which petrol Golf?

[crankedup]

We are going to change our present car for a petrol engines Golf. Budget up to about £8000.
Just a bit concerned over which engine to go for, certainly we will opt for the auto gearbox. Not overly concerned with MPG as most seem economical. just don’t want to land ourselves with a pig in poke engine. Advise appreciated.

[Swampy1982]

Any other detail you want to give us? For 8k you'd get a lovely older gti, or a mk4 r32, or a mk1 1.6gti, or a deposit for pcp on a brand new one etc etc...

You probably need to be a bit more specific than saying a petrol golf considering they have a production run of nearly 40 years

[crankedup]

TBH our current daily has now had its day and I went out and bought a lovely BMW E92, lovely car. Problem is for me wife will not drive it, says it’s to big and ‘I won’t drive it’.
Wife drove our daughters 2003 Golf automatic and liked it. it’s a oil burner with the 1.9tdi engine, just like our old skoda, and I expect that has much to do with everything.
We are both retired from work, use the daily car for shopping, visit family and friends with the odd few annual long journeys thrown in. Hence my thoughts that. petrol version would be suited to our needs now,
Seen some of the performance Golfs like R32 and the kid inside of me thinks ‘yes please’. But realistically there is no point in buying such a car anymore.
High performance is not really required if I’m honest with myself. Having said that I don’t want a car that’s as slow and dreary and boring as hell, a little bit of sparkle get up and go is welcome.
I ask about the engine as I have in mind the Skoda engine which was turbo and supercharged turned out to be a disaster for reliability.
Reasonable economy in terms of tax and insurance with a bit of pep to it that will offer long term reliability.

[Swampy1982]

Personally I'd go with a gti, has that pep you are looking for but can be a sedate and regular drive if needed. Fuel economy isn't too painful especially for the types of journeys you'll be doing. Something like this will have all the toys you'd want/need. Reliability is fine, and they are plentiful so parts are ruinous if you need them.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Edited by Swampy1982 on Sunday 5th August 21:01

[va1o]

I'd suggest the Mk7 GT as it's starting to come down to the £8k price bracket. The 1.4 TSI 140PS engine is sweet and suits well. Decent throttle response and economy is almost as high as the TDI. The reliability track record is much better than the Mk5 and Mk6 equivalents. This 2013 example looks tidy - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...



Alternatively the slightly lesser powered 1.4 TSI SE is cheaper and still very competent https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[crankedup]

Thanks guys, some good suggestions giving me food for thought.

[crankedup]

va1o said:

I'd suggest the Mk7 GT as it's starting to come down to the £8k price bracket. The 1.4 TSI 140PS engine is sweet and suits well. Decent throttle response and economy is almost as high as the TDI. The reliability track record is much better than the Mk5 and Mk6 equivalents. This 2013 example looks tidy - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...



Alternatively the slightly lesser powered 1.4 TSI SE is cheaper and still very competent https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Excellent call, read up all the road tests on the MK7 GT and that appears to be the car for us, albeit having to stretch the budget. So MK7 GT 1.4tsi, will be keeping a lookout over the next month or so for ‘our car’. Thanks to all contributors.

[robinh73]

Can't comment on the Golf, but I have just taken delivery of a Seat Leon FR with the 1.4 TSI 150hp engine and it is a peach. Getting decent economy but it is surprisingly good when you want to have some fun. Decent torque for motorway use and really refined too. Can't fault it. So, this engine in a Golf would be a great buy in my humble.

[crankedup]

^^^^^^
Thanks, it is likely to offer very similar attribute in the golf, I’m looking forward to a test drive in a used version.

[the-photographer]

• MK7 petrol 122PS or even better the 140PS (Seat or Skoda as options)
• MK6 GTI with a replaced engine (you won't get a 2011 plate for £8000)

[va1o]

crankedup said:

^^^^^^
Thanks, it is likely to offer very similar attribute in the golf, I’m looking forward to a test drive in a used version.

Glad to have helped! I've tried the Leon too and it's also well worth a look. Misses out the cylinder deactivation from the Golf but cheaper and better equipped.

Let us know what you end up with

[crankedup]

^^^^^^^^
Thanks for posting. Yes had a look around at what seems a very limited choice on the used forecourt.
Settling on the MK7 GT 1.4 tsi 14ps. Agree we will have to up the budget but hope to land a good’un for about £9/10k.

[crankedup]

va1o said:

crankedup said:

^^^^^^
Thanks, it is likely to offer very similar attribute in the golf, I’m looking forward to a test drive in a used version.

Glad to have helped! I've tried the Leon too and it's also well worth a look. Misses out the cylinder deactivation from the Golf but cheaper and better equipped.

Let us know what you end up with

Yes I will post back when we have found the right car for us.
Edit to add, as new registration cars are only a month away perhaps I should wait until then? more choice in market perhaps?

Edited by crankedup on Monday 6th August 19:33

[Welshbeef]

va1o said:

Glad to have helped! I've tried the Leon too and it's also well worth a look. Misses out the cylinder deactivation from the Golf but cheaper and better equipped.

Let us know what you end up with

What does the cylinder deactivation do - actually deliver on the road v the theory?

[crankedup]

Welshbeef said:

va1o said:

Glad to have helped! I've tried the Leon too and it's also well worth a look. Misses out the cylinder deactivation from the Golf but cheaper and better equipped.

Let us know what you end up with

What does the cylinder deactivation do - actually deliver on the road v the theory?

From what I have read, the engine automatically cuts two cylinders by not delivering the fuel to those cylinders. The valves remain closed during the process. It is automatically activated when the engine is subjected to light load running, ie motorway cruising. Fuel consumption is decreased and the car can deliver up to around 50mpg average.
I’m sure other more knowledgable posters will be along and refine my reply.

[robinh73]

My Leon does have the cylinder deactivation, it cuts 2 of them when the engine load is reduced. It is a seamless change and only really noticeable by the message appearing on the dash. I would also seriously look at the Leon as a Golf alternative. It really is a great car, well made and probably offers a bit more for the money.

[SteBrown91]

robinh73 said:

My Leon does have the cylinder deactivation, it cuts 2 of them when the engine load is reduced. It is a seamless change and only really noticeable by the message appearing on the dash. I would also seriously look at the Leon as a Golf alternative. It really is a great car, well made and probably offers a bit more for the money.

All the VW group cars initially had the 1.4 140 without cylinder deactivation but seat/Skoda didn’t get it as soon when the updated engine came along, so it’s only the later Leon’s that have it. The Leon’s with it can be identified as they are called “EcoTSI”

Weirdly my friend has a Cyprus imported golf mk7 MY16 and that doesn’t have ACT (but is the later 150 model) so they must have sold a “normal” engine for other markets

[JackReacher]

Cylinder deactivation came in on the Leon in 2014 I think, the early ones had the 140bhp version without ACT. Our Leon is Oct 14 and has it, now on 80k miles with no major issues, a really excellent non performance engine thats still reasonably fun. We will probably replace it next year and wouldn't hesitate to get the same engine again.

I'd much rather have a MK3 Leon for £8k than a mk6 golf, but you might find a 1.4 mk7 golf for that money although unlikely to find an ACT GT.

[Welshbeef]

That’s a great technology - I guess you only need 40bhp to sustain 70mph so why use any more of steady state. Keep that for when you are having some fun with it.

[crankedup]

robinh73 said:

My Leon does have the cylinder deactivation, it cuts 2 of them when the engine load is reduced. It is a seamless change and only really noticeable by the message appearing on the dash. I would also seriously look at the Leon as a Golf alternative. It really is a great car, well made and probably offers a bit more for the money.

Really I had almost made my mind up to raise my budget and go for the golf 1.4 gt, however I would be daft to not look at the Leon, so that’s what I will do. Thanks for your input.