  We report on a systematic study of the structural, magnetic and transport
properties of high-purity 1T-VS$_2$ powder samples prepared under high
pressure. The results differ notably from those previously obtained by
de-intercalating Li from LiVS$_2$. First, no Charge Density Wave (CDW) is found
by transmission electron microscopy down to 94 K. Though, \textit{ab initio}
phonon calculations unveil a latent CDW instability driven by an acoustic
phonon softening at the wave vector ${\bf q}_{CDW} \approx$ (0.21,0.21,0)
previously reported in de-intercalated samples. A further indication of latent
lattice instability is given by an anomalous expansion of the V-S bond distance
at low temperature. Second, infrared optical absorption and electrical
resistivity measurements give evidence of non metallic properties, consistent
with the observation of no CDW phase. On the other hand, magnetic
susceptibility and NMR data suggest the coexistence of localized moments with
metallic carriers, in agreement with \textit{ab initio} band structure
calculations. This discrepancy is reconciled by a picture of electron
localization induced by disorder or electronic correlations leading to a phase
separation of metallic and non-metallic domains in the nm scale. We conclude
that 1T-VS$_2$ is at the verge of a CDW transition and suggest that residual
electronic doping in Li de-intercalated samples stabilizes a uniform CDW phase
with metallic properties.
