Does anyone know if VW have sorted any of the reliabilty problems of the previous Golf with the mark V?

I am tempted by one but I am put off by the many relibilty problems I have read about in the previous model.

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Our Rover 114 has suffered a blown head gasket. Unusually (?) the oil looks uncontaminated but the engine block waterways, rad and all hoses were completely blocked with emulsion. There's no real circulation (the impeller just spins in the gunge) even with a warm engine.

Is there a way I can clean the less accessible parts of the engine out without stripping it down?
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Hi - I have a problem with one of the front sidelights of my car. When i first switch on and turn on the lights a warning light appears, indicating a problem and on investigation, sure enough one of the front sidelights isn't working. However as I drive off, the light disappears and then when i park the car and check the lights, they are all working normally. Would anyone know what could be the problem?

My car is just under 2 years old and due a service shortly - is this something that will be checked when the car is serviced?

Thank you,
Gill. Read more

The scenario is thus:
Busy main road, traffic slow blocking the exit from a minor road. First vehicle is waiting to turn right out of the minor road and is allowed forward by a considerate driver. First vehicle edges out, checking for vehicles approaching from the left. Stops just short of centre line when second vehicle is spotted
Second vehicle (by all accounts driving in excess of the speed limit) coming from the left either panics or brakes (though no skid marks present) and ends up colliding with the REAR(!)nearside of the first vehicle, i.e. swerves onto the other side of the road.
Happened to our childminder this morning, no injuries thank godness despite three kids being in the car, although the r reg Rover 25 is probably a write off.
Now, if she'd been out onto the other carriageway, been moving and sustained front nearside damage, I'd have said this was down to her. But the second vehicle somehow manages to cross the road to have the accident; debris in the minor road confirms the point of impact.
Any views? Read more

Any body out there that can give me an idea of whether I am barking up the wrong tree, with what I perceive to be low MPG for my Mondeo?

Considering the SCi engine with a 6 speed box is supposed to be more fuel efficient, I a bit miffed to find I am getting less MPG than the 2001 Zetec it replaced. I am averaging between 27.5 - 29.5 per gallon, where as the previous Zetec gave me between 31-35.

My local dealer has reset the Engine Management, there words not mine and it has made no difference. It has been back in again and all they have said is that there is a new software upgrade in February that may resolve it! My nephew works for another dealer and when I got this car he said that there were a number of this model in and out of the workshop for the same reason.

The type of mileage is mainly motorway driving to a max of 80mph. I work 13 miles from home and start work at 05:00, so I very rarely need to change gear once I am on the move. More or less the same for the home journey, although I do get a bit of stationary traffic once I am almost home. Outside work use is the usual visits here and there and so on but it is never used for short hops to shops. I don't thrash it so I am not wasting fuel there.

Are my expectations too high?
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