VW petrol engines

[sparkythecat]

Mrs S needs a new car. Budget £4k ish.
She fancies a Golf. Which is the best VW petrol engine for economy and reliability?

[sparkythecat]

Have I asked this in the wrong place, or is there already a thread about this that I should know about?

[steve-5snwi]

You mentioned VW and reliability i'm not sure the words should be used in the same sentence.

[meehaja]

1.4tsi has had some failures on earlier models, 2.0tfsi is well regarded but can like oil and isn't hugely economical, but my experience is limited to GTi type applications so can't really comment on "normal" models.

For the budget, if economy is a concern, a tidy 1.9 or 2.0 pre dpf diesel might be good and last forever, but, it will be diesel!

[steve-5snwi]

1.9tdi, 2.0 has issues too, gearboxes are weak and they eat calipers.

[Sheepshanks]

Have a look at Golf Twist - it was a special edition in 2010/11 to get rid of the basic 1.4 petrol engine. So no TSi etc issues.

[JonChalk]

The 1.2 turbo 4-cylinder petrol in my wife's A1 still going strong after 7 years. Think you can get this in a Golf or a Polo.

There's quite a small, but vocal, anti-VAG anti-fanboi brigade on PH - ignore those sort of posts and you'll be fine.

[bearman68]

steve-5snwi said:

You mentioned VW and reliability i'm not sure the words should be used in the same sentence.

Well not without a negative connotation between them.

VW and un-reliability.
VW and poor reliability.
VW and shockingly poor reliability.


You can probably make up your own to suit.

Toyota Yaris is the answer.

[V6todayEVmanana]

Been driving around in a 1.4 S Golf from 2007 whilst my 1.4MA has been out of action.

Quite slow of the mark and between 50-70mph but feels smooth and surprising torque for a 1.4 up to about 50mph.

With the radio off I do notice a tappetety noise when accelerating but feel more confident with its reliablity than the high compression turbos.

Cambelt change seems quite often 40k but not too expensive to run.

Nice ride quality, damping and noise.

[kieranblenk]

You should be able to get a good 1.6 FSI comfortably in budget.

[sparkythecat]

Thanks for the replies chaps.
Food for thought.

[Shiv_P]

steve-5snwi said:

You mentioned VW and reliability i'm not sure the words should be used in the same sentence.

They seem to do a better job than recent BMWs.

[Lee540]

1.4TSi is fine in the 122 variant.. was the twin charger 160 setup with the issues.

Bonus.. chain driven cams