A VW or BMW in my future?

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A VW or BMW in my future?

Post by xantia_v6 »

We are now back in NZ for the summer, and need to buy a car for Louise. She wants a convertible, and we settled on a Peugeot 308 CC as the most suitable, but now that we are here, there is not a single one for sale in the whole country, let alone the colour/engine/trim specification that we wanted.

So the next on the list in the VW EOS. We need an automatic, so that narrows it to the 2l turbo or 3.2l V6 both with DSG transmission. Any opinions as to which is the better power plant? I favour the V6 as being a more relaxed drive, Louise favours the turbo as being (theoretically) a bit more economical.
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Re: A VW in my future?

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

Well, just so long as it comes with a decent air filtration system, any VW will do! :lol:
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Re: A VW in my future?

Post by DHallworth »

I had a Golf R32 with the DSG box fitted to it. That narrow angle V6 is a lovely engine. Very smooth with a wonderful bark. Although it's called a V6, it only has a single cylinder head!

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Re: A VW in my future?

Post by Zelandeth »

Interesting. That must be quite a bit to do with why the R32 makes such a distinctive noise. That half bark, half gargle is easy to ID from several streets away.

I'd make sure you test drive before getting too involved - personally I find almost anything produced by VAG to be intolerably uncomfortable as I am simply not in any way the same shape as the Industry Standard Human that their seats are modelled to fit. Any journey of more than 15-20 minutes has me fidgeting around, and after an hour I just have to ask for a break because I'm in real physical pain. This is from someone who quite happily drove an SIII Land Rover from one end of the country to the other with only a couple of meal and fuel breaks.

The ride seems to be particularly unnecessarily hard in all their models as well (okay, I'll forgive the current Scirocco R company car my housemate has for that - the 280bhp power figure justifies some pretty stiff springs), I don't mind firm suspension but many in the range just seem to take it several steps too far for no good reason. Passat Estate was a case in point a year or two back. It's a family estate, set it up for that...leave lap times around the 'Ring for those who buy the hot versions!

Can't comment on how it is over in NZ obviously, but we've had issues with both of the last two company cars (Audi TT S-Line, passenger seat adjuster broke off - twice, and the currect Scirocco on which they still haven't got the satnav working), and we have found the dealers to be really disinterested. Took them eight weeks to sort the seat adjuster in the TT, and we've got to wait another five weeks before they will look at the Scirocco's satnav again. First words out of their mouth when called up as well were "You do know that if it's not covered by the warranty this will cost you £138 don't you?" C'mon...it's a nearly 30 grand car and on day one the satnav is on the fritz...not impressed.

Complete irrelevant aside: the TT was without exception the most incredibly awkward car I have ever cleaned, inside and out. ...and I've cleaned a lot of cars! Would have driven me round the bend if I'd owned it.

If you're picking between those listed though, my approach would probably to have a dig around and see what sort of reliability info you can find on both versions. The 2.0 turbo petrol comes in a zillion different versions, at least half of which are actually just firmware setup changes. V6 has been around a few years though, which may result in a more trouble free design by this point...I don't know either engine myself though so can't advise.

Reason I'd be aiming for reliability over driving experience (both should do just fine in a car that size) is simply because of the stratospheric price of parts for these cars and that there seem to be far less alternatives to gold plated VW parts than on most cars I've had to buy bits for.
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Re: A VW in my future?

Post by xantia_v6 »

I am thinking of reliability, either engine has more than enough power. Both seem to have OK reputations, but I have read about a couple of turbo failures. The 6 speed DSG seems to be OK for reliability (unlike the later 7 speed), but some people don't like driving them.
The car will have a fairly gentle life, being unused for about 6 months of each year. There are at least 4 for sale locally, so I will drive a couple next week, and work out what the confusing trim levels and options really are.
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Re: A VW in my future?

Post by xantia_v6 »

Well there is now a 308 CC just appeared at the local PSA dealer, with 17,000 km on the clock. A petrol 1.6 and brown, but we will take it for a test drive and see how it feels.

I went into our local shopping mall and was surprised to see a C5 Exclusive Tourer parked in the middle of the concourse. The (same) PSA dealer has put it there to promote the run-out deal on C5s. 30% off list price. Very tempting, but Louise wants something smaller.
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Re: A VW in my future?

Post by Stickyfinger »

C5x7 run out ?....shame on them La Luddites at PSA
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Re: A VW in my future?

Post by CitroJim »

Stickyfinger wrote:C5x7 run out ?....shame on them La Luddites at PSA
End of an era sadly...
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Re: A VW in my future?

Post by Stickyfinger »

We should arrange a mass mourn-in outside every stealer to mark the event.

10year countdown on parts then :(

Is there an offical date or is it just a fizzle ?
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Re: A VW in my future?

Post by DickieG »

Personally I wouldn't touch a DSG gearbox with a barge pole, speaking to VW Techs they were very problematic when new and still cause problems now, the selector mechanism appears to have been designed over the phone with all manner of grief with coarse gear changes and no matter whether they fitted a brand new selector from VW and countless ECU resets the problem often remains. A friend at work has been quoted over £3.5k for a replacement selector on a Pissat worth £5k with no guarantee of success, old sweat Techs say put up with it or sell it and buy a manual car or one with a proper auto box.
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Re: A VW in my future?

Post by daviemck2006 »

Just what I say after my sensodrive experience. Either buy a manual, or a full auto. These semi auto boxes whatever they are called, and I know Citroens sensodrive and vws dsg are totally different, are all crap and need major money spent on them when they fcuk up, which they will do. And vw has a reputation for quality, which in my opinion is unjustified.
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Re: A VW in my future?

Post by xantia_v6 »

Tested the 308 CC 1.6 petrol today. A nice car, no glaring faults. The cabin is a bit "boom"ey with the roof up. This particular example did not have the air wave feature, and we really didn't like the colour, so will wait and see.

I do miss real citroen suspension, especially on the earthquake-rippled roads around here.

I will probably try an EOS in the next few days, just for comparison (comments on DSG noted).
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Re: A VW in my future?

Post by xantia_v6 »

Yesterday we took a BMW E93 325i Coupe Convertible for a test drive. It was very nice, more refined and much more powerful than the 308 (not surprising with a 3.0 litre straight 6 and 6 speed auto). It was only let down by the harsh ride, but on 19" wheels with run-flat tyres it actually was surprisingly gentle on the backside. I am sure that it would ride much better on 17" wheels with conventional tyres, but the archilles heel of this car is that there is no provision for carrying a spare wheel (or jack or wheel brace), so changing to conventional tyres carries its own risks.

Today we tried a VW EOS 3.2, and on most points, we would give it equal rating to the 308 CC, but it has much more power (it felt faster than the BMW). The DSG transmission takes some getting used to, there is a technique to be learned to allow a controlled take off, at a desired rate of acceleration. You have to apply a little throttle, but not apply any more until the clutches have taken up. If you increase the throttle (even gradually) before it is ready, the clutches bite with a significant jolt.

The EOS we drove had significant wind noise around the roof panels at 100 kph, which was not present on the Peugeot or BMW, but might just have been this example. It also had quite a harsh ride, not much better than the BMW, despite being on 17" rims.

All in all, the BMW is looking attractive, if only it had a spare wheel.
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Re: A VW in my future?

Post by CitroJim »

Interesting stuff Mike...
xantia_v6 wrote: All in all, the BMW is looking attractive, if only it had a spare wheel.
Against that though, if you look after your tyres, how often these days do you get a showstopper puncture? Most seem to be nails or screws that cause a slow puncture that the aerosol stuff can seal adequately..

I guess the boot is big enough to carry a biscuit and a jack for those really critical times when you really would feel happier with a spare...
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Re: A VW in my future?

Post by elma »

I'm not comfy without a spare, I even had to borrow my supervisors spare from his 306 once to get home with 2 proper punctures.

That goo stuff is all well and good but when you turn up at the tyre place they will probably refuse to repair it and say you have to buy a new one even though the goo says it can be cleaned off. For someone like myself who will buy tyres in pairs this is a step backwards.

The best convertible I've driven is a Volvo C70 T5, it's a hell of a car compared to the newer S60 which I find dull and soulless but the roofless thing isn't my cup of tea. It comes with a spare wheel which is a real bonus. Saab 900/93 (can't remember but think it was 900) Sensonic with high pressure turbo was a close 2nd but I couldn't get double figures in fuel economy in that thing and didn't buy it.

I nearly forgot the real favourite, my friends MgB GT, in London that little car gets more attention than Ferraris, Astons and all the rest of the Supercar stuff. It's a real joy to travel in even though it's cramped, noisy, damp and generally uncomfortable.
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