VW Sharan 1.9 TDI Carat 1996

Advantages: Great family car, very adaptable
Disadvantages: Interior trim easily damaged, can be costly if things go wrong

...are easily damaged as the children tend to slide in and out of the car, sliding doors would have also been nice. It is not very easy to remove the seats from the car and with it having not a lot of boot space it is fairly necessary to be able to remove them when needed, maybe this is something that has been addressed in newer models. If you suffer from poor radio reception as we did, it is probably because it uses an aerial in the rear quarter light window, we had to get an electrical device to amplify the signal, now its fine. Overall though it has been reliable, we are now up to 110,000 miles , still servicing yearly with VW with no other problems as far as reliability goes although, the starter motor is just starting to make the occasional funny noise on start up). Having driven other diesels through work, the 90 bhp sharan does...

puzz1 23.02.2006 · Read review
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Review of Volkswagen Sharan 1.9 TDI

VW sharan TDI

Advantages: very roomy, styling, handles like a car not an mpv
Disadvantages: reliability, doesnt like high mileage motoring

...i own a 2004/04 vw sharan 1.9 tdi carat (was top of the range - over £20K new) automatic trans with climate, 6cd, alloys, leather interior bought from a vw dealer in 2005 with just 16,100 miles on the clock with FVWSH & 2 owners. now done just under 68K miles, still with Vw full history. looks good, drives & handles well, very roomy but... at approx 20K miles the water pipe that feeds the rear wash wipe decided to come away from the water pump soaking the n/side passenger front foot well. at approx 37K miles the alternator decided one night to fry itself along with the fuse box and part of the wiring loom - nearly a £800 repair with local vw dealer. at approx 67K miles the sharan decided to loss power and became dangerous to drive. the vw dealer found the problem. the air mass meter had failed - a £180 repair. 2 days later...

gantheman 20.06.2008 · Read review
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Review of Volkswagen Sharan 1.9 TDI

2002 VW Passat 1.9TDi 130bhp

Advantages: Spacious, frugal, good performance.
Disadvantages: Looks aren't very exciting.

...I drive a 2002 (52 plate) VW Passat 1.9 TDi 130bhp for work and it has been very reliable and dependable. The engine is by far the best bit about this car - over 40mpg even when driving swiftly and very quiet whether cruising on the motorway or driving around town. The model i drive is reasonably well equipped - it has a good air conditioning system, electric mirrors, windows, sunroof etc. The only extra i would have added is a factory CD player. The seats are comfortable on long motorway drives and the road holding is good for a car of this size and weight. Interior is spacious enough to accomodate 4 adults comfortably - 5 at a push. The boot is also very spacious. I have also driven the 115bhp model and would thoroughly recommend buying the 130bhp model insead. The fuel economy isn't noticably different yet the 130bhp model is far...

biffo0911 05.12.2007 · Read review
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Review of Volkswagen Passat 1.9 TDI

VW Passat 1.9tdi great family car

Advantages: Great solid reliable family car
Disadvantages: It is very big

...I picked this car as a company car, i currently work as an area sales manager and when i was going through the list of choices i felt this was the best one on the list. The main reason i picked was i had a Passat before which was the old shape and it was a really good, comfortable and reliable family car. I always liked the old Passat but the new one is suberb its even better than the old one. I do about 35000 miles per year and its really comfy on long journeys. It sits great on the motorway and performs well on A and B roads too. Its a solid car and it feels solid, i feel quite safe in it. The SE spec gives you a few more luxuries than the basic spec. Included in this is cruise control, all round electric windows, centre armrest and good looking alloy wheels. I got the 1.9TDI diesel engine which has 105BHP and is quite nippy...

trevn74 24.06.2009 · Read review
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Review of Volkswagen Passat 1.9 TDI PD

VW Bora 1.9 TDI Sport

Advantages: Climate control, Speed, Economy
Disadvantages: The name

...The Bora is Volkswagen's attempt to rival the BMW 3 series and Audi A3 and makes a good attempt. I traded in my wife's cherished Golf GTI for the Bora 1.9 TDI (diesel) Sport (150bhp) because :- a) we needed a bigger boot b) we had just bought a tent which wouldn't fit in the Golf c) the Golf was making a few dodgy sounds d) diesel sounded more economical ~~ First Impressions ~~ I actually think that the Bora looks quite sleek and sturdy with it's high boot area and slightly rounded edges. The wheels are prominent giving the impression of good road-handling and the overall impression is one of a solid, reliable motor. One thing I noticed was the "clunk" of the door being shut - like a bank vault being sealed. ~~ In The Driving Seat ~~ The driving position is comfortable with good vision both to the front...

nigeofnewbury 24.03.2005 (20.05.2005) · Read review
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Review of Volkswagen Bora 1.9 S TDI

Skoda Fabia 1.9tdi estate

Advantages: Price, economical, comfortable, fast acceleration, vast storage space
Disadvantages: None

...they achieve. Comfort is not a problem, the drivers seat is adjustable both horizontally as well as verically, plus a positional adjustable steering wheel. Easy to see instrument panel with a dimmer lighting system for brightness coupled with height adjustable headlights, depending on the load of the car. Without doubt Skoda have come on in leaps and bounds over the past few years and not only am I proud to own one, I also have a smile to myself at the badge snobs with their Volkswagen who are paying a few thousand more for more or less the same vehicle as I have but with a different badge and perhaps a little different shape. I am now wishing the next six months or so away for the launch of the new Fabia 1.9tdi estate in the new year which if the new Fabia hatchback recently launched is anything to go by, then the new model will...

plod591 20.09.2007 (15.10.2007) · Read review
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Review of Skoda Fabia 1.9 TDi Saloon

56000 miles with Sharan

Advantages: Good fuel economy, comfortable
Disadvantages: Airconditioning reliablity

...This is my first diesel car but it won't be my last. It is a company car which I have had from new since July 2001. I have travelled 56000 miles including several 2500 mile round trips to Sweden with my wife, two boys (both under 9) and dog. One of the good points about the car is its economy - a long-term average of over 40 mpg and an indicated 19 mpg at top speed (118 mph!) on the Autobahns. It is comfortable to drive over long distances and although its 0-60 mph speed is rather slow - about 12 seconds - because of the high torque from the turbo-diesel engine it has good overtaking acceleration making it a good motorway and A-road car. It has seven seats but with them all in there is very little luggage space so it is usually driven with the rear two seats removed. These are quite heavy and take up a lot of space in the house so this...

pilot61 29.06.2005 (01.07.2005) · Read review
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Review of Volkswagen Sharan 1.9 TDI

VW Touran 1.9 S 105ps TDI

Advantages: MPG, Build Quality, Comfort, Drive
Disadvantages: Part Costs, features

...I bought my VW Touran from new and have been very please with the car. We purchased the car because we needed a vehicle with lots of space for fetching and carrying equipment and the seven seat feature appealed to us. In terms of reliability the car has been faultless; there have been no problems with the engine or build of the car. I have currently racked up 14,000 trouble free miles in less than a year. The build of the car is to the usual high quality VW finish all the doors make the right noises when you close them. The body panels are well put together and the color coded bumpers, wing mirrors and door trims really finish the car off well. The interior follows the same level of high quality finish (all though in my opinion it's a bit too grey). Regardless of this the quality of the materials makes up for the un...

jaddingt 26.04.2006 (27.04.2006) · Read review
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Review of Volkswagen Touran 1.9 TDI

A girls view of the VW Touran S 1.9 TDI 7 seats.

Advantages: Compact yet spacious, comfortable family car.
Disadvantages: None so far!

...Having 2 kids and a dog we finally admitted we needed a proper family car, so having a VW Golf that we were very happy with and hearing good things of the Touran we decided to look into getting one. I am really glad we did as we now have a lovely shiny one on the drive and its great! It looks like a reasonably sized small MPV from the outside but inside its so spacious. The interior is pretty much the same as the Golf and apart from having a slightly higher driving position and obviously much more space i'm just as happy driving this as i am the Golf. It's lovely to drive, is pretty nippy when you need to be & i don't feel like i'm taking up the entire road. It's easy to park (we have rear parking sensors which really help). There are loads of little storage compartments and the glove box can be air-conditioned to keep your drink...

KatieSCB 17.04.2008 · Read review
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Review of Volkswagen Touran 1.9 TDI

VW Passat 1.9TDI SE PD (130bhp) 2001reg

Advantages: Comfort, Stylish, Fuel effiecient
Disadvantages: Service Costs

...I have had the 1.9 TDI PD(130) now for 8 months, My first reason for purchasing the vehicle was to pull our family caravan- which it does with great ease. After 8 months the feelings toward sthis car have become a bit more passionate, the ride is so comfortable that the family can rest or even sleep on long journeys, there is no or very little external noise and it is truly a pleasure to drive. I travel 800 miles a week just commuting to and from work, the comfort is a godsend on my delicate back and therefore making driving to work a pleasure, even though my journey is 98% motorway i still managed to atain between 52% and 55% MPG. The downside is the service costs, luckily i have a friend who runs his own registered garage so i can lower my costs a bit, especially on a cam belt change at £560.00. Back to the positives, the interior is...

G.A.Walker 14.02.2006 (17.02.2006) · Read review
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Review of Volkswagen Passat 1.9 TDI PD