Since your in Texas I would go with a quality dino 20w50 or 15w40. VW's, especially older ones, tend to go against current thought on thinner is better. They seem to like thicker oils.
I ran 20w50 year round in my 89 jetta here in Texas with no problems at all. In fact my oil pressure warning light would go off with anything thinner than 15w40.
Valvoline all climate, while not looked at by this board as being all that great, seemed to do very well for me in 225,000 miles of driving with no oil leaks, oil burned.....ever. With other brands i had some lifter noise at start up in the winter, with valvoline i had none.
I also tried pennzoil 15w40 long-life diesel rated dino oil and it worked very well. Most oil change places keep this in stock.
You might check with your local VW dealer and see what they use as far as viscosity. Given your cars desire to leak/burn oil, i would not think this is a good time to switch to synthetic, at least until you get that problem resolved.
I ran 20w50 year round in my 89 jetta here in Texas with no problems at all. In fact my oil pressure warning light would go off with anything thinner than 15w40.
Valvoline all climate, while not looked at by this board as being all that great, seemed to do very well for me in 225,000 miles of driving with no oil leaks, oil burned.....ever. With other brands i had some lifter noise at start up in the winter, with valvoline i had none.
I also tried pennzoil 15w40 long-life diesel rated dino oil and it worked very well. Most oil change places keep this in stock.
You might check with your local VW dealer and see what they use as far as viscosity. Given your cars desire to leak/burn oil, i would not think this is a good time to switch to synthetic, at least until you get that problem resolved.