green Flag just in case.

Any thoughts? Getting a little worried to be honest. Any comments welcome

Did the emissions light flash on the dash? It could be a coil pack, common problem with the V6.

The garage can plug it into their computer and potentially diagnose the problem if it generated a fault code. Or find someone friendly with Vag-com to do it for you, then at least you can approach the garage knowing what's wrong so as not to be shafted.

[jo strummer]

no lights or anything, after 5 mins all ran okay, checked oil and water, nothing there, engine not overheating. in with garage tomorrow, fingers crossed.

[Vee]

jo strummer said:

no lights or anything, after 5 mins all ran okay, checked oil and water, nothing there, engine not overheating. in with garage tomorrow, fingers crossed.

Check for hairline cracks in the coilpack.
Normally evident when the weather turns colder and wetter. Once the engine has been running for a bit it dries out.
Easily fixed by taking the pack out and coating in epoxy resin.

Have a look on vwvortex for a detailed how go guide.

[brisel]

The coil packs cost £25 each - wouldn't it just be safer to replace them??

[Vee]

Depends which engine.
My 2001 was an AUE, I think, which had a single big coil pack on the side of the engine. A lot more than £25.

The later engines had individual coils.

[aka_kerrly]

jo strummer said:

Hi just got 2001 VR6, very happy but got it home done about 50 miles now rattle drivers side, sounds high up almost soounds like something about to fall off, had a look nothing obvious, the this evening read post on here....should I be worried or just get it into a dealer quick? Bought from a trader so not come back before anyone says take it back. It has full service history, last service 4 months ago.

rattle on drivers side sounds like cam chains - the guides and tensioners wear out. The chains themselves are meant to be a life of the car item but if the tensioners/guides are failing its best to replace the whole set up. A broken tensioner will see the end of the engine... its a 400-600 job on a VR6