v5 Mk4 Bora reliable for wife as a daily

[blackers10]

hello all,

My wife is thinking of a mk4 v5 Bora after seeing them while I was looking at GTI's and the only issue is she won't drive a manual transmission (I rib her for it constantly)

are the V5 automatic bora's a good transmission or a problem child??
are they a DSG type box or ?

I read they are very costly to get rebuilt? what is a normal life span for them? as we would be looking at 150-200k km cars

She is stepping down from an R33 4 door turbo auto which has stacks of go and handling and braking
Do the v5 have plenty of poke (obviously it won't be as good as the skyline but is it still peppy around town?)

Thanks
Brenden

[Umai Naa!!]

The transmission in the Bora is just a normal automatic. If left unserviced, it'll become troublesome.

The 2.3 V5 isn't overly peppy, as such. Even less so being automatic, and the fuel economy isn't all that flash.

[blackers10]

mm true :S bummer
would be much better if she drove manual, would get a v6 4mo

thanks for the info

[Umai Naa!!]

If you're happy with the look of a Bora, then maybe a manual 2L 4 cylinder might be an option.

They're no rocketship either, but can certainly keep up with the traffic, and very good on fuel.

[blackers10]

it needs to be auto sadly, otherwise we would probably go for the V6 4motion as it seems like quite the package!

[WhO]

Not sure what your budget is but have you considered a MkV Jetta 2.0FSI Turbo with the DSG? Handles bloody well, Plenty of poke with the 2L Turbo (same as from the gti) and they're pretty good on fuel!

[blackers10]

yeah the ol budget can't stretch that far, max of $7k I would say which is good for most models of Bora or Golf's but the Bora has the larger boot space(we have an 11month old boy who has a pram and baby seat)

another car we looked at were the Audi A4 B5 auto's with the 1.8 turbo motor

[dylan8]

I have a 2lt manual, done 170k km now and its been super reliable, never left me on the side of the road.
V5 arent the fastest of cars, but should keep up with traffic no worries.

While the 1.8t are usually pretty good. Id be staying with NA car rather then the 1.8t, adding turbos into the mix is just another bunch of things that COULD go wrong if you are on a tight budget

[blackers10]

Thanks for that Dylan,
Is there much difference in performance between the 2ltr 4cyl and the 2.3 v5?

the lack of her wanting a manual puts a spanner in the works when you want to talk mid sized economical vehicles as we all know that a manual transmission makes a small revvy 4 cylinder SOOO much more fun and quicker to drive over a sluggish yawn inducing auto haha.

[dylan8]

I find my 2lt manual fine, slow enough to keep me out of trouble, enough torque that driving with the AC on and a few people in the back isnt a issue usually. 2lt is 85kw and V5 is 110-130kw pending what model from memory

never been in a V5... I imagine the V5 has a bit more go, and would have a much nicer exhaust note to it. so might not be so bad in a Auto.
cant see it being close to the r33 power wise though

[blackers10]

yeah the R33 is going to blitz almost anything smaller without a turbo, especially without a manual.
from the reviews and specs the V5 gets 0-100 in 9-10 seconds?

[dylan8]

hmmm, would have thought it would have been a bit quicker then that, but not sure

[WhO]

Can't say i'm the biggest fan of the V5's tbh. Fiancé's sister has one and it's been a bit of a problem child. Admittedly issues are possible with any car but this one has had many of the common mk4 problems. Things that have gone wrong:

Window Regulators... all of them.
A/C
Alternator Regulator
Solenoids in the Gearbox (which vw wanted 5k to fix but I just got the parts from the US for $450 and did it myself)
Fuel Pump x2
Coil packs
A few other odds and ends.

Must've been a Friday afternoon build. Although its had more than its share of issues at the same time its a comfortable, nice car to drive. It's not the quickest thing in the world, but I'd say the gearbox is responsible for that. The 5spd Auto isn't the sharpest item and it's tiptronic mode is quite slow to react. Fuel wise it gets around 11-12 L/100km which isn't spectacular but that is city only driving. I have a love hate relationship with it as it's a nice car but stock for stock I 110% preferred my 4mo. No way of convincing the better half to learn to drive manual?

[velly_16v_cab]

My wife uses a V5 auto as a daily drive. No real issues (PAS when we bought it which cost 1300 to fix!) and just sevicing.
Very heavy on fuel around town. 11-12 L/100 buy will get 8.5 on the run to Melbourne though.

Fine if you can get the car cheep, we paid 4k for ours with RWC and reg.

[pinchies]

I drive a 4cyl auto bora 03. It doesn't feel like a hyundai getz or anything else wimpy, but it feels only slightly more nippy than my parents 09 forester. I do find it less nippy with myself and my brother in the car up hills, but its never an issue that I would wish I had the v5's extra power for. Boot size is epic/massive, but rear seats lack leg room.

As for reliability, I don't think transmission problems are a common issue on a mk4 bora auto. I thought they were sealed and were not supposed to be serviced? What transmission servicing do people normally do and how often?

Regarding fuel economy, I normally manage to get around 10l/100km in moderate metro traffic - can get 9 if I'm really careful, but have managed to get 7.5l/100km on a 1 hr freeway trip to Dromana.