SUSPENSION

A knocking from the front, uneven front tyre wear and twitchy steering are all signs that the notoriously weak lower front wishbone bushes are past it. Overly vague steering also points to issues with the track control arms and drop links. Mk5’s handling is pretty lacklustre, but if it’s wallowing and crashing over bumps, then replacement dampers and springs are on the cards. Rear trailing arms drew criticism for being too weak and consequently twisting too much, so it’s worth having a look underneath and listening out for anything out of the ordinary from the back end.