Seeing as VW seem's to be the car of choice on here im wondering if any of you guy's know much about Bora's? Im thinking about chopping in my uber thirsty vectra 2.0 turbo in favour of one of these quirky car's, anything i should be looking out for in the 130 Bhp Highline model's??

Something along the lines of this

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/200939342548471/sort/priceasc/usedcars/make/volkswagen/model/bora/fuel-type/diesel/maximum-age/up_to_5_years_old/maximum-mileage/up_to_60000_miles/postcode/pa318tf/radius/1501/page/1?previous=%2Fsearch%2Fresults%2Fusedcars%2Fpostcode%2Fpa318tf%2Fradius%2F1501%2Fmake%2Fvolkswagen%2Fmodel%2Fbora%2Ffuel-type%2Fdiesel%2Fmaximum-age%2Fup_to_5_years_old%2Fmaximum-mileage%2Fup_to_60000_miles%2Fsort%2Fpriceasc%2Fpage%2F1&logcode=p

I do around 15k per year at <30Mpg in the vectra so its expensive to run, and with me going to be doing more biking this year my milage will be a fair bit higher so back to diesel is the future..

TIA 🙂

Only golf players drive saloons. Buy a Golf hatchback or a Passat estate instead.

Oh, and if it's VW group, make sure it's a diesel. Their diesel engines are 100% of ace!

Quite like the quirkyness of the saloon shape of the bora and it will be a diesel 😀

The 2.3 litre V5 is one of the best engines ever made in the price bracket (IMHO), but you'll not get as good fuel economy. Stick with diesels, chip them to 150bhp and still enjoy 50+mpg.

But seriously, why would you get a Bora over a golf???

But seriously, why would you get a Bora over a Golf?

I can think of no reason to do so.

quirkyness of the saloon shape

Quirky? A bland euro-box?

You want quirky, get an original Fiat Multipla or an original Twingo. Get a Beetle. Get a 2CV. Get a Morgan Aeromax etc. etc. etc. Euro-bland-saloons are not quirky!

Cant see any problem with the Bora, its a golf with a boot afterall…

What advantages would the golf have over the Bora – sell me it 😆

Had a Golf MK2 and 3, a Bora and a Passat – all diesel. Bora was a 5 speed 110bhp. Great car..better spec than the equivalent Golf for same money and I found the boot more usable than the Passat. Bora boot was deeper, back seats fold down and the boot angle of entry much easier than the Passat. The Seat equivalent, sorry forget the name, felt exactly the same to drive and is even cheaper. The one I drove had the same VW engine, gearbox etc.

Shibboleth – Member

But seriously, why would you get a Bora over a golf???

I cant think of any way either car would out perform each other in term's of practicality, so why would you buy a golf over a Bora unless you dont like the shape??

The 1.9 TDI 130 is the pick of all the VW/Audi engines. My dad has a newer shape passat a 56 plate 2.0 TDI and has had problems with it. The volkwagen mechanic says the 1.9 is far superior, bomb proof! I have a 1.9 TDI 130 Audi A4 Avant, and its the best car Ive ever had. 2002, 140000 miles and purrs like a kitten and gives 55+mpg on a run. Had it two years and have hardly spent a bean on it other than tyres!

Get an Octavia. It's the same thing for less money…

"What advantages would the golf have over the Bora – sell me it"

Can you get 3 bikes and 3 adults in a Bora? I can with my Golf.

Had a 2001 Bora 115 bhp diesel a year ago. Great car. Didn't buy a golf for the very reason that every other VW on the road is a golf. Not as practical for fitting a bike in the back admittedly, but not overly tricky either.

Skodas might share some of the same bits as VWs, but they're cheaper for a reason. Build quality is not as good.

The seat toledo is the equivalent. I've owned both the toledo (110 bhp diesel) and the bora (v5) not really that much to chose between them. Bikes go in the back of a bora with a wheel off but you're better off with a rack for regular use.

Both nice to drive and fairly solid feeling, should be cheaper than the equivalent hatchbacks too.

roger_mellie what the basis of your statement on skoda build quality? The reports I've seen suggest that the skoda factory has some of the best quality standards in the industry.

If you want a Bora,you buy one,but it's nowhere near quirky,it's dull like the rest of their range.

Bora's are dull, but cheaper than the equivalent golf.
Skoda build quality is at least as good as VW judging by the people I know.

A mate had a flashy octavia. He liked it a lot for a while, until bits started rattling and sqeaking. Alot. That's the basis of my statement, y'honour. I'm sure there's lots of happy skoda owners out there though.

Roger,you're right.Everybody makes the occasional dud motor,you have to be unlucky to buy one these days,from any manufacturer.

I had one for about 6 years, the V5 with sports and winterpack, I really liked it in lots of ways but i thought the 150bhp version was not quick but pulled well, the bigger wheels and stiffer suspension made a bit of a hard ride and it was a bit thirsty. it also cost a lot when repairing any engine parts due to the relative rarity of the engine. The boot was big but the opening was limited (compared to a hatch). The build quality was spot on and excluding some engine problems and some suspension bushes it was OK for reliability. I only got shut beacause it was a bugger to get two kids in the back. The V5 was also good because it was good at accelerating at relatively high speeds (kept corsas etc at bay!)

i had a 1.9d Seat Ibiza with the same engine and it never missed a beat until i filled it with petrol. didn't start it though so just needed to flush out the tank. used to get 55+mpg whilst ragging it around. averaged over 60mpg on a few tanks when driving like my dad.

i would only question the practicality of getting bikes into/out of the boot.

bora is probably lots cheaper than a similar golf.

look at Ibiza as they're very similar to the golf but make sure it's got split rear seats – which mine didn't.

Had a 1.9TDI Sport as a company car for 3 years, averaged about 35,000 miles per year. Not one singlr fault in that time.
Spec is OK.
Build quality was faultless.
Average fuel consumption was between 45 – 55mpg, and i'm a bit of a fast driver – lots of my driving was through mid and north Wales, so lots of overtaking tractors, milk wagons etc.
torque is good for general use.

Eats quite a few front tyres though – probably my driving style 😳

Shibboleth – Member
"What advantages would the golf have over the Bora – sell me it"

Can you get 3 bikes and 3 adults in a Bora? I can with my Golf.

Yes.

The difference between the two are the same for any make of hatchback / saloon.

Bora's are better spec'd and cheaper than the equivelant Golf due to their 'unpopular' rep. Those who wanted a saloon bought the BMW 3-series, those that wanted a hatchback bought the Golf. BMW suffered the reverse situation with the 3-series Compact.

The Bora has quite a small boot appeture (although a huge boot) which makes loading bulky items arkward and – obviously – harder than a hatchback. The appeture through to the cabin is smaller. Two bikes go in easier with the pedals off.

From the driver's seat it's hard to see where the back of the car is. So reversing sensors are a really useful aid.

Comparing a Golf and Bora directly? Well the interior of the Bora has different (and imo nicer) vents. I also prefer the front end of the Bora over a Golf.

130bhp TDi engine is a peach even by todays standards and can be easily tuned to give more power without detrimentally effecting reliability.

Handling wise the Bora just nudges the Golf but only because the rear end is stiffer and the boot balances out the weight distribution. Day to day it isn't noticable. Neither are going to win any handling awards though.

Handling can be sorted but I suspect this is something that won't be of interest to you.

How about a Golf Estate?

Just to add to the above because looms and software are shared across the VAG group you can 'activate' a lot of Audi functions on VW's. Miles tilt empty, Auto close on the windows, Speed lock, Lit dials and a few more.

You need VAG Tacho (not VAG.COM) and it is complicated programing but there are plenty of guys on mkiv's.net that'll do it for beer money.

it sutter tripe about the bulid quality on a skoda, we have had a golf mk 2gti, polo seat toledo and lastly an octavia vrs between myself and the wife, and that was put together so well, so well in fact when it had to go it went to my father, who with 40+ years in the motor trade makes the point of raving about how good it is each time he sees me….

Perfect guy's thanks alot for the great information but one slight problem..I am actually going to have a gander at an Audi A4 avant 2.0 Tdi S-line tomorrow, one getting sold semi close at a decent price 8)