Time To Bora The Pants off Ya! (VW Bora 1.9 SE TDI PD 4dr)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	VW Bora 1.9 SE TDI PD 4dr
Date:	20/08/03 (3347 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Looks good, Great Economy, Pretty quick

Disadvantages: Depreciation, Not as good as an Audi

Both the personal and company car market are ultra competitive these days. What with the government's desire to bring prices in line with Europe and the desperation of the major manufacturers to offload their fleets, it was my recent pleasure to finally choose my first ever company car.

The market I needed to research was the saloon car as I'm the atypical family man, married with 2 kids (yawn). The major players that sprang to mind included the American giants, Ford and Vauxhall along with their European rivals MG Rover, Citroen and BMW whilst the Japanese stalwarts Mitsubishi, Honda and Toyota weren't out of the question. It was no mean feat for a novice like me to arrive at a sensible solution.

My initiative was to go out and buy the latest edition of What Car? Working in tandem with the online sister site of the renowned car magazine, the shrouds of mystery surrounding the situation slowly dissipated.

The aspects I was interested in were appearance, economy (I'm driving nearly 100 miles per day), comfort and performance. Unusually, price wasn't so crucial as I wasn't actually paying this time!

My inclination was towards the German side of things. I'd always had a real soft spot for Audi A4 but in the final reckoning, I wasn't happy to stump the extra £75 per month contribution I'd have to pay on the company scheme (bearing in mind the monthly tax bill for a car like this would be around the £100 mark). I finally opted for a VW Bora and I'll try to explain why.

Historically, I've always been a fan of Rover. I suspect that there was an element of blind loyalty as my father-in-law had spent nearly all of his working life working for the British operation but recently I'd picked up on a few question marks around the K series engine. As I'd be stuck with my choice for around 4 years I wanted something reliable and everything pointed towards the German manufacturers.




***Appearance***
The Bora is based on its smaller counterpart, the ever-popular Golf. This is a 4 door with a good-sized boot that had the edge on my Rover 416SLI We managed to cram a fortnight's worth of holiday luggage in there and I did like the little side pockets that had space for a first aid box as well as a warning triangle. The spare tyre was underneath which is where they should be (the French Citroen has it underneath at the rear and it took my ages to find it!) The bonnet is fairly dynamic and very similar to both the Passat and Golf. This version came with alloy wheels, which always look the bee's knees.

Inside, the driver and passenger seat come in an impressive black upholstery with a real modern feel to it. The dash is classical with circular display panels as opposed to the more mundane digital displays. The on board data is able to record useful information such as journey time, temperature, miles per gallon and so on. The doors come with central locking whilst the key will initially only open the driver's door taking a second press to open the rest of the doors, quite a handy security feature. There is a light for the passenger side vanity mirror whilst other mod cons include fairly standard radio and cassette player, cigarette lighter with the increasingly important air con present. Arm rests both front and back along with the almost obligatory head-rests add that touch of comforts for passengers.

Volkswagen are renowned for their obsessive attention to detail. Smart trim surfaces, tightly fitting panels that don't rub or squeak and a classy ambience mean it's still unrivalled in its class. The mechanicals seem every bit as durable, too, and are backed by a three-year warranty

Ooh..there's a snazzy cup holder in the front too although I'd recommend the passenger fiddling around with this unless you wanna end up in a ditch. Leg room and space is plentiful with room for 3 in
the back, no problem at all.

***Economy***
With the cost of fuel, ever more important as well as the implications of emissions on personal tax bills, I wanted a diesel and this is a 1.9 TDI (Turbo Diesel Injection). Most folks should be thinking diesel these days as they've come a long way since the average diesels
ounded like a bus humming away at it's stop. Sneakily, the powers that be have edged the price of diesel above unleaded but it still pays to go diesel. The stats on the site suggest urban *mpg at 39.2 whilst ex-urban weighs in at 61.4 with combined at 51.4. I've had the motor around 2 months now and the on board display comes in at a fairly constant 46.7 which is still miles better than the Rover I was driving around in!

***Performance***
I love driving this car. Great suspension means a lovely smooth ride to work each day whilst I have the luxury of overtaking in seconds as a foot on the gas takes this baby swiftly past anything holding it up. 0 - 60 is a respectable 10.1 seconds with an overall maximum speed of 127mph. I've had this sweetheart doing 110mph without much effort (shhhhhhhhh...only to overtake mind). The car isn't totally noiseless when the radio isn't on but I was put off the Passat as I'd read it was noisier than the Bora at higher revs. At **115bhp, the engine compares favourably with the BMW 3-series although cornering is relatively average for a car in it's class. I generally drive on the open road with my daily journey almost exclusively on an A-road but the Bora nips around town very nicely too.

***Security***
With car crime so prevalent, security considerations are paramount and the Bora fairs well. Front and passenger side air bags are a welcome feature whilst immobiliser and alarm come as standard. The strength of VWs is in their structural integrity as well as their standards of assembly. It should protect in a crash as well as a Golf, which got a four-sta
r Euro NCAP crash rating. ABS and anti-skid control are included too.

***Criticism**
I found it strange that there was no button to release the boot other than having to use the key whilst no rear screen wiper was most unusual. Needless to say, there
is a heating element to de-mist the rear window but it is a little weird nevertheless.

I understand that depreciation is worse on a Bora than a Golf so if you are looking at it from a re-sale point of view, this may put you off. As mentioned earlier, cornering isn't the best and the you can hear the diesel engine but it's by no means loud at all.

***Price and further info***
List price is around the £16900 mark but the excellent WhatCar website suggests looking for a deal around the £15153 mark. Further data is available at Volkswagon.co.uk and the previously eulogised What Car site (I really must do an op an it!) Insurance group is 8 with a typical contract hire monthly cost of around £316.

***Recommendation***
I'm delighted with this car. Everybody that's been in it has been impressed and you really wouldn't know it's a diesel. I really enjoyed arriving at a suitable car and this will appeal to saloon car buyers either private or company car i.e families or those wanting to buy a mid-range vehicle. Just make sure that you get the best deal you can!

Thanks for reading (sorry to be so boring)

Marandina


*miles per gallon
**brake horse power

Useful data:
Number of doors 4
Number of seats 5
Engine (cc/type) 1896/4
Fuel type Diesel
Max power (bhp/rpm) 130/4000
Max torque (lb ft/rpm) 228/1900
Max speed (mph) 127 0-60mph (sec) 10.1
Engine position Front Driven wheels
Front Length (mm) 4376 Width (mm) 2018 Height (mm) 1446
Front headroom (mm) 975
Front legroom (mm) 1130
Rear headroom (mm) 933
Rear kneeroom (mm) 845
Boot space (max ltr) 785
Tow
ing w
eight (kg) 1400Kerb weight (kg)
1313

Summary: