FOAK:Cars

Ok, I've had a Mondeo and a Vectra and my Dad had a 5 series a year
back and I've driven them all regularly.

The 5 series is vastly bigger inside and out than the Mondeo and the
Vectra. They are 3-series size cars.

 

Easy mistake to make as the IL4 is very smoooth.

However, it's the new TDCi's that really impress.

This afternoon I took delivery of a 2.2 TDCi 155PS and even wiith a tight
engine (less than 10 miles on the clock) I swear the mid-range (30-to-70+)
is at least as strong as the 4.2 V8 S-Type Jag I had in the Spring last
year.
God knows what it's going to be like when it's loosened up.... ;-)

 

Thanks for all the advice etc..

In the end I bought a *very* tidy 4 year old Passat 1.9TDi S (130bhp)
saloon.

 

Nice choice. They can be chipped fairly easily for not too much to get a bit
more poke IIRC.

 

Nice. Have to say, I do like mine. I did think of the 200bhp chip for
it, but I reckon it's not worth gambling with a 130k mile old engine.

The TDIs are pretty damned depreciation proofed, too.

 

'Ello mate! )

Cheers, yes - I'm pretty pleased with it.
Have looked into getting it chipped to 150bhp but, to be honest, I'm not
sure I want to stress the engine - and, at 130bhp, it's 40 horses pokier
than the 90bhp Golf it's replacing - so it'll be plenty fun left as-is.
Also, I've read some of the TDi engines are more suitable for chipping than
others.
Unbelievably many people who have chipped their engines are getting more
power *and* better fuel economy! How does *that* work?!!

 

No idea why that works. Well, apart from the fact the manufacturer can
design just one engine, and sell it lots of different guises. The 130bhp
variant obviously isn't the engine at its optimum power/economy.

Anyway, doubt it will stress the engine at all. Assuming yours is the PD
engine, 185bhp is yours for £500. http://www.auto-amd.com/vwpd.asp

 

Hmm, dunno actually given the age of the car. I know VW have done a more
recent PD engine 130bhp TDI which is in a low state of tune.

 

Heh - g'wan. G'wan, g'wan, g'wan, g'wan, g'wan, g'wan, G'WAN!

Didn't they say that about VFRs too? ;-)

Despite being the 'S' version my Passat comes with a 6-CD changer (seemingly
contained in the dash, rather than the boot) and an 'ASR' button (or was it
an 'ARSE' button?) to turn on/off the traction control.

No alloys, however.

 

I'm lacking a CD changer and traction, as well as the alloys. Climate
control is awesome, though, especially the way it keeps the glovebox
nicely chilled. Mine is an SE, but I really can't see what makes it an
SE, other than the 8 speaker stereo and climate.

 

SteveH says...

Current S model Passat gets a 1 disc CD in the dash with no changer,
climate control, 4 door e/windows, IIRC 8 speaker stereo, traction
control and a few odd bits I wouldn't have expected an entry level car
to get.

Even my SDi Golf has traction control, called ESP now. It's fun when you
turn it off mid slippery corner.

 

I was slightly surprised to find mine doesn't have any form of traction
control, given it's almost diesel-like peak torque coming in at under 2k
rpm. Need a set of tyres soon, though, as it's suffering from 'company
car syndrome' - ie. every corner has a different expensive tyre on it.
Doesn't do much for wet weather handling.

 

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Sorby"

Normally, not both at the same time, unless there was a really bad
factory fuelling map in there to start with, which I doubt.

--

Dave

GS 850 x2 / SE 6a
SbS#6 DIAABTCOD#16 APOSTLE#6 FUB#3
FUB KotL OSOS#12? UKRMMA#19 COSOC#10

 

Ah - that makes more sense, ta.

 

That was the case with my Focus 2.O (petrol)

Chipping gave it a much stronger mid-range, great "real-world" performance,
less gear changes (not having to drop a gear to overtake).

The transformation was like you get when you switch the a/c off, only more
again, and even putting the a/c on didn't kill it.

Talking to the engineers, the only downside is that the engine won't run
cleanly if I were to take it to some Eastern European countries where the
top grade petrol is little better than paraffin - I can live with that.

It passed the emissions test with no problems.

If anyone's interested, I've still got the chip module as I sold the car
privately and the guy didn't want his wife's car (the Focus) to be faster
than his Merc!

The module would fit any Ford with an EECV ECU but the firmware has to make
the original code.
Any Superchips stockist http://www.superchips.co.uk/car/frameset.htm can
check the code and d/l the right map into the module.

 

Can't say I've ever noticed the difference. I've tried switching the
aircon on and off in the Passat and it's not made the slightest bit of
difference to the performance of the car, and less than 0.5mpg
difference to the fuel consumption.

 

Any petrol engine with a catalytic converter has
a really bad fuelling map.

 

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the

Work of the devil, those things. Swy I prefer older cars with no
strangulation and the right to poison the little kiddies.

--

Dave

GS 850 x2 / SE 6a
SbS#6 DIAABTCOD#16 APOSTLE#6 FUB#3
FUB KotL OSOS#12? UKRMMA#19 COSOC#10

 

I think this is correct. When I was looing at Fabias, the 130bhp version
was the "hot diesel" option, and it was only offered in the hot hatch
version. The stock Fabia TD was 100bhp.

If they'd offered the 130bhp lump in the estate, I'd have had it, no
question, and to hell with the car being slightly smaller than I really
needed.

 

The Silver Tuddy is loaded with decent kit as standard, but strangely
the computerised suspension control or whatever it is is only on the
top-spec cars. The ABS seems a bit unsubtle on mine, as well.