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