I’m always amazed at how many gen1 VW Rabbits (Golf) are still around. Most of them are diesels, which made them more desirable, as they developed a rather cult-like following. Gen1 Jettas are scarcer on the ground, so it was with some pleasure that I ran into this one in a little alley where there are several cottages rented by students.
The Rabbit/Golf Mk1 had a decidedly shaky start out of the gate; the first year was a mess, and it took a few more to get things closer to the level of quality that had been the hallmark of the Beetle era. By the end of its run, it was really feeling solid and well-screwed together, especially the Jetta, which was made in Germany and not at the ill-fated Westmoreland, PA. factory.
My father in law bought a new red Jetta around this time, with the new turbo-diesel engine. I was very impressed at how solidly built that car felt, and it was a great driver too. With 70hp on tap in that light body, it was also decently well-performing, as the little diesel had some decent torque thanks to the boost. I drove it a couple of times and was rather smitten. This one obviously has the gas engine.
My brother in law ended up with that Jetta and had it for a very long time. he was a fanatic about keeping his cars looking perfect, and that red Jetta looked practically new even after close to 15 years or so. It had a lot of miles on it, like close to 200k, and the engine was still in rude health, but I seem to remember him having to replace the transmission.
Unlike the Honda Accord we saw the other day, these German VWs had upholstery that was significantly more durable. Rear seat legroom wasn’t exactly great, but it was doable as long as the front seat wasn’t pushed all the way back. But the trunk was huge.
Well, these Jettas were all about the trunk. VW saw that Americans’ rather brief enchantment with hatchbacks was quickly petering out, so they slapped a big butt on the back of the Rabbit for those damm Amerikaner. That’s the title of my Jetta CC, and it’s been true ever since. the Jetta has outsold the hatchback Golf ever since in the US, and by large margins.
The design language shared with Audi in that time period is quite obvious. and these Jetta “saloons” look quite nice. Save the one extraneous and rather jarring line that runs up the “C” pillars”. Totally unnecessary.
ahhh! that’s my car! It’s For Sale
Good find! My little brother had a first-year Jetta (1980?) 2door with the 1.7 I believe as his first car in the late 80’s, it was a fun little car. Great handling, excellent visibility. He got involved in several minor skirmishes none of which were deemed his fault including a Ford Bronco somehow driving over the front corner of the car but he just kept cashing insurance checks and continuing to drive it. Eventually he sold it someone that told him they were taking it down to Baja Mexico…
You’re right in that these have become mighty scarce. The MkII’s are far more plentiful still but not nearly what they used to be either.
Jim,
Mk2 Jettas are more plentiful than Mk1s.
However, it seems to me that Mk1 Rabbits in general, and GTIs in particular, are more plentiful than Mk2.
At least when it comes to what’s available for sale online.
Does anyone here have a nice, stock/unmolested, Mk1 or Mk2 GTI they want to sell?
The Mk1 and Mk2 VWs were the best small cars of their era, and would work for me today too.
I’d go so far to say that if I could have any new car, it would be a toss-up between a new 86 GTI 8V with manual steering and stereo and A/C, or a new 84 US-spec GTI with just a radio.
” a toss-up between a new 86 GTI 8V with manual steering and stereo and A/C,”…..
That’s exactly the equipment I had on my immediate prior car (’86 GTi…silver in color)…it was a great car….sorry, I sold it after I bought my current (2000 Golf)
I also had the manual sunroof (crank operated). No power windows or locks.
The ’86 had the 1 year only CIS-E engine. However, it also had the self machining transmission issue (they left out a circlip that could cause the case of the transaxle to become a boat anchor)…it was a close ratio transmission.
It was a bit of a handful to drive when I had a bicycle accident in 1992 and broke my collarbone…the manual steering with the then wide 60 series tires were a bit hard when parking especially with the manual transmission.
I replaced the clutch once, servicing the car was pretty easy. I had trouble with the trip computer speedometer cable which kept quitting…also the voltage regulator/alternator brushes, which I replaced multiple times…had trouble with the alignment once but turned out the shop had miscalibrated equipment …took it back 10 times, no exaggeration.
Other issues, had trouble with weatherstripping going bad, it is attached to the rubber roof mounted trim which looks like a huge hockey stick including the “A” pillar section…I had one shipped to me from a northern salvage yard since I couldn’t find one in the sunbelt that was any better than the one I had. Also the seat bolster fabric wore out multiple times, I actually found some OEM fabric, which came in handy also when the seat release cable broke inside the seat.
Sounds like I had lots of issues? Not really , since I had the car for 15 years…currently have owned my Golf for 18.
Nice find, but I always found these a bit awkward-looking next to the classic shape of the Rabbit/Golf, mostly because of that C-pillar line that somebody else mentioned.
I’ve never noticed that C-pillar line before, but now I can’t unsee it. Thanks guys 🙂
Still, a very clean, practical, and attractive design.
I always thought these a tidy, well-executed design. I don’t know a whole lot about the breed, so I can’t say how closely related these Mk1 Jettas are to the ’87-’93 American-market Fox, but I definitely prefer the early Jetta’s looks.
The Fox (“Gol” in Latin America) is actually on a Brazilian-developed longitudinal FWD platform derived from Audi’s contemporary platform – and started life with an air-cooled Beetle engine in its native Brazil!
Thank you.
The original Jetta’s interior looked very rich for it’s price point.
The dashboard looked classy, and the seat fabric looked and felt expensive, I think Paul’s picture does a good job. This is an early 80s car, looks like an Audi 5000 interior!
This fabric, and the door panels, STILL looked rich in the earlier Mk2 Jetta GL (the base Jetta had a 2-spoke steering wheel that cheapened the look)
My abiding memory of these, and GEN IIs, …are dashboards that light up like Christmas Trees and remain lit.
Well…yeah…Jettas and their electrical um…uh…surprises.
They solved that problem in the third generation cars by having the components fail entirely. Nothing says Jetta III like a dead dash cluster and broken power windows.
Yes, yes, but to be fair we must acknowledge they failed completely with German precision, in accord with all applicable DIN standards.
I remember when these came out. I knew what they were, but whenever you said “Jetta” and saw the blank stare on someone’s face you had to follow it up with “a Rabbit with a trunk.”
I think I liked these right behind the GTI among the Mk I Golf/Rabbit varieties. VW was hitting a rare sweet spot, the cars were a little pricey but a screaming deal that was maybe 90% of the driving capability of a 4 cylinder BMW for *much* less money.
The four-door Jetta doesn’t excite me but the two-door looked decent.
I had a 1980 Jetta 2 door sunroof, silver with the lower accent stripe just like the one you pictured. It had a 1.8 GTI motor which I found out after purchase, It did really move along even with its 3 speed automatic. I had totaled my ’77 Rabbit, the rebuilt 5 speed transaxle survived the wreck, the engine block was cracked, though.
Planned to install the 5 speed and needed parts in the Jetta, pulled everything before the Rabbit was junked, but wound up selling it in 1991 when I bought my 1986 Jetta GL, which was a 5 speed with AC which the ’80 Jetta also lacked. Had I not needed AC living in SoCal, I would likely still be driving the ’80 Jetta today.
It didn’t have power steering and didn’t really need it, it handled very well, the interior was high quality, it was built like a little bank vault. The Mk2 is still serving me well. Pictured is the ’77 Rabbit after the wreck.
I never noticed it before Paul mentioned it but if you look closely at the side profile of that Mk1 Jetta (especially a 2 door one) and ignore the trunk while extending the C pillar it does indeed look like a Rabbit.
I recall seeing one for sale several years ago. Haven’t seen any since that one.
Incredible find! I honestly can’t recall ever seeing one of these MK1 Jettas in the metal before, though I do recall many MK2 Jettas around when I was a kid. Those have all but disappeared too now.
I wonder about the “Americans don’t like hatchbacks” thing…a MkI Jetta had so much more *German-ness* than a Westmoreland Rabbit that had been worked over by VW’s Oldsmobile recruits so maybe this car, with its’ more upscale pricing and image, is as much a cause as an effect of that.
Today and in recent years, of course, the opposite is true – the Golf is the full-fat European VW, the Jetta has been Americanized and cheapened as the entry-level offering for markets that demand more metal for the money than a Polo could offer.
That park bench bumper though.
I went digging around for period road tests for the mark I after seeing this survivor here, and found a couple eye opening pieces. For one, I did not realize the first Jetta was a significant step up in price from a Rabbit, about $2,000 in 1980. Car and Driver had an in-depth back to back test of both, and concluded the character of the cars were different enough to justify the increase, mainly due to Volkswagen’s failed promise that the American built Golf wouldn’t change much from the German ones. Superior seat comfort and ride/handling balance were noted. Another article I found was for the Jetta GLi, a model I wasn’t aware existed for that generation. That review was very favorable, noting performance figures matching a BMW 3 series for $8,000 less. It then went on to ask, without answer, if the BMW’s “goodness” was worth that kind of premium?
As for US sales for Jetta vs. Rabbit, mark I sales never even approached Rabbit levels. When the second generation cars debuted for 1985, the Jetta ended up just beating out Golf sales, but from there on out, that gap exploded. I find it rather intriguing such a drastic shift occurred in such a short period of time. Now with sedan sales dropping, that gap is shrinking. From 2015 on, Jetta to Golf sales have consistently been about 2:1.
I’ve predicted elsewhere that the just-introduced Jetta will be the last. It may stay on the market for 10 years in the US and longer in China, but there won’t be another after it, just the Golf in sedan-height and crossoverized versions. It’s a lot cheaper to vary suspensions than body stampings.
I like the design language of these with their upright greenhouses and chair-like seats. I had an ’87 Jetta Carat (top end model) bought in summer 1997. With just over 200k on it, still looked new and even had working A/C plus auto, pw, pm and a manual-crank sunroof. . It was gold with a black interior and had practically the same interior layout as this ’84 Jetta and even the same seat design, in a black/grey cloth that I really liked. The doors closed with a precision feel that no previous car I’d ever own did, and all the switchgear operated so nicely too.
What I didn’t like were the constant and expensive repairs as everything went wrong and the Germans seemed to design this car like a Rubik’s cube, nothing was straightforward to fix. I also found out how much the dealer had been ripping me off and cheating me for repair bills when I finally switched to an independent garage owned by a nice German fellow who specialized in VW/Audis. He was the only one able to fix my fuel injection issues with the strange mechanical CIS system.
I won’t be buying another VW ever again, and I am sad about this because I really like the way the Golf wagons look.
Bought a base trim 2015 Golf Sportwagen 5 speed manual last year with 40,000 kms, 67,000 now. Nearly flawless: one warranty recall for a secondary fuel pump. Average hwy fuel usage 6 l/100 km = 39 mpg. Avoid panoramic sun roof on higher trim versions, they seem to have leakage issues.
So because a 10 year old car with 200k on it had problems you’ve sworn off the brand?
A car that was difficult and expensive to repair, plus a dealer that was terrible to deal with. A friend bought a 2001 Jetta when it was just 4 yrs old and had nothing but problems. Another friend had a ’97 Jetta bought brand new and had lots of problems with it too.
There is little that is difficult (or expensive) to repair on an Mk2 Jetta. These cars are well built and basic and simple to repair. Your problem was the dealership. My German built ’86 Jetta GL CIS car is at 300k miles on original gas engine and 5 speed trans and still runs well. Owned it since ’91. FI repairs over the years, 2 fuel pump relays, injector seals, torn intake air hose, and recently a fuel pump.
I do my own repairs most of the time, and know what to look for if I need a honest mechanic experienced in these cars. It still has decent paint and rip free, crack free interior. The German built versions are well built and designed to last.
My experience is that a Mk2 Jetta or Golf requires very frequent repairs. It doesn’t really matter how difficult or costly any specific repair is, because they add up—not just the time and costs of the repair itself, but the vehicle downtime, getting it to and from the shop, and knock-on inconveniences and disruptions.
Yes, even with a German-built one.
Yes, even with skilled, talented non-dealership technicians.
Anecdotes—yours and mine alike—are not dispositive. So, which of us is closer to being right? Tough to go point to a single source and say “See, toldjya!”, because the Mk2 cars are too old to show up on TrueDelta or other suchlike, but I think probably your experience is atypical.
IIRC: The diesel models were always assembled in Germany; not Pennsylvania or (Gawd forbid!) Mexico?
This assembly point might account for their superior quality control and longevity?
“Ewwww, the Mexican-built ones are poopy, you should only ever get a real, genuine, inherently-superior German-built one” is certainly popular mythology amongst a certain subset of VW enthusiasts. Similar mythology also comes from a similar subset of Mercedes and BMW fans (“Ewwww, American-built ones are poopy…”). It’s mostly based on prejudice, amplified by confirmation bias and enthusiast-forum echo chambers.
I’m not entirely unsympathetic; I struggle with my own negative attitudes toward Chinese-made products—and it is an actual, real struggle not to conflate with reality as a whole my experience and observation, as a product development manager and reporter on counterfeit products and fraudulent safety approvals.
For some reason, though, I can’t recall ever hearing a Subaru enthusiast denigrate the American-made ones and exhort people to insist on Japanese-built. Nor do I recall any such noise in re the much-loved ’92-’96 Toyota Camry.
If you ever closely inspected the build quality of a Mexico built Mk2 and to a lesser extent Westmoreland example, you would easily see the huge difference. Some were so bad the windshields would crack and leak because of poor body tolerances. When the Mexico Mk2’s first arrived, the bad paint jobs, water leaks, rattles, crappy fit and finish were no myth. The mechanics made remarks all the time about the poor quality of the Mexico built cars, and many of the commenters were of Mexican decent. Repairs have been few and far between on my Mk2 in the 27 years of ownership. Did once break timing belt and had to be towed when I first got it, non interference so engine was OK.
There was an ’87 Yugo GV that lived not far from me in the Southeast suburbs of Denver. Its owner drove it daily and was still doing so into the late ’90s. He swore up and down it was a fantastic car, very reliable, almost never needed repairs. If that’s what he experienced, that’s what he experienced—but I think it would be an error to generalise based on his anecdotes and recommend Yugos as durable, dependable cars.
86 GTIs were built in PA.
ALL 86 Jettas came from Germany.
Where I worked, in 1987-88, I owned an 86 GTI. NO issues. Two coworkers had bought new 86 Jettas, one 5-spd, one auto. The owner of the auto hated his car and had to take it to the shop and the 5-speed had some issues also.
I was impressed with the better quality of the “American” car.
I’m inclined to agree with 67 Conti, the Mk IIs were excellent cars in general. But, as with GM cars from the 60s and 70s, which I thought highly of, your experience will vary
Daniel, in this case it’s not a simple lazy generalization. The issue with VW’s Puebla plant were well known and documented, and VW acknowledged it in several trade journal articles back in the day. It took a long time to get it up to international standards.
And it’s not the fault of the folks on the assembly lines and such; they were just assembling parts that were made by local suppliers and using paint and methods as prescribed to them.
This plant had been making VWs only for the domestic market, an essentially closed market due to high tariffs, so quality had been lax. Who was going to complain? But when it started to build cars for the US market, the cars were now much more complex (emission equipment and power accessories, a/c, etc.) and they would end up on the same showroom as European VWs, where the difference was quite obvious. Or would be, with a it of time.
I remember reading in German magazines where VW execs admitted that the Puebla plant and its suppliers needed improvement.
And the situation was somewhat similar with VW’s Westmoreland plant. That whole undertaking was headed up by an GM exec VW hired from Detroit! Bad idea.
It’s possible that VW execs felt that Americans wouldn’t notice the difference, or wouldn’t care, or they just struggled to get quality up in their suppliers and production methods. But clearly adapting the Rabbit to the US market and local production meant that a lot of materials, upholstery, trim, and many other parts and details were significantly downgraded in terms of quality. VW had a lot of problems being competitive with the Japanese on price back then, so they did this largely on purpose.
It’s been an issue with VW ever since. Although their quality has improved (as all manufacturers have), they tend to adapt their US market cars for a more competitive market. They severely de-contented the Jetta a few years back, resulting in aversion that was unique to the US and used the old twist beam rear axle and the ancient 2.0 8 valve engine, resulting in a car that was not competitive (except on price). In 2016, the US Jetta got ts IRS back, and in 2017 the much more modern 1.4L TSi engine.
It’s one thing to say “All Mexican cars are junky”; it’s another to say that VW built at that plant during the 80s and 90s and early 00s were not as high quality as the stuff from Germany. This has been extremely well documented. And the problem has been fixed, as far as I can tell.
Alright. But my main point here is that I don’t think the German-built Mk2s were such hot paragons of durable dependability, either.
The German built V-dubs were “hot paragons of durable dependability” only when compared to the Mexican assembled V-dubs of this time period.
BUT: Not nearly as well built and reliable as a Toyota, Honda or even Lincoln of this time period.
(Just MY opinion)
Reminds me of the 1980 one I had. It was a nice driving car with the fuel injeced 1.6 litre engine. Was originally the ex girlfriend’s. On the first road trip it had the fuel pump burn out (240 000 kms) had an exciting time hitch hiking to Chase BC to find a mechanic and get a new pump installed for $600 in 1990’s money. Made the rest of the trip unscathed. A few months later needed a $240 junkyard motor which cost less to buy and have installed then the afore mentioned fuel pump. Had it for a few years and got really good at swapping the injectors and fuel distributor between it and my German built 1980 GTI with the same motor. Finally the rust monster and other issues forced me to send it to the wreckers. I was always amazed at what you could fit in the trunk. The coming or going look of it grew on me. I only see one around here from time to time. Would have liked a 2 door GLI but never was able to find a good one at a decent price.
So my understanding, 1984 GL were only available in 4 Door. Available with either Fuel injected 1.7L or Turbo Diesel, both available in 5 speed manual, 1.7L was only available with automatic. Depending on the the 7 colors available, either came with blue beige, blue, or black cloth. Optional leatherette, came in beige or black. The crese, was to straighten the c pillar. Coupes had it go the opposite direction. It was also carried over to the Citi Golf in South Africa.