Blair

I had thought about that myself before Kev :) 3 cylinders of each - you'd probably need a staggered V formation to make it smooth. But remember that the diesel would limit the revs - the petrol engine would never get to shine, because it would be shut off when the diesel was about to explode. Hmmm...or how about a single block with effectively two engines...a set of gears between the diesel bank and the main crank to allow for the higher revving petrol engine (so the petrol is doing 6500rpm whilst the diesel is doing 4500rpm) and Bob is, if not married to, at least boning your aunt on a regular basis :) I think we need an autmotive engineering PhD student to build one :D

No need to apologise Jim, there's nothing wrong with a bit of friendly debate. Anyway, I started it with my original question really, didn't I? :)

It seems to be the staple diet around here, particularly if someone mentions G60 vs VR6.... ....Oh nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...........!!!!!!!!! :D

/me struggles to get lid back on can of worms

I should just point out that I do not have 19K to spend on a car!!! :) The £16.5K Mk5 was a bit out of budget itself...

Exactly Jim....exactly! :) And there's NO contest when you start looking at it that way ;) If they came down to 15,500 I'd consider it - being sensible. Otherwise no way!

Funny you mention the Mk5 TDI 140 - I tested one yesterday. Nice enough - 3 door, met blue, leather interior BUT in a very dull slate grey, just like the plastics. A bit un-inspiring. It was quick enough, but no road-burner. Nice and linear, as you say. It just doesn't feel as special inside as the Mk4, no matter how "sensible" an option it is. Depends if they come back with a better "family discount" deal - originally they offered just £500 off the forecourt price of £17K!!! It's an 05 in met blue, which is £17,200 list - add £1500 for the leather and £200 for the sunroof and OK, it's a 19K car, but it's got 10K miles on the clock from being a demo/dealer principal car.

Ah - my old Mk1 seats were nice and grippy but a long journey wasn't much fun in them :) Still - nice to have an excuse to splash the cash on securing leather ;)

Yeah...creamy is the right word for the 4Motion :) I think the 1.9 TDI gets a bit of unfair press. It's not that bad at all - as I said, the g/f has the 130 in her Ibiza, and other than at idle it's fine. Idle is a bit rattly, but when I'm lucky enough to get behind the wheel I don't spend much time idling - the mid-range punch is a real grin-inducer :) And I agree about the interiors - the interior on the Corrado is better than the Leon. My mate has a Cupra (the 180 version) and although it's only 2 years old the lower dash and centre console are looking a bit ropey already. And I really can't bring myself to like the silver plastic trim on the centre console. My g/f's Ibiza actually has a better interior. I think it has the climate controls from the Golf (rotary knobs, rather than the cheap-looking control unit in my mate's Leon in silver plastic with buttons). I've been really impressed with the way the interior of my G60 has held up over 6.5 years, OK it's picked up the odd scuff and stain on the carpet (£75 valet tomorrow to sort that!) but it's still solid and still looks good. I just hope I find the seats in the MkIV as comfortable as those in the Corrado.

The 4Mo is definitely where the heart is Kev :) The 14p a mile work pays is what makes the PD150 more attractive though! As long as fuel stops at 90p a litre or work coughs up a bit more on the mileage rate, that's pretty much spot-on for just paying for the petrol on a 4Motion. 28mpg seems to be the norm... Funny you should mention the UKMKIV - that's the second time today someone has mentioned it, prior to that I had no idea it existed. Jim PM'ed me to tell me about a couple of 4Motions on there. And as for the Leon TDI Cupra - I can see why he likes it. I test drove one, very good fun, not stunningly quick but probably on a par with my G60 I suppose. What got it crossed off the shortlist was that I then drove a 4Motion back-to-back; it really did highlight the differences in cabin quality between the two cars. Maybe I'm getting old, but I want something a bit "plusher". I tested a Golf V TDI140 yesterday, and the Mk4 interior is still a class above that.

I've had a couple of people tell me - rightly or wrongly - that the TDI PD150 engine is "over-stressed" and that the PD130 is a far better, more reliable unit. Does anyone actually KNOW anything about this? My g/f has the Ibiza TDI with the 130 engine, but I prefer the characteristics of the PD150 in the Golf/Leon - it doesn't have the huge mid-range "shove" of the 130, but has a more linear character and drives more like a petrol car. I'm currently looking for a newer car and the shortlist is probably the Golf IV 4Motion or PD150 (Anniversary if I can find one!). I don't want the PD150 if it's going to be a pain in the arse and always at the dealers though... Anyone had any experiences of the PD150 on a long-term basis?

Please do - and I'm not being sarky! I'm looking for a 4Motion and I couldn't really care too much about transmission losses, as far as I'm concerned it's a price worth paying for AWD.

Nice one! Must be the reduced weight and reduced transmission loss (you're not running the AWD transmission are you?) Your car was stunning when I saw it a year ago, must be absolutely awesome now :)

All I need is a large hill to roll it down to get to 56 before I hit the ignition and we're in business then...;)

Congrats! Of course, he has an unfair advantage with a silver C, it's one of the few cars where silver just looks absolutely stunning (as opposed to being Mk4 Golf/Audi TT "3 out of every 4 are silver" jaded ;) )

Mpg in the high 30s?!?! I test drove the 24V version (still inside a GolfIV 4Motion) at the weekend and got 27mpg overall - wasn't even caning it. I know, I know - it's heavier and it's got serious transmission loss for the AWD system - but still...10mpg down is a lot even taking that into account surely?

As much as I hate to suggest it, you'd get more breaking it :(

Hehe, it reminds me of the time a tuning company (can't remember who it was) supplied a "tuned" VR6 for a mag rolling road feature. Sadly it was an auto, they (the mag) couldn't get much out of it because the slushbox wouldn't let them, the tuning company wasn't best pleased, and the magazine printed their excuses!

Aqua blue VR6, flying round one of the roundabouts between Banbury and the M40, about 7:30am on Wednesday morning...

I saw one on the road today. Gulp. I actually thought it looked pretty cool. An Astra. :evil:

Yeah, but I've done the G60 thing for 6.5 years now, a VR6 would be nice :)

Awwww! Christ! ;)

Sadly, to a Corrado owner that's not actually true :( Do you need a newer car? Because (and this is talking from my personal situation) if you don't need a newer car to use for work as a company car (for example) I would sell the G60 and then top it up with an extra 5K to get a really really good VR6 and enjoy that. Unfortunately my job (and the company car payments I took instead of being tied to a 1.6 Astra :( ) means I need something newer that reflects well on the business/myself as well as being comparable to what I'd get as a company car. And 10K really doesn't offer you much in the way of choice (for a newish car) if you're used to a Corrado. My shortlist is pretty much down to an older A3 1.8T, a 3 year old 4Motion, a 2 year old Leon Cupra and that's about it. I've driven them all and none of them grab me the same way the Corrado does, and certainly none of them would make me give that "one last glance over the shoulder" as I went inside the house. If you don't need a "new" car just get yourself a late, low-mileage VR6 and use the rest of the cash (that you would have spent on depreciation) to maintain it lovingly :)

I wouldn't want to be a broker and be stuck in the middle. Ultimately though, I guess if you give them a harder time than the underwriter, they'll make more effort to keep you happy (and shut you up ;) )

Stupid is as stupid does, unfortunately :( *edit: Aimed at Kev's last post, being as it doesn't make entire sense in context :)