Late night goodbye to a good VW engine

"PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power" (petarvn)
06/05/2014 at 02:28 • Filed to: None

The Inline-5 hasn't been available in any VW for about 5 months now, and I feel that it's not gotten enough love recently. I should clarify that out of all (six, not counting 15-20 minute drives, but proper drives) of the cars I have driven, a 5-cylinder jetta SE is my favorite. The 2.5 5-pot had one thing that I feel the new 1.8T lacks.

Character.

Sure, the new 1.8T is the better engine. more MPG's more torque, more tunability, but it doesn't make me want to push the car harder, to test it's limits. The 2.5 did this, in a lazy but thrilling manner. and it's not just that it does this in the Jetta, where it's coupled to a 5-speed manual. It performed venerably in a Passat SE, and a new beetle as well, where the shifting was done automatically! Sure, 170 horses out of 2.5 liters is pretty pitiful, but this engine gave you those horses with a sweet, low rumble that no 4 or 6 can match.

What it did is it gave mid range Volkswagens a specific character, and not just some "oh look, it's a boring turbo sedan *yawn*" character. This is a playful "come on, rev me baby one more time!" kind of character. I do think it's a shame VW killed the thirsty 2.5, and I would've loved to see what VW could really do with it if they just tried to update it more...

DISCUSSION (21)

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
06/05/2014 at 02:33

You forgot to mention it's part Lamborghini!!

YSI-what can brown do for you > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
06/05/2014 at 02:35

Plus dat sound!

Big Bubba Ray > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
06/05/2014 at 02:36

Oh I loved the VW inline 5! I got some wheel time in a Jetta SE with a 5 speed and it was a good time ripping through the gears.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
06/05/2014 at 02:37

yeah, I know it shares a part with the Gallardo, don't know which though..

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Big Bubba Ray
06/05/2014 at 02:38

oh I know! I drive one on an almost daily basis, and I love it! You can chirp the wheels in 2nd gear if you shift well enough! It's awesome!

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > YSI-what can brown do for you
06/05/2014 at 02:39

I know! it's great!

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
06/05/2014 at 02:40

I'm pretty sure it's basically half a Lambo 5.0 V10. So more than a few parts are shared.

Wheres VincentvancabrioW, I bet he'd know.

Big Bubba Ray > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
06/05/2014 at 02:44

Your mom has one if I remember correctly? Pretty jealous.

They love to rev and they're definitely fun ass little cars.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > Big Bubba Ray
06/05/2014 at 03:14

"fun ASS LITTLE cars"

Kinja'd!!!

wallaby13 > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
06/05/2014 at 07:39

I always liked the I-5, ever since I had a few Volvo's. What I can't wrap my head around is how in 1995 Volvo made 168hp from a 2.3 5 cylinder, and 10 years later VW can't find anymore hp....

That being said 2.3L turbo all the way

Agrajag > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
06/05/2014 at 08:42

I had a Rabbit with this engine. Wonderful sound. I believe it maybe one of VW's most reliable engines as well. I've two friends that have this engine. One at 185k with no issues and another at 135k. Now the second one has every warning light lit up on the dash which he ignores, but the car still runs fine, for now.

twochevrons > wallaby13
06/05/2014 at 08:51

I just bought myself an 850R, so I'm very quickly being converted to the joys of the Volvo five. DAT TURBO.

twochevrons > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
06/05/2014 at 08:53

I think that it's the head. The 2.5 has an iron block.

twochevrons > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
06/05/2014 at 08:58

My wife recently bought a Mk6 Golf, and I'm not entirely sure why everybody gripes about the 2.5. Sure, it's a bit on the heavy side, and not terribly sophisticated, but it sounds amazing, and there's something to be said for the fact that it isn't full of high tech gizmos.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > wallaby13
06/05/2014 at 08:59

VW could get a lot more power out of it, but it's being choked down by a restrictive breathing track.

With just a short runner intake manifold and a tune, the car jumps to around 200 whp.

Vicente Esteve > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
06/05/2014 at 09:04

Hail the half Lamborghini Engine!

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Big Bubba Ray
06/05/2014 at 09:28

yup, she does! And we both beat on the car a bit, since it does make you want to drive it stupidly

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Agrajag
06/05/2014 at 09:29

Ours is barely broken in then, at just a hair under 17,000 miles in almost 3 years!

wallaby13 > twochevrons
06/05/2014 at 11:20

Get on that M56h swap. Best mod you can do to these cars. Also upgrading the rear sway bar to match the front is nice. I had 25/25 on a limited run IPD did, really gave the car a nice neutral steer vs understeer.

twochevrons > wallaby13
06/05/2014 at 11:42

The rear main seal is on the way out, so I'll have to drop the transmission anyway, the idea of a manual swap sorely tempts me. It's mechanically fairly worn, but I got it dirt cheap as a non-runner, and the body is very straight. Resurrected it over the weekend, and the plan is to drive it as-is for a year or so until I graduate college, then once I have a decent income, start fixing it up, with a few upgrades here and there.

The idea of sharpening up the handling definitely appeals. Mine feels very vague in that respect, but I suspect that it mostly stems from wear – with 213,000 miles on the clock, I think that it deserves a bit of a freshening up in the suspension department.

Saracen > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
06/05/2014 at 17:16

It shares cylinder head design with the V10, and that's it.