Mk5 golf 1.6 fsi buying advice?
Discussion
A friend is looking to buy one and has asked for my opinion thinking i know everything about car's which i don't lol
Would be nice to get an opinion from people who know their vw's, full service history, seller say's he will put 12 months MOT on it and service it before sale. Looks tidy enough in the pics, center cap missing from wheels, having a quick look at others my self you can get the 2.0TDI GT models for the same price but its too costly to insure for him so hes stuck with the smaller engines hence the 1.6, its his second car, coming from a 1.4 pug 206
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2005-Volkswagen-Golf-1-...
Would be nice to get an opinion from people who know their vw's, full service history, seller say's he will put 12 months MOT on it and service it before sale. Looks tidy enough in the pics, center cap missing from wheels, having a quick look at others my self you can get the 2.0TDI GT models for the same price but its too costly to insure for him so hes stuck with the smaller engines hence the 1.6, its his second car, coming from a 1.4 pug 206
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2005-Volkswagen-Golf-1-...
I've run a mk5 1.6 FSI Golf as my 'shed' for a couple of years. It's been largely reliable save for a few electrical gremlins. Check all the central locking, windows, wipers, and check for rust around the front arches, rear boot handle (vw badge) and the sills near the rear arches. Take it for a test drive including a couple of engine start/stops to check for engine warning lights (get a full fault code readout if you can 
)
The engine is what it is, perfectly fine for a normally aspirated 1.6 IMHO. It can be noisy for 2-3 seconds on cold start until oil pressure builds, this is apparently normal according to the manual. 101k miles on mine and none of the problems mentioned above. Can't comment on the diesel alternatives as I wouldn't touch one with a rusty bargepole.
)The engine is what it is, perfectly fine for a normally aspirated 1.6 IMHO. It can be noisy for 2-3 seconds on cold start until oil pressure builds, this is apparently normal according to the manual. 101k miles on mine and none of the problems mentioned above. Can't comment on the diesel alternatives as I wouldn't touch one with a rusty bargepole.
cuprabob said:
The 1.6 FSI engine is one of the worst engines VW ever produced. Underpowered and thirsty ...
Agreed. A really, really dull engine even with a diet of super unleaded. Unhappy to rev and a total absence of low-down torque (although my other cars are V8 and V12 so maybe I'm being unfair). Engine performance aside the car seems well put together and the steering is good.ABS sensor failure seems a well-documented issue. Running costs have been very reasonable.
Wouldn't bother. Get a TDI or GTI.
FSIs above 80K will be in serious need of a walnut blast to shift the carbon build up on the intake valves. Not a big deal on the 2.0 TFSI engine because the turbo will overcome any restriction, but on the 1.6 n'asp FSI, restrictions from coking will seriously impact the performance.
FSIs above 80K will be in serious need of a walnut blast to shift the carbon build up on the intake valves. Not a big deal on the 2.0 TFSI engine because the turbo will overcome any restriction, but on the 1.6 n'asp FSI, restrictions from coking will seriously impact the performance.
SuperchargedVR6 said:
Wouldn't bother. Get a TDI or GTI.
FSIs above 80K will be in serious need of a walnut blast to shift the carbon build up on the intake valves. Not a big deal on the 2.0 TFSI engine because the turbo will overcome any restriction, but on the 1.6 n'asp FSI, restrictions from coking will seriously impact the performance.
FSIs above 80K will be in serious need of a walnut blast to shift the carbon build up on the intake valves. Not a big deal on the 2.0 TFSI engine because the turbo will overcome any restriction, but on the 1.6 n'asp FSI, restrictions from coking will seriously impact the performance.
Insurance.cuprabob said:
The 1.6 FSI engine is one of the worst engines VW ever produced. Underpowered and thirsty with an unhealthy appetite for coilpacks and Oxygen Sensors.
Im 17 and have the 1.6 FSi Golf 5 as my car. Its cheap on insurance and for £2500 a good car. It’s extremely reliable and has more power than most 1st cars at 115bhp. Its good on fuel on the motorways as it has 6 gear at around 40mpg. But seeing as i shelled out a little more for no black box, i get about 25 around backroads and towns with a heavy foot. The only big downside to this engine is the massive lack of power modifications on the market. All i can find is a ramair pod filter which i have fitted for £50 and a few exhausts. And the most anyone can give it with a tune is an extra 10/15 bhp. So realistically of you want an engine you can mess with get the 1.9 TDi 105 or the 1.4 TSi 122 as they are easy to mod and push more power out of!Taylor.d101 said:
Im 17 and have the 1.6 FSi Golf 5 as my car. Its cheap on insurance and for £2500 a good car. It’s extremely reliable and has more power than most 1st cars at 115bhp. Its good on fuel on the motorways as it has 6 gear at around 40mpg. But seeing as i shelled out a little more for no black box, i get about 25 around backroads and towns with a heavy foot. The only big downside to this engine is the massive lack of power modifications on the market. All i can find is a ramair pod filter which i have fitted for £50 and a few exhausts. And the most anyone can give it with a tune is an extra 10/15 bhp. So realistically of you want an engine you can mess with get the 1.9 TDi 105 or the 1.4 TSi 122 as they are easy to mod and push more power out of!
Decent 1st car!AI1694 said:
1.4 TSI 122 is a better choice than the 1.6 FSI if going with petrol.
When new yes, but on the Used market I'm not so sure. The 1.4 TSI is plagued with timing chain issues which can cost a fortune to resolve so you have to tread very carefully to ensure you're not buying a problem car.va1o said:
When new yes, but on the Used market I'm not so sure. The 1.4 TSI is plagued with timing chain issues which can cost a fortune to resolve so you have to tread very carefully to ensure you're not buying a problem car.
I was under the impression the 1.4 TSI engines that suffered with chain issues were the twincharger 150/170 variants and not the turbo only 122. AI1694 said:
I was under the impression the 1.4 TSI engines that suffered with chain issues were the twincharger 150/170 variants and not the turbo only 122.
Nope they’re all equally bad, mine was a nightmare a few years ago. Unfortunately as soon as they start making that slight rattle at startup it’s game over and you can expect chain problems. Not wanting to contradict the wealth of internet knowledge of the much maligned 1.4TSI, but my 2007 GT TSI 170 has now reached 250,000 miles. I have just had the timing chain replaced for the second time, at the realistic cost of £500 (the kit is £150, plus labour and replacing the oil/filter). It runs as good as new and uses virtually no oil between services. It should now be good for a further 100,000 miles.
spiralp said:
It runs as good as new
This I agree with for sure! I remember mine felt extremely good to drive after it had a new chain, was almost like a new engine. Goes to show that when it’s in ill health it does effect overall running. I was unlucky to then have the turbo fail a couple of months later
I subsequently changed it for a Mk5 GTI which arguably has a more robust and simpler engine
cuprabob said:
The 1.6 FSI engine is one of the worst engines VW ever produced. Underpowered and thirsty with an unhealthy appetite for coilpacks and Oxygen Sensors.
But interestingly enough, the 2.0 FSI isn't bad at all.I think the worst engine award belongs to the SDI, or the 2.0 8V from the MK4 'GTI'.
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