Volkswagen Golf 2.3 V5 Review

Overall Rating

The steering is acceptably precise, but even with the uprated V5 spec suspension, it is still a bit wallowy. The brakes are excellent - powerful, with good feedback. The engine makes a wonderfully gruff howl when pushed - but its best not to look at the economy readout when doing it! Having said that, on a run it'll easily return over 32mpg, around town its nearer 26mpg.

The V5 is a very refined and comfortable cruiser - it feels a tad heavy to call a sports car, but its a genuine continent crusher - its very happy cruising at quite high speeds...

All Golfs have galvanised bodies, so any rust indicates poorly repaired accident damage - walk away. The upholstery is top notch and doesn't wear easily, so beware of clocking. Despite the cars having complex electronic links between the engine, instrument binnacle and engine ECU (to prevent a secondhand engine or instrument console being used in another car), software to bypass it is easily available, so clocking is still a problem. Best bet is to get a car with full main dealer service history - the services are logged centrally at VW so any mileage discrepancies are readily apparent.

Radiator fans die regularly on all Mk IV Golfs - its a £500 fix at a main dealership, so check any prospective buy very carefully. First sign is usually the 40amp fusible link on top of the battery blowing. They have been modified (new ones have a gren identifier) but these too have been known to fail after as little as 2 years. Suspension bushes don't last long either.

I recently bought my Volkswagen Golf 2.3 V5 170bhp almost by accident - I was looking for a nice Saab 9-3 but read a lot about the cracking bulkheads which put me off! At around the same time I came upon a black 2002 3 door V5 in pretty decent condition - after a test drive, I was smitten.

The car feels immediately comfortable, everything falling easily to hand - ergononics at its best. The materials chosen by VW are excellent - the plastics feel satisfying, and even after 85k miles, there are no rattles.

The engine makes a car, and the 2.3 V5 is a gem. Its not outrageously powerful at 170bhp, but its enough for the car to really kick up its heels. 0-60mph is typically quoted at around the 8 second mark, however some magasines have measured it at considerably less than that - and I can believe the 7.2 second time that one recorded.

One thing to remember, is that the UK car tax is linked to CO2 emissions - and sadly this puts the V5 in almost the higest group, so you need to really enjoy your driving to justify the additional expense!