2008 avensis v golf

jacknes

Looking to change cars and have narrowed options down to two choices and any advice would be appreciated.
Looking at 08 d4d avensis luna with 50miles or other option is 08 diesel golf with little less mileage. Both prices close enough.
My main concerns are reliability, fuel efficiency ( mostly motorway driving) , low tax. Both come with 1 year warranty.
Any advice would be appreciated and any known problems with either.. Have also been looking at focus passat and s40.

MugMugs

jacknes wrote: »

Looking to change cars and have narrowed options down to two choices and any advice would be appreciated.
Looking at 08 d4d avensis luna with 50miles or other option is 08 diesel golf with little less mileage. Both prices close enough.
My main concerns are reliability, fuel efficiency ( mostly motorway driving) , low tax. Both come with 1 year warranty.
Any advice would be appreciated and any known problems with either.. Have also been looking at focus passat and s40.

Bit of an odd comparison?

What spec Golf? What kind of mileage per year?

The Luna Avensis wouldn't be very well kitted out.

jacknes

Bit of an odd comparison alright but in my main criteria of reliability and fuel efficiency their quite close.
The golf is a 5 door 1.9 tdi comfortline. 45k miles on it.
The avensis luna is the high spec model with cruise control etc. Heard of some problems with blown or cracked gasget heads on the avensis but not sure how common

YouTookMyName

2.2L block has the head gasket problems, the 2.0L block is sound.

MugMugs

If you can tolerate the bland driving experience, I'd run with the Avensis. 2.0 D-4D is in a higher tax band than the golf IIRC.... In saying that, its not by much. As already said the 2.0 doesn't have the same issues as the 2.2....

Jimbob 83

Two very different cars

veetwin

Alot of it really depends on what you want from a car and what you are going to use it for. i.e. if you a young single male with no family etc to cart around then you are going to look ridiculous in an Avensis. If on the other hand you need the space for kids/family then the Golf will not be the best idea.

Fuel wise the Golf might shade it. Reliabilty wise there won't be much in it. The Avensis is about as bland a car as you can buy but the Golf isn't going to set the world on fire either.

Personally as a Golf owner I'd be looking for the highest spec Golf I could find. I regularly drive the Avensis and really hate it for no particular reason other than it's blandness. There is absolutely no joy in owning or driving one.

bazz26

MugMugs wrote: »

Bit of an odd comparison?

What spec Golf? What kind of mileage per year?

The Luna Avensis wouldn't be very well kitted out.

The Luna Avensis is better equipped than most Irish spec Golfs out there. Cruise Control, climate control, auto lights and wipers, folding mirrors, etc.

MugMugs wrote: »

If you can tolerate the bland driving experience, I'd run with the Avensis. 2.0 D-4D is in a higher tax band than the golf IIRC.... In saying that, its not by much. As already said the 2.0 doesn't have the same issues as the 2.2....

08 Avensis 2.0 D-4D (125bhp) costs €330 to tax, same as a 08 Golf 1.9 TDi (105bhp).

MugMugs

bazz26 wrote: »

MugMugs wrote: »

Bit of an odd comparison?

What spec Golf? What kind of mileage per year?

The Luna Avensis wouldn't be very well kitted out.

The Luna Avensis is better equipped than most Irish spec Golfs out there. Cruise Control, climate control, auto lights and wipers, folding mirrors, etc.

MugMugs wrote: »

If you can tolerate the bland driving experience, I'd run with the Avensis. 2.0 D-4D is in a higher tax band than the golf IIRC.... In saying that, its not by much. As already said the 2.0 doesn't have the same issues as the 2.2....

08 Avensis 2.0 D-4D (125bhp) costs €330 to tax, same as a 08 Golf 1.9 TDi (105bhp).

Comfort line Golf has all of that with the exception of the mirrors folding I believe so its not better from what you've listed..... Much the same really. As for TAX, thought that the TDI was under 146g.....


Edit: vrt.ie shows 132g....

bazz26

MugMugs wrote: »

Comfort line Golf has all of that with the exception of the mirrors folding I believe so its not better from what you've listed..... Much the same really. As for TAX, thought that the TDI was under 146g.....

They were only the main things I listed, I'm sure there are other things too and the MkV 1.9 TDi was in tax band C back in 2008, same as the Octavia TDi. I think it was only the Bluemotion ones that were in tax band B.

Leonard Hofstadter

bazz26 wrote: »

They were only the main things I listed, I'm sure there are other things too and the MkV 1.9 TDi was in tax band C back in 2008, same as the Octavia TDi. I think it was only the Bluemotion ones that were in tax band B.

No the 1.9 TDI Golf was in band B if it was a manual;). I think you're getting mixed up with the Passat - that was band C for the 1.9 and 2.0 and the 1.9 TDI BM (which we never got) was in band B!

MugMugs

captainspeed wrote: »

bazz26 wrote: »

They were only the main things I listed, I'm sure there are other things too and the MkV 1.9 TDi was in tax band C back in 2008, same as the Octavia TDi. I think it was only the Bluemotion ones that were in tax band B.

No the 1.9 TDI Golf was in band B if it was a manual;). I think you're getting mixed up with the Passat - that was band C for the 1.9 and 2.0 and the 1.9 TDI BM (which we never got) was in band B!

Cheers for reconfirming. Thought I was losing it.

Fishtits

Avensis all the way for me.

2 stroke

avensis for me, I've never bought a vw and I've never towed a toyota

Farmer Pudsey

veetwin wrote: »

Alot of it really depends on what you want from a car and what you are going to use it for. i.e. if you a young single male with no family etc to cart around then you are going to look ridiculous in an Avensis. If on the other hand you need the space for kids/family then the Golf will not be the best idea.

Fuel wise the Golf might shade it. Reliabilty wise there won't be much in it. The Avensis is about as bland a car as you can buy but the Golf isn't going to set the world on fire either.

Personally as a Golf owner I'd be looking for the highest spec Golf I could find. I regularly drive the Avensis and really hate it for no particular reason other than it's blandness. There is absolutely no joy in owning or driving one.

I doubt if the golf would shade it fuel wise, as they are in the same Tax band. It amaze's me why a lot of people find toyota's bland or boring, is this because they do not tend to leave you at the side of a motorway with your bonnet up in the air waiting for the AA.

However if you have a family of even just one kid, or are in a car pool of 3-4 adults, there is no comparison,you can fit all the kitchen including the sink into the avensis or carry yourself and 4 adults in it.

Leonard Hofstadter

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

I doubt if the golf would shade it fuel wise, as they are in the same Tax band. It amaze's me why a lot of people find toyota's bland or boring, is this because they do not tend to leave you at the side of a motorway with your bonnet up in the air waiting for the AA.

However if you have a family of even just one kid, or are in a car pool of 3-4 adults, there is no comparison,you can fit all the kitchen including the sink into the avensis or carry yourself and 4 adults in it.

They are not in the same tax band - the Golf is in a lower tax band. Only from 2009 when the awful current model Avensis was introduced did the diesel get into band B - and then the current model Golf came out as well, which was in band A. The only versions of Golf and Avensis which are in the same tax band are the models from 2012 onwards.

I own and have driven many Toyotas - and they are boring. Drive something else and anyone with even the slightest bit of interest in cars will notice the difference. It's as if Toyota's engineers are instructed to go out of their way to remove anything that could even be vaguely interpreted as enhancing driving pleasure. Honestly if I could afford a better car I would own one. And if my experience is anything to go by, I should be sueing them for lying about the 'best built cars in the world' claim - because I've certainly not had a good experience from that point of view either!

But then again, lots of Toyotas give reliability trouble, from the well known oil burning problem of VVTi engined Toyotas, the gearbox bearings go in a lot of them (Avensis and Corolla), and the head gaskets on the 2.2 diesels go, and that is certainly not the only thing that goes wrong with that engine either!

Earlier 2.0 D-4Ds have problems with the dual mass flywheel and the clutch getting stiff on them as well.

Incidentally Volkswagens are if anything worse in general, although the 1.9 TDI engine is absolutely bulletproof - it was conceived in an era when German engineering stood for real quality!

If you want reliability, buy a Ford, or a Honda.

veetwin

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

I doubt if the golf would shade it fuel wise, as they are in the same Tax band. It amaze's me why a lot of people find toyota's bland or boring, is this because they do not tend to leave you at the side of a motorway with your bonnet up in the air waiting for the AA.

However if you have a family of even just one kid, or are in a car pool of 3-4 adults, there is no comparison,you can fit all the kitchen including the sink into the avensis or carry yourself and 4 adults in it.

Why would you think the Avensis is more fuel efficient than the Golf? The reason people find them bland and boring is because they generally are. As for reliability I don't think the Avensis is anywhere near as reliable as people make it out to be nor is the Golf as unreliable as many people think it is.

jacknes

Thanks for all the responses. Am leaning towards the avensis. Having driven a car for last three years which has had a series of small but costly problems reliability is big for me. While the golf shades it for tax and fuel efficiency, on the motor way its not by much.
Also for some reason i see the avensis still going good in 5-6 years. Not too worried about the blandness. Only really drive to get from a to b.

Leonard Hofstadter

jacknes wrote: »

Thanks for all the responses. Am leaning towards the avensis. Having driven a car for last three years which has had a series of small but costly problems reliability is big for me. While the golf shades it for tax and fuel efficiency, on the motor way its not by much.
Also for some reason i see the avensis still going good in 5-6 years. Not too worried about the blandness. Only really drive to get from a to b.

You should really consider the Honda Accord and the Mondeo if you're thinking of an Avensis, these cars are far superior to all but the most die hard Toyota fans like Farmer Pudsy. There's nothing wrong with that model Avensis, it's just that the Mondeo and Accord are far nicer places to be!

Realistically, you have a choice.

You can have a deathly dull car that will be reliable, or you can have a nice car that will be reliable, and I know which I'd be choosing;).

In actual fact if you want maximum reliability you wouldn't be buying the Toyota anyway - you'd be buying the Honda:)!

bazz26

It's comical at times how the Golf can be endorsed simply because the Avensis is boring. The Golf is an average medium sized hatchback with conservative styling, dull interior and a tractor engine, we are not talking about the hallo GTi or R32 models here.

If the OP wanted something interesting or exciting then he/she would not be looking at either of these cars.

MugMugs

I went from a Passat to a similar Avensis. I've no issues with the Avensis as it is but its far from an interesting drive. Liked the road hold on the VW. It just grunted along.... In saying that, it broke my heart leading to its change.

Jimdagym

MugMugs wrote: »

I went from a Passat to a similar Avensis. I've no issues with the Avensis as it is but its far from an interesting drive. Liked the road hold on the VW. It just grunted along.... In saying that, it broke my heart leading to its change.

Which one would you buy next? (If you had to buy one)

MugMugs

Jimdagym wrote: »

MugMugs wrote: »

I went from a Passat to a similar Avensis. I've no issues with the Avensis as it is but its far from an interesting drive. Liked the road hold on the VW. It just grunted along.... In saying that, it broke my heart leading to its change.

Which one would you buy next? (If you had to buy one)

From a practicality perspective, The Toyota. Suits my needs and is taking the mileage I'm giving her well.

From a driving perspective and slightly on economy, Passat.

Jimdagym

MugMugs wrote: »

From a practicality perspective, The Toyota. Suits my needs and is taking the mileage I'm giving her well.

From a driving perspective and slightly on economy, Passat.

And would you buy either again, or have a change?

(This isnt really OT. Valid user review)

MugMugs

At this very moment in time, Id go for another Avensis.

Farmer Pudsey

MugMugs wrote: »

At this very moment in time, Id go for another Avensis.

Like I say like they are boring like as they like do not like leave you like at the side of the road like.
When you get to be like an old fogie like me you tend to dislike walking.
Yes toyota had a problem with Dual Mass Flywheels but so did any other diesels engines that used them.
From what I see most modern engines burn oil and not just the diesels, a friend drives a VW transporter, great van except for the water pump is in the oil sump and it is starting to go for the second time.It is also burning about a 1/2 litre every 10,000km.
If you look at the amount of toyota's still on the road passing NCT's with high milage pre 1997 they outnumber any other make by a mile. You will not see many Citroen's, Renaults Peugeot's or Fiats. You will see a few low milage fords and diesels VW also some Nissans but you see a sh#tload of Toyota's.