With sales of diesels dipping by 31 per cent in November and petrols currently occupying nearly 57 per cent of the total new car market, now must surely be a perfect time for smart Shedpeople to get into the Government-approved groove by buying themselves a nice petrol-powered motor.
Our tutting overlords might not fully approve of this week's thirsty VW Golf 2.8 V6 4Motion Shed, but as logic doesn't seem to be impacting on many of the Govt's motoring decisions just now, it could be argued that the purchase of a vehicle that does fewer than 20 miles per gallon around town is entirely in keeping with the prevailing political landscape.
Remarkably, given how common they are, only five Golfs have appeared in Shed of the Week in the last five years, and none of them have been V6-powered. This 2003 specimen uses VW's narrow-angle 24-valve V6 to produce 204hp and 195lb ft. Offering a nice dose of flexibility and refinement and a properly whooshy third gear, this engine gives the game old Mk 4 a couple of new dimensions as a relaxing cruiser or a snarly A-road stalker.
Some say the 1.8T is more tunable and less juicy, and that a remapped 1.9 TDI will deliver equally fine or better performance along with decent fuel consumption, but neither of these options will give you the six's fruitilicious exhaust note.
Nor will they have the 4Mo's Haldex 4WD system, which provides excellent traction out of corners wet or dry. This is a full-time arrangement that defaults almost entirely to the front wheels, with the rears getting up to maybe 30 per cent of the power when conditions dictate. Upgrades are available to make the balance more 50/50-ish, or to keep the system engaged when you take your foot off the throttle (at which point standard setups usually disengage), giving a degree of back-end engine braking. 4WD or not, our Shed will still naturally handle like a Mk 4 Golf, but you can de-roll it a bit by fitting a set of ARBs from an R32.
To keep your Fo'Mo running hard and true it's really worth looking after its drivetrain. The engine is a pretty sturdy lump that will take big mileages, but our Shed is at the point where timing chains can start to make themselves heard. Sorting that wouldn't be a cheap job. You're also well advised to change the Haldex oil at 20k intervals and the filter every 40k. Our car is within tolerance.
There are two main issues with these V6s. One is failure of the twin fans. If you don't catch this in time, there will be steam. Replacing the strip fuse atop the battery can sometimes restore at least partial fan operation, but for a proper fix it's a case of pulling the front of the car off to fit two new fans. Pay VW £300-plus for the pair, or about half that for aftermarket items, plus maybe another £300 or so for labour. There's no mention of this work having been carried out on our Shed, so it's something to be aware of.
The other issue is fuel consumption. You can get more than 30mpg if you drive in a stately fashion, but realistically you're looking at mid to high 20s even on a motorway cruise, low 20s on mixed roads, and figures in the mid or even low teens in town or when pressing on.
Springs break, and indeed already have done on this car, not once but twice. Both rears went back in 2009, and the vendor says that these replacements have themselves just been replaced for the recent MOT. Wishbone and anti-roll bar bushes are known to go too, along with all the usual VW suspects of MAFs, window operating systems, anything with the word 'sensor' in it, and coil packs. On post-2002 BDE engines like this one there are six individual coils that cost around £30 a pop, but the general view is that you're less likely to experience the dreaded misfire on a six than you are on a four.
Some owners have reported problems with the ESP light coming on if the MAF is faulty or if the wheel alignment isn't bob-on. You need to be canny about tyre replacement too. It's highly desirable bordering on essential to change all four hoops at once on cars with this sort of transmission. Luckily that very thing happened on this car just 4000 miles ago.
At launch, this was an expensive car (£24,000 plus options). There's no getting away from the fact that it's now an old once-expensive car, with all the running cost pitfalls that suggests, but even with the odd bits of brown showing through on the bodywork this full service history example looks like a potentially nice beater for winter use. The road tax is £305 a year, but you've got no MOT bills to worry about until next November. Use that money to keep the tank topped up - and pray for an uninterrupted supply of 95RON going forward, as the politicos say.
FSH and last serviced on 15/11/17 @ 103645 miles. 2 previous owners. Haldex diff oil & filter change carried out in November 2016. MOT expires 22nd November 2018 and had 2 new rear springs and a rear ABS sensor replaced for recent MOT. It is in good condition, performs well and has the lovely V6 growl.
It does have some surface rust on the wheel arches and there is also some corrosion around the boot handle. It comes with 2 keys. A full set of Michelin cross climate tyres were fitted 4000 miles ago.
