RE: Shed of the Week: Volkswagen Golf V6

[ArmaghMan]

W12JFD said:

Missing the references to the delightful Mrs Shed. I blame Brexit.

Is Mrs. Shed really Arlene Foster?

[C70R]

Limpet said:

I know it's fashionable to slag off mk4 Golfs ...

I love how opinion on the mk4 is coming full-circle. PH has gone from "Do not touch under any circumstances, because they are worse than AIDS." to "Well, actually, they are pretty decent."

For mine, they are a pleasant enough car, if not lacking the last 10-20% to be taken seriously as a 'sporty' hatch. However, if I was using something as a £1500 daily beater from this era of warm hatch, I'd be into a mk4 Golf GTi/4motion in a heartbeat over any of the competition (e.g. Focus ST170, Astra SRi, Civic Type-S).

[s m]

mrbarnett said:

..... but despite being a dreary MKIV Golf, it's interesting because of its engine and drivetrain. It woofles about with a discrete air of quality over the average Golf, and for that I celebrate it.....

:

Very much this as well

[MrHooky]

Don’t quite get the fuel consumption of these. I had a MKI TT V6 (3.2) which was based on the MKIV. Revo mapped to c.270bhp and used to give mid-high 20s round town. Would creep into 30s on a 70-mph run. Perhaps it was a newer/more economical engine than the 2.8? Mine was also DSG which was good at changing up and minimising revs when pottering round town.

Personally think the MkIVs have aged well. Apart from GTI and R32 in the MKV I think it’s a better looking car. Same goes for the Passat of the same era vs. the latter more rounded one…

[jonobigblind]

Had a Golf VR6 Highline back in the day (the plum colour with matching leather interior). I’ve alsways fancied getting back into a Golf V6 again and would be at this like a shot if my company car didn’t get in the way.

[exgtt]

These are one of those rare everyday cars you can do absolutely anything to the exhaust and it will always sound nice. Differing DB levels but always sweet. I once decatted a 156 V6 and it was ruined.

[Limpet]

MrV8 said:

three or four times during autumn I came back to my car and all four windows had mysteriously gone down on their own and the car was full of leaves lol (apparently this a common fault with them).

This is a random VAG quirk. My colleague's Ibiza FR used to periodically wind all its windows down when parked, usually in heavy rain so the interior got wet. My neighbour's 2011 Audi A6 also used to do it occasionally, and it happened once on the 2015 VW CC I had for a few months, albeit only down an inch or so rather than right down.

Google returns quite a few hits, although we had our 2003 mk4 Golf TDI for 8 years and it never did it once. Bizarre.

[Steve_F]

Every time I see a SOTW car I like I hide behind the other end of the country excuse. Now this one is very, very close to me!

Been looking for a fun fourth car, it's probably not as fun as some of the options (RX8, MR2 etc) but it will be usable every day, always start, owner comes across well in his post, could fit a mountain bike in the back. Hmmmm.

Winter beater option doesn't really stack up even with creative man maths as I've got a lifted Jeep GC with a good set of tyres on it that should never, ever get stuck with what central Scotland can throw at it.

[Turkishwaiter]

I had a drive in one before buying a 2wd v5, it didn't feel a whole lot quicker than the v5 and the extra thirst+potential bills on the haldex put me off. Really liked the v5 though, not especially quick but made a good noise. Made the mistake of upgrading the suspension which ruined the ride, best left as a mini barge

[J4CKO]

Remember a mate of mine going on ad nauseum for months about getting a Golf 4motion to replace his MK3 8 valve GTI, a trader he knew had one come in, he tried it and came away utterly crestfallen, said it was nice enough but a lot slower than he expected, trader also had a 2001 Audi S3, bit more expensive and he suggested that, tried it and bought it on the spot, much more fun.

[hardworker]

Not a bad little shed.

[g7jhp]

We've had a Mk4 Golf GTI 1.8T for 11 years (we also have a Mk5 GTI) and I love it. It's in great condition with a few age related scars, but it's not worth much.

It looks smart, is cheap motoring, swallows a fair bit of kit, is swift enough and we'll made.

I want to keep it looking standard but have been contemplating a few upgrades arbs, suspension, remap to make it a little more focused.

But that my detract from it's charm.

The Mk4 Golf is coming of age, watch the Mk4 scene grow.

[givablondabone]

Always liked the interior of these. They can be made into quite a decent driver if my mk1 Leon cupra was anything to go by.
Thirst would put me off this one though. Back in August I got me a 2004 E46 320cd M Sport as a daily commuter barge to save the Aero but if one of these in gt tdi 130/150 guise had come up during my search...........................

[castag]

Shed hs forgotten their tendency to bottom out on bumpy roads denting the soft alloy sump and usually causing a hole and oil link happened twice in our ownership

Edited by castag on Friday 8th December 14:36

[castag]

Shed hs forgotten there tendency to bottom out on bumpy roads denting the soft alloy sump and usually causing a hole and oil leak happened twice in our ownership

Edited by castag on Friday 8th December 14:36

Edited by castag on Friday 8th December 14:37

[Blackpuddin]

g7jhp said:

We've had a Mk4 Golf GTI 1.8T for 11 years (we also have a Mk5 GTI) and I love it. It's in great condition with a few age related scars, but it's not worth much.

It looks smart, is cheap motoring, swallows a fair bit of kit, is swift enough and we'll made.

I want to keep it looking standard but have been contemplating a few upgrades arbs, suspension, remap to make it a little more focused.

But that my detract from it's charm.

The Mk4 Golf is coming of age, watch the Mk4 scene grow.

In the case of our '02 GT TDI 150, the previous owner's decision to lift it to 186hp/328lb ft has created a quite different (in a very good way) car compared to the standard GT TDI 150 we used to have on our driveway. The JOM lowering kit really tightened up the handling too, but that setup had seen better days and sadly the roads round our way wouldn't let us keep it.
If you have the opportunity to do either or both of these mods it's a good step to take IMO. I'm talking about the 1.9 turbodiesel there. Don't know the score on the 1.8 petrol.

[Blackpuddin]

castag said:

Shed hs forgotten there tendency to bottom out on bumpy roads denting the soft alloy sump and usually causing a hole and oil leak happened twice in our ownership

Edited by castag on Friday 8th December 14:36

Edited by castag on Friday 8th December 14:37

Yep, we had that on an earlier T-reg Mk 4 diesel we owned, Mrs B drove over a lump in an unlit car park and ripped off the sump, resulting in the arrival of the fire brigade to clean up the mess.
Our 'new' GT TDI's undertrays had taken a right battering in previous ownerships and it was my intention to replace them until I saw the outrageous price of OE replacements – £300! Scandalous really when you see the flimsiness of the three parts. They weighed less than 2kg all in.

[The_Immortal]

angelicupstarts said:

was refferd to as the thinking mans subaru in some mags at the time .

Was the man thinking that he'd rather have a Subaru?

[Leins]

The_Immortal said:

angelicupstarts said:

was refferd to as the thinking mans subaru in some mags at the time .

Was the man thinking that he'd rather have a Subaru?

Car Mag tested one against an S3 and (IIRC) an Impreza back about 2000. From memory the Golf finished last, but they did mention the sound as being akin to a baby 911 of sorts

[Cover drive]

I have one! I’d like to support the Mk4 V6 4motion cause. I’m aware it has its detractors, but for the money (less than the SOTW), it's provided genuine all weather capability, and excellent reliability. I bought my 2000-AUE in late 2013 after being made redundant and handing back the keys to my company car. I thought it would be an ideal cheap stop-gap while job hunting. But four years later and with 170k miles showing, (not all of that job hunting I should point out), it's still going strong, if a little worn around the edges. It's been my daily commuting companion, averaging around 34 mpg on my 120-mile round trip. It’s comfortable, understated, well built and is cheap to maintain. I do agree that it could be bit sharper in the handling department, but I’m not exactly attacking apexes on the commute! There are certainly more dynamic second hand cars out there, and a modern diesel Astra will embarass it on a slip road, as I regularly find out.

In December 2015 I bought a second set of alloys and some winter tyres, and it became a brilliant winter weather tool. A week in the Peak District in February saw it tackle sleet and snow, and I've been to Wales, Scotland and countless trips to Exmoor in it, in all weathers. The only time it has disgraced itself was on the M3 in April when the clutch pedal went to the floor (apologies to all in the roadworks at J3 Bagshot if I made you late for work!). I had the clutch master cylinder replaced and some extra welding on the known weak point on the pedal. I do concur with Shed's write-up, sensors are a little 'sensitive' - I've replaced the camshaft position sensor and an ABS/wheel sensor. And yes, the sump is laughably low, mine was changed by the previous owner having been punctured on one of those sqaure-edged speed bumps.

The Golf has even had a few admiring comments, while at Goodwood and Bike Park Wales, and the DHL delivery driver, so a varied fan base! The car’s worth more to me than its value and will do me well until I can afford something newer with similar attributes. Just for fun, I put the car's details into WBAC and they offered me £150, amusingly after I'd just put £60 of fuel in... I don't think it's a classic by any means, but in my eyes at least I think it still looks good, "understated" would be the word I would use. It's different enough to satisfy my internal petrolhead, and the exhaust makes a lovely woofle on a cold morning start.

Sorry - this wasn't supposed to read like a 'Carpool' entry!