Toledo V5 (What car?)

[The Riddler]

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone has any experience of the Toledo V5, or even a MK4 Golf V5 for that matter?

The fuel pump has let go on my car and is going to cost over £1k to sort, So I'm looking for a cheap replacement for a few months and always wanted to scratch the 5 Cylinder itch.

I'd be looking at spending around a grand, with as much MOT and tax as possible if anyone can come up with any alternatives?

I'm looking for something semi quick, must sound half decent.
Must have 4 or more doors.
Would like a few creatures comforts, I prefer leather.


I know I'm asking a lot on such a limited budget...

[VR46]

They are good cars but for a bita more you can get the much better v6 4motion.

The V5 is solid and 170 bhp but the v6 is 205 bhp and 4wd

[crowfield]

5 cylinder, sound goo, go well, comfortable? Easy - Volvo T5

[shakindog]

The v5 Toledo are nice motors as long as you get the 20 valve they can shift. As standard they come with a few toys I think. Mine had half leather climate control. Had it 12 month and never caused me any problems. Went well just a tad boring. But as a reasonably quick family motor not bad at all.

[Codswallop]

I've owned my Toledo V5 20v for about 3 years and think it's a great car for the money. There's a blog of all my costs in my profile (reliability has been pretty good), and it has a stainless exhaust which sounds fantastic imo. Let me know if you have any more specific questions.

Golf V5 is a bit heavier than the Toledo, often is less well equipped and costs a fair bit more to buy. Only other 5 cylinder option for a grand I can think off would be an old Volvo S60/S70/V70 of some sort.

I'll just leave this video here in the meantime

[Jobless]

I fancied a Toledo a while back and the general consensus was "Thirst of a six pot, performance of a four"

They do seem like a lot of car for the money though.

[The Riddler]

Codswallop said:

I've owned my Toledo V5 20v for about 3 years and think it's a great car for the money. There's a blog of all my costs in my profile (reliability has been pretty good), and it has a stainless exhaust which sounds fantastic imo. Let me know if you have any more specific questions.

Golf V5 is a bit heavier than the Toledo, often is less well equipped and costs a fair bit more to buy. Only other 5 cylinder option for a grand I can think off would be an old Volvo S60/S70/V70 of some sort.

I'll just leave this video here in the meantime

I actually read your blog this morning, not many people have filled the costy bit out so that was pretty useful in adding it to the shortlist (of one at the moment )

Reading other forums people have mentioned water ingress into the ECU chamber, is this a common thing? I know about coils ect, I can get all the basic stuff through work, just don't want to end up with another dead car.

As for the Volvo shouts, having previously worked at a Volvo dealership I'd consider one, but right now I don't fancy another petrol turbo, or a diesel/diesel turbo. Which leaves NA, I quite like the rarity and stealth like appearance of the Toledo, I've not seen anything else on here, gumtree, ebay or trader that has caught my eye as much as these have.

[Codswallop]

The Riddler said:

I actually read your blog this morning, not many people have filled the costy bit out so that was pretty useful in adding it to the shortlist (of one at the moment )

Reading other forums people have mentioned water ingress into the ECU chamber, is this a common thing? I know about coils ect, I can get all the basic stuff through work, just don't want to end up with another dead car.

As for the Volvo shouts, having previously worked at a Volvo dealership I'd consider one, but right now I don't fancy another petrol turbo, or a diesel/diesel turbo. Which leaves NA, I quite like the rarity and stealth like appearance of the Toledo, I've not seen anything else on here, gumtree, ebay or trader that has caught my eye as much as these have.

Glad you found it useful - I was motivated to fill that in by the PH Subaru competition (which they went and gave to someone else ), but it is nice to have full member profiles available to read when researching cars.

Re: water in the ECU, it can affect most Golf based cars of the era (so pretty much any VAG product ), but I do not think it is that common given how many cars are on the road. Granted, the ECU is in a pretty stupid place (under the windscreen wiper scuttle/ pollen filter), but I was told that as long as you ensure the pollen filter and scuttle rubbers are seated correctly and free of excessive amounts of fallen leaves etc to trap water, then you won't have a problem hopefully.

Coilpacks I think are also an issue from the past, with early coilpacks being problamatic and good quality replacements lasting much better. My car certainly hasn't need any.

[The Riddler]

I guess another thing I'd need to know is tank size and average range? I do a 55 mile round trip daily, mostly motorway but some stop start.

I need help persuading the missus now. She thinks it will be greedy and unreliable. Oh, and she claims they are ugly, but she has no taste, or she wouldn't be with me.

[F1GTRUeno]

Damn good looking and the V5 sound is lovely.

We had a basic one as a hire car when they first came out in the late nineties and it was very comfortable I thought. Was a kid back then though...

[Codswallop]

Fuel tank is 55L and 39/40 mpg is achievable if you stick to 70(ish) mph on the motorways and have good anticipation, but to be honest it does feel like it needs a 6th gear to improve economy. My best range is about 480 miles to one tank with some fuel left in reserve (motorway trip between Glasgow and Kent to visit family), but usually tends to be about 350 miles to the tank (mostly town use with odd country hoon).

At 70mph in 5th gear, the engine is just below 3k rpm, which is handily the peak torque, so at least it pulls well if you need a burst of acceleration.