Volkswagen Bora

Prior to the Jetta, there was the Bora – basically a Golf with a boot. Most Boras are powered by either the four cylinder 2.0-litre or 2.3-litre V5 engines but you can buy V6-powered Boras with 4Motion all-wheel-drive and these are absolute stormers. A 2001 Bora 4Motion V6 can be had for as little as $13,100 and that is a great buy. Inside you will find everything you find in Golf – that is to say nice quality materials, good seats, great instrumentation and not a huge amount of rear seat legroom. The boot is enormous and so for those who find the Golf’s hatchback cargo area too small, the Bora presents a useful alternative. Exterior styling is conservative but doesn’t offend.

On The Road

Bora 4Motions are approaching supercar performance on-road – in the league of the BMW M3 - and so represent a real bargain for those looking for a high performance European small sedan. Other Boras drive identically to a Golf – that is firm Euro-style ride, precise handling and sharp turn-in. Refinement levels are high and the nice seats support well when pushing along at pace through corners.

What To Look for

Bora 4Motion models are quite complex with all that 4WD technology so it would pay to get any car you are considering checked by the likes of RACQ, NRMA or RACV. Otherwise Boras need the normal front-wheel-drive checks – some hard acceleration in tight corners to listen for any front end clunks that might indicate worn driveshafts and a close look at the condition of the front tyres. Gears should select smoothly up and down the box. Like the Golf, Volkswagen’s Bora is generally very reliable and good used car buy