Air intake pipe missing

Hi all, I have a 2006 2.0 tdi pd bkd estate for a few months.

Today I noticed that the u-shape air intake pipe is missing, but i am not sure whether or not this has happened by accident. Perhaps it fell or perhaps someone forgot to refit it at some point? Or perhaps it was done on purpose for performance/sound/other reasons?

After doing a quick search, the part in question seems to be 1K0129618AT, which I can get on eBay for 15 quid, but should I bother? By that I mean will the car perform better (in terms of mpg, power, etc) with or without it? Now that there is no longer a cold air feed (as intake starts in engine bay), will the performance be down on what it should be, or will any gains/deficit be marginal?

Any feedback most welcome.

Edited 18 May, 20197 yr by DJBlobby