Category: Small Family 
Price Range: £13,750 to £18,845
Looks smart, in a conservative way; well-equipped and roomy.
Still expensive; not as sporty to drive as it looks; quality can be variable; noisy 2.0-litre engine.
An attractive car with a credible junior-executive image, but now dated.
A height adjustable seat and rake adjustable steering wheel make finding a good driving position easy, while the controls are comfortably positioned and light to use. Visibility is good too.
The Bora is aimed at the keener driver, but though a perfectly capable car it is no more than averagely enjoyable to drive - the Ford Focus does better here. However, the 1.8T 180 bhp and the TDI PD 150 are plenty powerful enough for satisfaction on the sheer speed front.
Neither the 1.6 or the 2.0 engines are particularly quick for their type, but they pull well enough to provide relaxed motoring both in town and on the motorway. The new PD (Pumpe-Duse) 115 bhp diesel engines are much torquier than the old 110 bhp units they replace - and the TDI 90 bhp - and mean that opting for a diesel needn't mean compromising on performance.
The hot ones have the new 1.8T 180 bhp petrol engine, as used in the Golf GTi Anniversary, or the 130 bhp TDI PD diesel - both powerful enough to make the Bora into a credible performance saloon or junior exec car. The 2.3 V5 and four-wheel drive 2.8 V6 4MOTION are just as quick as their Golf hot-hatch equivalents, and in fact, can be pushed on harder as the Bora's booted body feels better balanced and more stable than the Golf's.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Volkswagen Bora
wrote on 02 03 2009