(first posted 2/13/2014) You are looking at the car that oversaw the decline of Volkswagen’s fortunes in the US market, but don’t hold that against it. The teal jellybean parked in the background to its right, though admittedly newer, better illustrated what American buyers wanted in a small car. VW, of course, wasn’t about to throw out what made its forebear such a sensation, but dispensing with the Rabbit name said more about the car than the company’s North American operations could have expected.
Although renaming their famous hatchback Golf was meant to bring a certain maturity to VW’s biggest seller, it not only paralleled Wolfsburg’s slow and steady approach to the small car rat race, but came to describe how Westmoreland ceased to be as fruitful as its original product’s namesake. Wie schade.
No longer desperate to find a new way, VW was confident it could design the car in-house. In a sense, this was a bit dishonest, as they simply took the Italian design and filed off its sharpest edges. Nevertheless, the new shape, penned by Herbert Schäfer, dragged the Golf into the ’80s and while each subsequent Golf series claims a direct connection with the original Mk1, the Mk2’s influence–particularly its trapezoidal rear quarter windows and high tail–is more evident in later cars. Interestingly, all subsequent models borrow their headlight design from the Mk2 Jetta/North American Golf’s rectangular units.
It’s from the rear that Golf II looks most modern today, with its distinctive triangular taillights, license plate trim, fuel filler flap and hatch release looking especially well integrated. Indeed, these elements saved car from looking rustic, like the Mk2 Passat (Quantum/Santana) and Mk2 Polo; or weird, like the Mk2 Scirocco. It is one of Schäfer’s better looking designs, both unmistakable and dignified. The window frames, faithfully copied from the first Golf, added a sense of solidity, with the doors appearing to be made from a single stamping.
When viewed as a whole, certain details conspired to make the Golf look like a product of the late seventies. The small bumpers looked dated when other manufacturers were moving to full fascias, the upright B-pillar gave the car a static appearance, the bluff grille and headlights suggested a scorn for aerodynamic principles, and the front quarter glass seemed to hail from another era. For many European customers, this intentionally unfashionable look made the car seem more purposeful and unpretentious, but in the US, response was decidedly cooler.
Part of this may have had to do with the interior. A space efficient design with supportive seats, it reflected the need for the car to carry affluent Germans families long distances around Europe as they zealously took advantage of their generous Urlaub, but excitement was not part of the equation. The seats and door panels looked appropriate to the mid-80s, but again, the dashboard and headliner belonged to a product from the prior decade.
The lack of pizzazz seemed to reflect the stinginess of the average American worker’s vacation benefits, and with more exciting layouts to mollify drivers on their daily slog to earn enough to pay the era’s high-interest loans, austerity was a hard sell. Those who overlooked the dreariness, however, were treated to one of the most ergonomically friendly designs to date, with seats that forced drivers to sit up and a radio and other switchgear mounted squarely in the driver’s line of sight. There were few excuses for fatigue or distraction in a mid ’80s A-platform VW.
But enough about the design and lack of US market sales success; we all know this was an ultraconservative car, and that the Japanese ruled the small car market during the MkII’s model run. Better to focus on the car’s talents and unique character.
The careful approach to development, begun as the original car gained accolades left and right for its excellent handling, ensured chassis dynamics few could match. The biggest changes versus its predecessor were about two inches of added width, an additional inch of front suspension travel and angled rear axle mounts which allowed for additional toe-in under cornering. I am of the belief that any enthusiast who can afford to do so should own a MkII Golf or Jetta. Drivers of modern front-drive cars–of any recent cars, for that matter–will be struck by the abundance of steering feel and throttle adjustability in particular.
Grip levels are lower than today’s standard, body lean is greater and steering ratios are noticeably slower, but the ability to use available grip is easily superior. The degree to which drivers can sense what the wheels are up to is uncanny for a front-drive car, allowing even a novice to muscle his or her way through slow moving traffic almost instinctively. A very tight turning circle also aids arrogant maneuvering on busy streets.
Compared with the best US market competition (i.e. Honda or Mazda), there was some on-center steering deadness, but even with power assist, heft increased substantially as lock was applied and there was strong self-centering. Bumps were transmitted to the driver’s hands as minor wiggles and while some may not have cared for this latter trait, enthusiastic drivers were always aware when the tires’ capacities were exceeded. When that happened, given the right conditions, lifting off the throttle could allow the back end of the car to step out, neutralizing any understeer, allowing one to get back on the throttle and continue on their way aggressively. It all worked very intuitively, with the main tradeoff for such direct steering being a propensity for torque steer.
Even the ride was better than what many other cars could offer, with ample suspension travel and sufficient damping to match a stout (for the times) structure, though sixteen-valve cars sometimes came in for criticism (likely because the eight-valve car was so pliant). For American drivers who lacked access to cars like the Peugeot 205, this was arguably the best front-wheel drive chassis available. Those who disagree are invited to share exactly what they feel these VWs lacked relative to other cars.
Of course, while ride and handling were stellar, there were other problems. The biggest of these was the gearchange, which was overlight, vague, occasionally balky and coupled with a clutch that retained its very high engagement point. Despite a solid linkage, there was no evident advantage. Bushings would often wear out, while the transmission itself was recalcitrant. VW tended to tune engines for low-end torque and even eight-valve GTIs were given close-ratio gearboxes, making downshifting somewhat avoidable. The mild tuning of other models and popularity of diesel variants also minimized the issue, but it remained somewhat of a sore point.
The introduction of a new sixteen-valve engine finally brought the A2’s drivetrain up to date. Those only familiar with VWs of the past twenty years would find a GTI or Jetta equipped with this high-winding unit quite novel. As a company which prefers increased displacement and turbocharging as a means of boosting power, VW has not sold a competitive naturally aspirated four-cylinder in the US market for a very long time.
When it arrived in the 1986 Scirocco and the 1987 GTI and Jetta GLI, the sixteen-valve brought the first crossflow head to watercooled VWs (finally), offering 123-horsepower at 5800 rpm and 120 lb-ft of torque at 4250 rpm. Like Toyota’s narrow-angle sixteen-valve heads, only one cam (that controlling the exhaust valves) was driven by a belt, with the other slaved to it. VW used a chain drive mechanism for this purpose, while Toyota preferred a more durable gear drive, which VW decided against because of noise. It was a simple design, lacking any variable intake trickery, with long runners boosting low and midrange power. Reviewers of the day nevertheless complained that it failed to deliver at low speeds, but it’s possible they were spoiled the the eight-valve’s solid low-end pull.
The engine was upgraded to two-liters in preparation for family car duty in the new Passat (where its raucous nature and peaky power delivery were unwelcome) and 1990-1992 models boasted 134 horses and, more importantly, 133 lb-ft of torque at similar power peaks. In sixteen-valve form, sixty seconds was knocked solidly into the high seven to low eight-second range, and the quarter-mile reached in the about 16.5 seconds. Eight-valve cars were surprisingly slow, given their very low gear ratios and light weight, with sixty reached in about ten seconds.
It’s a good thing the sixteen-valve cars delivered on their promise of greater performance, because they weren’t particularly refined and the breathless eight-valve cars had fallen well behind the competition, with its variety of turbo, V6 and multi-valve engines. For two thousand fewer 1987 dollars, an Acura Integra, with its vastly superior transmission and smoother engine, threw the VW’s shortcomings into stark relief. By 1988, Mazda’s 323 GTX (which no one bought) posed a very unique and compelling alternative for the same price as the GTI 16-valve, and the Civic matured into a solid and sophisticated surrogate for the more basic cars.
It’s no wonder that from 1988 on, base level Golfs and Jettas essentially got the old 8-valve GTI’s engine, along with its close-ratio transmission from 1990 until the end of production in 1992. Despite these changes, along with good aerodynamics, performance didn’t amount to what buyers might’ve expected and the less said about the three-speed automatic, the better. Other meaningful improvements included a wider availability of fourteen-inch wheels and hefty stabilizer bars (15mm front, 20mm rear) on GL-trim cars. Over the eight year production run, assembly was shifted between different factories while VW frantically juggled option packages, engine management systems, wiring and exterior trim. As such, US-market A2s varied significantly from year to year, to the amusement of VW trivia geeks.
What never changed were the cars’ continued ability to trounce others when it came to chassis dynamics and space efficiency, but competition with other cars was hardly the point by the end of the model run. Volkswagen was doing so poorly by 1992 that it considered pulling out of the US market altogether. Cars were heavily discounted, and buyers consisted mostly of extreme cheapskates and a small self-selecting group of devoted followers. In a market of gummy bears, the small VWs were salted black licorice.
The biggest irony for VW was that its deliberate effort to make the Golf the coldly rational, default European hatchback imbued it with too much character for American buyers, who likely would have stayed away from the dated, austere cars even without the (justified) horror stories of poor dealer service and subpar reliability. Fortunately, the A2s retain a cult following today, with a variety of gas and diesel engines and very easy engine swaps. Proving the soundness of the platform, the Mk2 Golf bowed out with a supercharged 16-valve AWD variant, while the basic elements of its chassis design lasted through the Corrado, A3 Golf/Jetta and B4 Passat’s production run.
Strong aftermarket support remains available for all A2 chassis variants, and examples can be picked up for very low prices, although the chances of finding a clean one are scarce. If there’s any truth to the rumor that German-built cars are of higher quality, note that all Jetta diesels, and 16-valves came from The Fatherland. The same was true of the very unique coupe, which as a two-door sedan with a large trunk and front quarter windows, was a fun example of the awkwardness that characterized Herbert Schäfer’s early ’80s designs.
I myself would accept a Mk2 Golf or Jetta in any variety, but turbodiesel sedans are my favorite. As an anti-car deliberately designed for people who love to drive, A2 chassis VWs are unlike most other objects of automotive lust, with an appeal evident in even the most humble models: just crank open the sunroof, find a winding road and have a fabulous time.
The Mk2 Jetta is kind of an object lesson in why four-door notchbacks ended up losing ground to five-doors in the European market (except for ‘premium’ executive cars). It might have a colossal trunk, but the temptation to wear a bag over your head while driving is hard to resist.
The G60 Limited is kind of a neat piece, although they were very rare indeed. I don’t recall the whole story, but if I remember correctly, Wolfsburg came up with it as an homologation special (presumably for Group A) and then cut it back to a limited edition either because they didn’t think it was going to be enough to be competitive or because they realized they weren’t going to be able to sell enough of them to meet the homologation requirement in any useful timeframe.
A girlfriend of mine wanted to buy a Golf. We were looking at the Mk4 versions which at the time had recently been superceded. I myself was looking at the Bora (Jetta in other markets?) because I liked the saloon shape. She wouldn’t even consider it, despite the fact that it was cheaper than a comparable Golf. It was evidently cheaper because people like my girlfriend just weren’t interested (they weren’t all V5).
Thanks for the article Perry; that sketch overlaying the I and II is a gem. My personal preference is for the Mk1 and Mk4, based purely on aesthetics. Never seen the two door Jetta before.
As far as I know the sedan-Golf was always a Jetta outside Europe.
In Europe the model name (in chronological order) is Jetta-Vento-Bora-Jetta.
Over here, the mk5 sedan became the Jetta. I’m not sure if we got mk2+3 sedans in oz. No VW Merak?
I only know the Maserati Merak, Don. As a matter a fact, there’s also a Maserati Bora.
Yep. I wonder how VW got away with it, but then again the trident Bora was out of production by 1978. With so many different names for the sedan, it seems VW didn’t really give it the chance to develop its own identity.
What blows harder ? A Passat or a Bora ?
He he he. A Khamsin.
Thanks ! (To quote Benny Hill: “Learning all the time”…)
Actually i had a black 1988 Jetta two door. Fitted some really nice shiny lightweight VWVOTEX (Speedline) wheels to it, GTI brakes and GTI front splitter. Combined with a lower suspension setup and a well driven 1.8 carburettor engine i gave most of the Golf Gti a run for their money, especially in the road holding department.
Some people even mistook it for an E30 😂
The MK2 Jetta was nothing to be ashamed off … albeit with the right clothes fitted 🙂
Bit of a shame i let it go …..
“The biggest changes versus its predecessor were about two inches of added width, an additional inch of front suspension travel and angled rear axle mounts which allowed for additional toe-in under cornering.”
….and a front sub-frame…..as shown in your suspension components photos above.
Your message here is quite mixed ~ repeated damnation with faint praise .
I had one of these in the drop top version , it was no fire ball but comported itself very well in daily driving as well as *very* spirited canyon carving .
My Son has a Coupe he stuffed a 16V modified engine into and runs as his favorite Auto Crosser , it’s very competitive although I suspect that’s largely his driving ability .
In the end I agree these are terrific Enthusiast and cheapskate cars , I’m both as well as a long time VW enthusiast , mostly because of the designed in parts that make driving them a pleasure no matter how odd they look .
-Nate
Well, these cars are a unique combination of brilliance and let downs. If you look at my more comprehensive articles, they’re pretty honest about their subjects’ shortcomings. Most cars get slapped with a certain reputation, and people tend to view them as either good or bad, but the truth is obviously different. And a car like the A2 VWs is particularly compelling since it drove so damn well while being so dreary in other ways. That, of course, is its appeal.
In fairness to Perry, this was really very much the same conclusion reached by nearly every English-language review or comparison test of the period, including ones comparing the Golf to European contemporaries like the Peugeot 205 and Renault Supercinq. The repeated refrain could be summarized as, “The Golf is really very good in so many areas — on balance, often the best in its class — that it becomes all the more frustrating that it isn’t better when it so easily could be.”
I would compare it to the report card of a bright student who seems to consistently settle for a lot of “B” and “B+” grades, but still ends up with a better GPA than classmates who excel in particular areas and can’t seem to get their heads around others.
Obviously they were not comparing apples to apples.
Volkswagen Polo Mk2-Peugeot 205-Renault 5 (Supercinq, Le Car)
Volkswagen Golf Mk2-Peugeot 309-Renault 11
I bet the 205 was more agile than the Golf ?
More “light on its feet”, dynamic, sporty ?
The Renault 5 had better fuel mileage I guess.
And was also lighter and smaller.
When comparing hot hatches, it was not uncommon for British testers to pit the Peugeot 205GTi against the Golf GTI even though the cooking 205 was more a Polo rival. The 205GTi was more comparable to the Golf GTI in performance even with the 1.6; the 1.9 even more so.
On the other hand, the 309 shared most of the 205’s attributes in a bigger package. The 309 was also more agile than the cooking Golf and was generally considered more fun to drive, but the Peugeots were always criticized for feeling kind of flimsy even in isolation and I don’t think their repair record was that good.
Oh, I would certainly also prefer an unmolested Peugeot -tree hugger- 205 GTi to a Golf Mk2 GTI.
Recently they compared a brand new 208 GTi to a classic 205 GTi in a magazine. And although the new one is a 200 hp little hatch, the real thrills were gone…They also concluded there will never be such a “dangerous” hot hatch as the good ol’ 205 GTi again.
VWs of that era did one thing well – they had fabulous driving dynamics. But in all other respects, they failed. I owned an 85 GTI that I bought new. It was quite expensive for what you got. Mine had every option but an automatic and stickered in the $12k range. I could have bought a midrange Crown Vic for that price and still had no power windows.
Compared to the 86 and up Accord it was night and day. For about the same money you got power windows, mirrors and all kinds of luxury touches in an interior that made the car look even more expensive than it was. Also, objective performance numbers were as good or better. What you gave up was the subjective feel that the VW gave you. Plus you were not going back to the dealer every six weeks with a new problem.
In short, Honda made you feel like they had undercharged you for your car while VW made you feel like you were paying a premium. I drove several vanilla 85-86 Golfs (service loaners). Take away the special GTI features and it was easy to see why 9 out of 10 would pick a Honda.
Probably I’m a bit odd, and one would say I made a mistake but I choose the VW Golf (GTI) over the Accord when I was looking for a car in ’86 (I especially liked the 3 door Accord they had back then, which unfortunately was eliminated I think after 1989). For me, one of the things I didn’t like about Honda at the time was the trim level “packaging” (shades of the future) where I wanted a fuel injected engine but not power windows or sunroof …they didn’t sell the version I wanted to buy…plus I think I had to go to LXI to get alloy wheels (suppose I could have gone aftermarket)…but the VW seemed to be selling “sporty” where you didn’t need to have power anything (I didn’t even have power steering, which I later regretted having to drive my manual transmission car with no power steering while recovering from broken collarbone (not related to car accident) since mine had the then “wide” 60 series tires. The Honda seemed to be more about luxury especially if you wanted to get fuel injection.(later on fuel injection became standard, but I was buying the car that year, not a few years later). Maybe I should have considered an Integra?
Certainly, I think I have more stories having owned the VW than if I bought the Honda, some good and others not so good, as the car was a “character”. One of the pictures even shows the “3 legged pose” where the outside rear wheel raises up when going around a corner, they were known for that back then. Fortunately I didn’t have any problem with the “self machining” close ratio transmission where a missing circlip could cause your case to start leaking fluid from the transaxle, but I did have some of the other issues which were “par for the course” I guess, part of owning VW. I ended up buying another Golf (A4…I’ve owned an A1 Scirocco, A2 GTi, and now A4 Golf) so overall its worked out for me..but in terms of recommending one, I kind of have to know a little about the person who is asking, since I would say they’re not for everyone, and you seem to have to be willing to put up with some of their foibles (maybe if my transmission ended up self machining I would have felt differently) if you want to own one…not everyone wants to go through that experience, but I guess I still do (and have for the past 33 years since I’ve never owned a non-VW in that time).
Something tells me we could probably be good friends.
You may like my Father even better…he owned a ’59 Beetle…unfortunately it was totaled by a neighbor and he replaced it with a ’68 Renault R10. (maybe explains my attraction for odd cars)…but he’s not a car person (at least not how I think of him…love him just the same.)
Great car for a first driver. I got mine from my grandfather who drove it for about 10 years and had taken care of it pretty well. It was an 83 model with the first generation 1,5 diesel and a four-speed. It was a surprisingly adequate and fun daily driver even at 25 years old, and body lean was nearly nonexistent because someone had installed shortened springs and gas shocks before it was imported. Pretty much the perfect car for the Bulgarian roads – tourquey with very, very cheap and available parts, great in winter cause of the low weight and good traction, low fuel consumption and easy to work on even for a guy with no mechanical aptitude. Also noted the ergonomics – once you get in a few cheap new cars like the Dacia lineup and the chinese Great Walls you begin to appreciate it. I’m looking for a solid early GTI model, but unfortunately around here rust is a real problem – it’s what eventually killed mine. Overall a great little car that kept me safe in more than a few ways than one. Anything over 45mph felt fast and It couldn’t go over 65 without fair wind . Plus with no ABS and bald 13 inch tires you learned the mechanics of braking pretty fast or ended in a ditch. Unfortunately no self-respecting woman would get in something that was 20% paint 30%primer and 50% rust. 🙂 A solid GTD in my mind beats any cheap new compact car available in Eastern Europe. Too bad they are almost impossible to find.
I keep getting responses telling me to write another CC article after my ’59 Beetle COAL and this may have inspired me to do another COAL on the toughest car I’ve ever had and the one I regret selling the most, my 1988 Jetta. It was the 1.8 8v, 5 speed manual and was bulletproof. I bought it in 2007 with 301k, yes 301k. The PO was meticulous and thus it was a great car. I drove it home from Knoxville, TN on the highway at 80-90mph with the a/c on. I put nearly 50k on it and only had a coolant hose flange and an o-ring on the fuel pressure regulator fail. I gave that car hell all the time and it never got less than 30mpg.
I could go on and on but that would give away the article, haha. I love mk2 VWs, I’ve owned a total of four including the 1992 Jetta GLI 16v I’m working on right now.
’59 VW Beetle ? -DO- tell ! I’ve been an Air Cooled Enthusiast since Pops brought home a new 1954 VW Kombi direct imported to avoid the wait and $tealer markup .
I’ve had 1948 ~ 1982 Beetles and am always ready to read stories about them .
-Nate
I did it a while back.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/cars-of-a-lifetime/coal-1959-volkswagen-the-ultimate-car-of-a-lifetime/
VW’s and Audis of that vintage used to be pretty common in the 90’s. They were the first cars to replace the russian metal because they were the only ones cheap enough (at 10 years old and two generations removed they were a dime a dozen in Germany) and reliable enough to be able to be of service and provide mobility to a nation that regarded owning an automobile as an unattainable luxury. My dad still beats himself over buying a new Lada in 89. At that time it cost as much as half an apartment in Sofia. His father had registered himself 14 years prior and when his number came up he gave it to my father. A year later he could have bought an Audi 80 1.9 tdi for a lot less like my uncle did.
The A2 cars did have some plus points. They were very durable, and still simple enough to avoid the maladies of the A4/A5 generations. Another big plus is that the Westmoreland built Golfs got the same dashboard instead of the crappy “Malibu” dash of the A1 cars. I did drive a friend’s 86 Golf a few times and I remember the shifter being a lot slicker than my 78 Scirocco, but the handling was softer.
I still prefer the A1 cars, but the A2 GTI is definitely an 80s classic in my eyes.
I am very familiar with these cars, as I had a 1986 base Jetta gas two door (on which I did a CC a while back) and my dad had a loaded 1986 turbodiesel.
The base car was in fact much better in most ways. All the power options in dad’s car stopped working one by one but to its credit, the car went 400,000 km when mom traded it after dad’s death. It never showed a speck of rust, either.
The cars were solid and felt it while driving. My base gas model drove really well. It was the last car I had without power steering, and although heavy, was beautifully direct.
Dr Piech is quoted as saying, “People buy horsepower, but they drive torque.” This is totally true and the 8V 1.8 litre motor was really a torquer. It ran out of breath about 5000 rpm but around town, it was wonderfully flexible. It was also very smooth. Soviet Canuckistan had very lax emission laws then and my car didn’t have a catocon or even EGR. It got along just fine with just the K-Jetronic system and I suspect it may have had more than 90 hp. It didn’t really matter as the cars were light. There were loads of aftermarket go-fast stuff available for them, too.
The real problem I had with mine was horrid build quality and poor dealers service. Like JP said, the Accord was a much better value for the money and it was my next new car.
That Piech quote is good. Cheers.
Dr Piech is right and why the turbo diesel versions of smaller hatchbacks are such an entertaining drive the torque is there in spades all the time.
Thanks for this detailed look at the Mk2. I have very little direct experience with them, but they certainly cemented the Golf’s role as the absolutely predominant car in Germany (and Austria). Perhaps one of the most significant things the Golf did was to become a “klassenloses” auto (class-less), meaning that in very status/class oriented Germany, it was impossible to make an assumption about its owner. Certain “classes” wouldn’t be caught dead in a Ford or Opel, but the Golf was acceptable universally.
The last time I was back in Austria a few years back, I was surprised at the number of Golf Mk2s still on the streets, especially in the small villages and countryside. Thrifty farmers and such, as well as some kids with warmed-over ones. Nice mixture, and a representation of the Golf’s broad appeal.
This was a consummate “German” car, and it’s not really surprising it didn’t do well in the US.
Just a few weeks after I passed my driving test I took a new 1984 Golf Mk2 GTD (1.6 liter turbo diesel) out for a spin. And back then it was quite an eye-opener since the car of the driving school was a Golf Mk1 with the naturally aspirated 1.6 diesel.
The evolution of 30 years GTD:
1984 Golf 1.6 GTD: 68 hp-98 ft-lb, top speed 100 mph.
2014 Golf 2.0 GTD: 184 hp-280 ft-lb, top speed 144 mph.
I’d rather have a (new) GTD than a GTI, all about personal taste.
The new ones don’t have the same tippy-but-grippy feel or aversion to gadgetry.
The simple looks remain, as do excellent road manners, but you’ll only notice the latter at very, very high speeds. The fun is gone, but at least its replaced by convincing quality. There’s no reason for an Audi, Benz or BMW.
Of course there’s a reason….with an extra bag of money I’d say goodbye to the Golf GTD and hello to the BMW M550d. 🙂
Johannes the guy who directs my movements at work drives a BMW diesel 2.0 with Motosport suspension manual trans, its an old model but he reckons it goes and handles really well.
I think the sheer dominance of the Golf in Europe is difficult to understand for outsiders. Since it’s inception, it has been the class leader in that segment, the gold standard, and the benchmark for all of its competiors, in all its generations. The C-segment is still called the “Golf-Class” in Europe just because of it.
Stylistically, and because of its market dominance, it became a trendsetter with its solid C-pillar. Received wisdom was that a Golf-class competitor had to have a thick C-pillar, because that’s what the Germans bought, and the Germans bought Volkswagens. It’s quite hilarious seeing the competition aping the Golf downright to it’s thick C-pillar. Like the Renault 19.
The Mk IV Golf in 1996 was such a tour de force that the competition had to up the stakes or risk being out of business altogether. Ford invested very heavily in their -98 Focus because of the brutal dominance of the Mk IV Golf. The 90’s were VW:s “fat content” years, when the quality really showed, and the difference between VW and everybody else was apparantly visible.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Renault_19_rear_20071031.jpg
As an “insider” I still find it hard to understand the high regard for the Golf. The Mk1 was great because it was NOT a Beetle, and the Italian styling was classic. The Mk11 was watered down, the Mk3 was dire, the Mk4 was complex ( wonderful detailing and spec, lukewarm dynamics) and by the Mk5 I had totally lost interest. My son came home once with a new company-owned Mk 5 which I naturally looked very hard at. The way the composite doors were constructed seemed pointlessly over-complicated, and visibility for the driver was clearly not a priority for the designers. My son eventually owned an Audi version of the Mk 4, and while it drove very nicely I was never impressed with the engineering or reliability.
Speaking for Northwestern Europe:
-It has always been age-less (when it comes to the owner’s age I mean).
From the 18-year old boy-racer to the oldest people still driving a car,
man or woman, everybody seems to like it.
-As mentioned above: it’s class-less.
-Exactly the right size (not too small, not too big) and it’s practical.
-The H-U-G-E choice of both gasoline and diesel engines.
-From simple grocery getter to a powerhatch (R-models).
-Depreciation has always been lower than any competitor’s model.
-Volkswagen dealers and specialists are everywhere.
-The design is always evolution, never revolution. Don’t screw up a winner.
An older Golf never looks really old or hopelessly outdated.
That about wraps it up I guess.
We should really illustrate that huge range of engines for our American friends. From wikipedia for the Golf mk5:
1.4 I4 16v 55 kW (BCA)
1.4 I4 16v 59 kW (BUD)
1.4 I4 16v FSI 66 kW (BKG/BLN)
1.4 I4 16v TSI 90 kW (CAXA)
1.4 I4 16v TSI 103 kW (BMY)
1.4 I4 16v TSI 118 kW (CAVD)
1.4 I4 16v TSI 125 kW (BLG)
1.6 I4 75 kW (BGU/BSE/BSF)
1.6 I4 16v FSI 85 kW (BAG/BLF/BLP)
2.0 I4 16v FSI 110 kW (AXW/BLR/BLX/BVY/BVX)
2.0 I4 16v Turbo FSI 147 kW (AXX/BWA/BPY/CAWB) (GTI)
2.0 I4 16v Turbo FSI 169 kW (BYD) (GTD Ed30)
2.5 I5 20v 110 kW (BGP)
2.5 I5 20v 125 kW (BGQ)
3.2 VR6 24v 184 kW (BUB) (R32)
1.9 I4 TDI 66 kW (BRU/BXF/BXJ)
1.9 I4 TDI 77 kW (BJB/BKC/BXE/BLS)
2.0 I4 SDI 55 kW (BDK)
2.0 I4 TDI 100 kW (AZV)
2.0 I4 TDI 103 kW (BKD/BMM/CBDB)
2.0 I4 TDI 125 kW (BMN)
Nicely summed up there, but in the UK at least I’d have to add:
– reputation for reliability
Even when a given model hasn’t actually been significantly more reliable than the competition, the perception has remained (bolstered by some clever advertising) that they’re the bomb-proof option.
As an example, the Mk2 Golf benefited from an ad that’s easily among my all-time favourites:
I sort of agree. The Mk5s I’ve encountered are BORING, and the Mk4s are fragile, porky things, with deceptively poor quality. I do like the Mk1-3s, though, with the Mk2 easily my favorite. I only wish they kept up in the powertrain department, as most VW 4-cyls I’ve encountered have been grumbly units.
…and the Mk4s are fragile, porky things, with deceptively poor quality.
iirc the US market Mk4s were built in Brazil, rather than Mexico. My favorite generation from an appearance standpoint. Drove one, and loved the rigid body, good suspension control and the torque of the 2L 8 valve. compared to my then tired 85 Mazda GLC. Ultimately bought a 98 Civic due to the Golf’s problematic reliability record. In retrospect a good move as the Mk4s had an even worse record, failing to even provide simple, established things like ignition coils and window winders that work.
…most VW 4-cyls I’ve encountered have been grumbly units.
I have a 4 cyl Jetta sedan right now as a service loaner (Jetta wagon in for accessory installation). The automotive press has been ruthless in it’s criticism of the current generation low trim Jetta sedan, and every word is justified. Yes, the insturment cluster is less than you expect in even an economy car today. Yes, the interior door trim panels are cheap, hard plastic. That ancient 4 banger, apparently the same mill that was in the Mk4 I drove 17 years ago is in agony when asked to move that heavy car. The roaring and thrashing engine is only made worse by the tranny’s agressive downshifts as it tries to help. The 2L even scores worse gas mileage than the 5 cyl, which I have found to be quiet and torquey. What was VW thinking?
They were thinking the cost was nil on their part to put that engine in for the ad specials and fleet-spec cars.
In my first-hand experience, the mk4’s are a crapshoot, and it doesn’t matter what country they were manufactured in. There were some bad ones, the majority were probably OK and liveable to anyone outside the fire-and-forget toyota crowd. and a few that had very few problems at all. The common problems were kind of annoying but not expensive (window regulators, ignition coils, MAF sensors), and reek of quality control problems at the supplier level to my eyes.
The heavyish steering, the firm and authoritative ride, and low noise levels are all huge positives in my book that outweigh the annoying stuff overall.
We had a mk5 TD service car after we bought the mk4. Completely underwhelming. The mk4 was a 2 litre SE, which I think was an oz-only ltd ed. only problem we had with the mk4 was the front door window suddenly dropping. Bought from a dealer so we were covered, but when visiting my mechanic recently I asked him about a mk4 in his shop. That window problem is paying for his retirement.
When I see a Mk4 Golf now, it looks kind of dated where a MkI Focus hatchback, especially a ZX5 in the right color (it’s one of the few cars that silver makes really pop) still looks fresh.
Australia it’s the Corolla Class that dominates.Between that and the Mazda 3 it’s a neck and neck monthly sales race.We didn’t see The Golf again till 1990 and even then it was a 8 valve 1.8 77kw motor on a GTI.Too little too late when the Japanese had progressed to 1.8 16V FORD LASER TX3/MAZDA 323 ASTINA SP 92 KW,The Short lived Mitsubishi Lancer hatchbacks 90kw from a 1.6 16V,Toyota with it’s Corolla SX Seca and Hatches with 100KW on tap and although not a Hot Hatch in the traditional sense we even had Honda with the Integra second generation model with a 90kw 1.8 16v as a coupe.How could Germany and VW compete with any of that.Fast forward to 1992 and we got the N14 series Pulsar SSS 2.0 Nissan.I haven’t driven a cooking Golf as such but feel it was overpriced against any of it’s opposition,2002 was about the half way point of the Mark 4 series and the quality was there but you paid a premium for it,$6,000 over a 5th generation ordinary version of a Mazda 323 which had by that time the same 1.8 from it’s earlier brother but now available to buyers who could only drive an automatic and $5,000 over any Corolla or Base Astra but by that time this wasn’t their market Golf’s were cross shopped against the equivalent Same Platform Audi,Small Mercedes and Small BMW’s by the time the 21st century rolled around.
I had a PA built Mk2. 5spd,4dr in blue. The interior and body looked good but if you popped the hood or looked underneath it rust ruled. I was scared to touch any metal line because it may crumble.
A 1986 Golf 4-door was my first car after college, something like $2750 at 70,000 miles in the mid-1990s. Japanese cars in decent condition didn’t trade at that price, then, so the competition was things like tired Volvo 240s (with much older suspension components, or engineering, than the Golf).
I always meant to “upgrade” from the Golf, but kept it for 12 years. Some things did go wrong, and it started to rust after being parked on a road where salt trucks dumped on its driver side. But the driving experience was good enough that the $ required to achieve a real improvement continued to favor keeping the car. It was never a speed burner, it could cruise all day between 85-90 mph, and felt good doing it. (Contemporary expectations for isolation seem astronomical, compared to 15-20 years ago!) The car always felt lively and enthusiastic. To me, contemporary VWs feel very leaden in comparison with it (while other small cars feel like video game controllers).
I was surprised when the Golf was stolen, several years too old to have a Blue Book value on it. The police recovered it, smelling too much of pot and beer to be worth cleaning up. But the whole thing left me with a question: after you bust the ignition lock and hotwire a car, how do you turn it off, other than dumping the clutch in 3rd at 0mph with no gas, or running out of gas?
The problem with the Golf in the US was none were German built. They were all PA. or Mexico, and the build quality and materials (especially interior) were inferior to car that Europeans got. Jettas were built in Us, Mexico and Germany depending on year and/or trim level, and engine. I have an 86 Jetta GL I bought in 91, it now has 295k (miles). Same engine and 5 speed trans. The 9a code (close ratio) trans were the ones to avoid. The wide ratio, as in mine were bulletproof. Power windows and locks were also troublesome, and are best avoided. I will drive this car as long as possible. It burns about 1/2 quart in 3k miles. Door handles are junk, I have replaced about 6 over the years. One clutch, 2 sets of shocks, 1 radiator, 1 starter and Alternator. 2 wheels bearings. The paint and interior have held up fine, except for the headliner. Turn signal switch, wiper switch, headlamp switch, 2 fuel pump relays. 2 sets of drive axles. It helps to be able to repair yourself. It’s been a great car. 1.8 Gas engine is slow but good on gas. Tbelt and water pump every 100k. Nice write up Perry I know many other posters have not been happy with their cars. Mine was purchased in 1991 from first owner with 100K.
Today its at 301265 miles. Only sees about 1k a year these days. Hanging in there! I’ll have to write up a CC for its 30th year in my possession next year, it will match my 30 years I got out of my old ’70 C10. Only needed a fuel pump since the ’14 post.
Congratulations!…I’m coming up on 20 years on my A4 Golf, which I bought (20 years ago) after selling my ’86 GTi. Like you I did much of the work on it myself, and it was much easier than on the A4 (particularly timing belt, you don’t have to remove motor mount to remove it on the A2 vs the A4 4 cylinder).
I had the same problem with door handles, and I had the close-ratio transaxle (fortunately no self-machining issues happened while I owned it). I did have fluid leak onto the clutch necessitating replacement also. Other than that, the main issues I had were the quick-wearing seat fabric bolsters in the GTi, which had seat foam dust under them and caused the fabric to quickly wear out, also went through alternator brush/regulator assemblies very quickly (pulsing headlight levels), but very easy to replace. Also had problem with the trip odometer on the GTI, it stripped gears and didn’t work for much of the time. Oh, also the weatherstripping which was attached to that long rubber piece that went from the A pillar to the hatch, couldn’t find in local wrecking yard since I live in sunbelt they were all bad, so had to order from northern yard. It was a good car, nice to drive, but not one that liked to be neglected. I miss it, but probably more so the ’78 Scirocco that it replaced.
I only put maybe 6k miles on my Golf now, but it has been to both coasts (more than once to the east coast) from central US…and it has been my only car for those 20 years. Eventually I’ll sell out and replace it with an automatic car since no one else in my family drives standard and I’m getting up in age, sometimes being too different is a disadvantage. Commented on this same post back in 2014, still haven’t bought any Accord but maybe needs to be considered for my next car.
Good synopsis of the gen 2 Golf. I didn’t appreciate them at the time they were new, but I feel the styling has worn the years well. I also agree they made the Quantum look very elderly. Your point about the dreary interiors was spot-on; they were ergonomically sound and functional (and had great seats and good space utilization) but were rather old-looking when they were new – almost like if a Lada Riva dash had been made with high quality materials.
Personally, I think one of the biggest problems with the A2 Golf in the US was that it debuted right around the same time that Americans started losing their taste for hatchbacks in general. The GTI was certainly a desirable and revered car here, but we never had a real “hot hatch” movement like Europe experienced. And while there were quite a few cars that fit that description available here in the mid-late 80s, the only one that made a big splash (aside from the GTI) was the Civic Si. Fastback-style hatches like the Integra were deemed acceptable for much longer, but from this time onwards, squared-off hatches became increasingly viewed in the mainstream as cars solely for poor people and college students. This might be changing somewhat now, but Americans have long held an irrational belief that any two-box hatchback must be too small a car. For instance, Jetta = acceptable, Golf = too small. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s the way it is. Even the Civic hatch was only available here in poverty-spec trim from the 5th generation until it was pulled completely, and for a long time Volkswagen was the only manufacturer selling a car of this type on these shores.
I can’t find any sales figures, but didn’t the A2 Jetta do fairly well here? Subsequent generations certainly did, and it remains a popular car today, while current Golf sightings are comparatively rare. This all bugs the hell out of me, because I’m a big fan of cars like this.
IMO, the styling wasn’t so much out of date as it was distinctly evolutionary. I don’t think most Americans are style conscious enough to shun it for being somewhat conservative. If anything, that’s usually a bonus here except when it comes to something truly revolutionary. Take, for instance, the E28 5-series, which was even more of a 70s throwback and immensely popular right until the end of it’s run. I think the changes from Mk1 to Mk2 Rabbit/Golf could be compared to the 1st and 2nd generation Honda Accords. The overall shapes were extremely similar, but one was clearly a 70s design and one clearly an 80s design.
Great article, though! I sometimes go back and forth between it and the original, but I usually consider the Mk2 my favorite Golf of all time. I’ve long wondered when it would finally get it’s CC day in the sun.
The last thing I want to add is that, as someone else mentioned above, I think the Golf’s appeal in Europe is partially the same kind of appeal that fullsize American cars had here in the 1960s; they could be all things to all people and actually pull it off. A 1965 Chevy could be a six cylinder Biscayne or it could be an Impala SS427 and both were good cars. In Europe, I believe they had engines ranging from a carbed 1.3l up to the fuel-injected, supercharged 16V (in a limited number of cars). There was the Rallye Golf, the Golf Syncro, the Golf Country (that would be an awesome CC find!) and even an electric version. Breaking down all of these and the other incarnations of the A2 platform would actually make a pretty good CC article, too – although some of the more obscure variants would be tough to get pictures of.
I loved my ’91 GTI with its great handling and a tossable chassis…even on busted shocks and tires. Though I would have preferred a 16-valver, the 8-valve seemed peppy enough with its close-ratio transmission and smooth (if not noisy) revs to redline. If I had the money that I had back then, I could have made a pretty nice car from it.
Have you ever heard of the annual (since 1981) Wörthersee Treffen in Austria ?
Volkswagen GTI Heaven ! Go to YouTube and search worthersee, that’s enough.
This was last year’s specialty, the VW Design Vision GTI with a 503 hp 3.0 liter twin turbo V6.
Good call on VW’s inability to create a good NA 4 cylinder. I wonder how difficult it would be to strip the turbo from the new 1.8L. 140-150 hp sounds just about right for an entry-level engine, with the 1.8T as the mid-grade.
I wonder how difficult it would be to strip the turbo from the new 1.8L.
Probably close to impossible as the engine appears to be designed from day one for the turbo, the way the exhaust manifold is built into the head, with liquid cooling, to control the gas temperature in the turbo, and a second, electric, coolant pump to cool the head after the engine is shut off.
Without the turbo, the 1.8 probably would not be able to pull anything larger than a Polo, which isn’t imported to the US.
They were thinking the cost was nil on their part to put that engine in for the ad specials and fleet-spec cars.
Problem is, anyone who drives a 2L Jetta is going to come away with the impression that VeeDubs are slow, noisy cars. Not the impression you would want for a product that you position as a premium small car. Even the high zoot Jetta GLI in the dealer’s showroom, with a $30K sticker, suffers the same cheap hard plastic door panels. VW got rid of the beam axle on even the cheapest Jettas for this year. For my money, they would have been better off keeping the beam axle and putting the money into a better engine instead. As it is, the dealers have a model they probably have to discount more than average to move at all, and the owners probably get hosed on resale.
Dropped off the 2L loaner this afternoon when I picked up my wagon. Salesman asked how I liked it, as I was considering suggesting it to my elderly Aunt, for whom the simple insturment cluster and controls would be an asset. I told him “it’s OK 80% of the time, but 20% of the time it’s really working hard” (like when small pressure on the gas has the trans drop two gears with a thump, and the engine roars at 3,000rpm). I think, if my Aunt wants to get serious about a new ride, I’ll suggest a 2010-11 Focus: more powerful engine (twin cam 16 valve, 11ft/lbs more torque, 25 more HP), in a 200lb lighter car, better performance and better mileage.
In 1989 I rented an ’89 Golf in Spain for a three-week working photographic trip. It wasn’t the run-of-the-mill Golf as it had really nice Reccaro-like seats and a decal on the back indicating elevated status. Aside from the great seats, and maybe wider tires, it was a stripper. No power nothing. Carbureted. 1600 cc. The engine compartment looked like it was missing stuff – compared to my injected ’78 Rabbit.
But this car was one of the greatest drivers I have ever driven. The steering (manual) was precise and entirely suited to Spain’s mountainous terrain. Never did I have to do a hand-over bit. The 5-speed’s ratios were perfectly chosen. The car cornered in a flat and confident manner. Yes, the thing was a slug, but it wasn’t unlike any race car I’ve driven, it required that you maintain momentum. But the car gave you the tools to do that. Loved that bitch. Glad I didn’t have to own it beyond the lease agreement.
I bought an ’87 Golf 4 door GL new after searching for a month or so to replace a civic that was totaled in an accident.
I wanted a Civic wagon because I needed room in the back to carry equipment for my job. Honda’s were very popular and all the dealers were selling for sticker price, no negations. The sticker price was thousands more than I was willing to pay. After I walked out of the third Honda dealership, I decided to return to my VW “roots”. The golf I bought didn’t have any extras except AC and I’m glad that I didn’t get them since it was most of those that seem to have contributed to the unreliable reputation VW got. I put about 190-200k miles on the car over the next 5 years because my job required me to drive all over Southern California with periodic trips to Nevada and Arizona thrown in for “the fun of it” all the time, loaded with about 300 pounds of equipment. Not once did I ever regret buying the car.
It wasn’t the most powerful engine but I seldom noticed any lack. I was an aggressive driver but, in my opinion most american drivers don’t use the potential in their engines anyway so my 1.8 liter engine did just fine. It was wonderful in stop and go traffic because the torque allowed me to stick it in first or second gear and leave it there until traffic opened up again. I never broke down on the road and to the end, I was able to pay for the car and the maintenance on the mileage I collected from the company I worked for.
This brings up one of the points I haven’t seen mentioned here. I was easily able to maintain this car completely on my own. Most of what needed to be done was pretty straight forward. The parts I needed were usually reasonable in price and the engine was dead easy to reach. With my VW “roots” firmly entrenched in air cool models, this was easily the least demanding VW I’ve ever owned.
There were “problems” with the Golf. The solid, unvented disks on the front never lasted beyond the pad and I just got into the habit of changing them when I changed the pads. It was ridiculously easy to do because they were held on by the wheel lugs with a single large screw to locate them correctly. I could change both rotors and the pads for less than 25 dollars and do it all, from jack up to jack down in about an hour. Another problem with the solid rotors is that they warp very easily if the lugs are over tightened. I solved this by using a torque wrench to tighten the lugs. I even took one with me when I bought new tires. The rotors were so cheap but torquing the lugs increased the wear time on the pad/rotors quite a bit. I think I probably changed the pads and rotors about 2 time a year. I replaced the front wheel bearing 3, maybe 4 time over the life of the car which I think was excessive but, again, it was fairly straight forward to do when I did the brakes. I never had to replace the back bearings but I did clean and grease them when I changed the back shoes which I only did a couple of times. When I sold the car, the back bearing were finally needing to be replaced. I think the heat in the non-vented disks degraded the front bearings so an upgrade to vented disks and larger calipers would have solved most of the issues with the rotors and may have increased the life of the front bearings.
Along with the brakes and the rotors were the CV joints, or more correctly the CV joint boots. They tended to crack easily with the result that road grime invaded the grease and trashed the bearing. I replaced all 4 of the CV bearing at one time or another and all of the boots several times. The outer one’s were a constant problem. Checking the boots for cracks and replacing the contaminated grease should be a part of routine maintenance on these cars. The bearing are pretty robust if they don’t get grit in the grease and the grease doesn’t get flung out of the boot/bearing.
The radiator was not the best design and I replaced it, I think, around 80-90k miles the replacement I installed was a heavy duty after market unit which functioned just fine for the remainder of the life of the car. As I remember, the issue with the original was with how the metal was bonded to the caps which were plastic. The joint failed and leaked slowly at first, getting worse over time until it would fail spectacularly if not caught in time. It was easy for the cars to overheat and warp the heads of the owner didn’t check the coolant level because the slow leak often didn’t go detected until it was too late. I caught mine because I have a history of driving old cars that leak and I’m a bit compulsive about checking the coolant level.
The AC was not great. Our honda would freeze us out even on hot days but this one only managed to bring the temp down to a cool level and never really ever got cold. With enough patience, it would cool things down but it took forever to do it. Maybe this was because my AC was a “dealer installed option” but the installation looked factory and the components were what the factory recommended. In any case it was better than nothing but not by much.
The one major mechanical issue we had was that the cage holding the differential in place within the transmission, was riveted together and these rivets tended to sheer off somewhere around the 80-90 k miles mark. This allowed the differential to move around just enough that the output shaft would pound holes in the transmission case. I was fortunate enough to notice a small leak of gear oil before the hole was too big to repair. The housing is an alloy that needed to be tig welded and if the hole was very bit the case was usually shattered in a large area around the hole, rendering the case unrepairable. At the time this was so common that it was almost impossible to get a used case anywhere in the country and it was cheaper to purchase a new OEM transmission and have it installed than it was to by an OEM case and have the old guts put into it. Even with a case that could be repaired and with me pulling and installing the transmission it was not a cheap repair. (This is something to keep in mind if you are looking to get an earlier MK2 today, particularly if it is a low milage car.) The issue was fixed with a “kit” from VW that replaced the rivet with bolts and lock washers but, of course, it still requires a complete rebuild to do it. I was told that the “kit” was really just the fix that VW instituted on the assembly line in later cars. This was, by far, the most expensive thing I had to do to the car.
I really loved the car. It carried me all around southern California and the desert southwest with my load of equipment for many years without fail. It required upkeep but it wasn’t really particularly hard or expensive to maintain it. The transmission aside, it was very dependable and never let me down on the road ( I caught my transmission problem in my driveway so wasn’t stranded by it either.)
It wasn’t the fastest or the best handling or the roomiest vehicle I’ve owned. It didn’t get the best mileage or have the best handling or … anything else. What it did have was the best combination of all those characteristic that I could find in a single car. It was fun to drive, well balanced, fairly easy on gas, hauled everything I needed, was comfortable on the road for hours on end and easy to keep running. It took everything I dished out and wore itself out doing it almost without my knowledge. Ultimately the general wear and tear caught up with it and the many little things that need to be repaired indicated that it was time to retire the car. We drove it as a backup car for a few years but I finely realized that I was never going to get around to rebuilding the car as I wanted to so I finally sold it. Now, well over a decade later, I still miss it and my son hasn’t ever forgiven me for parting with it before he had a chance to drive it. Maybe it’s time to start looking for one to rebuild before they are all gone.
I have a 92 VW GTI 16v in Tornado Red. Fun. Like I still get excited to take it for a run after owning it since early 2001.
The Recaro seats are perfect. Seriously, I have never been on a more comfy and supportive stock seat.
The Handling a excellent. I added KW coil overs. Lowered about 2.5 inches. All the bits were replaced from CV Joints to Tie Rod Ends and Bushings. Cannot upset this car and it also rides comfortably (not jarring at all).
Other neat additions, a little map light on the dash you swivel, a tight shift kit with weight from Neuspeed. Momo steering wheel and knob. A Zender wing.
The original fragile BBS wheels were replaced with 15″ TSW Stealths by the prior owner. I once owned a new 92 Monty Green one, and I swear looking at those wheels made them bend.. as pretty as they are, I am happy with the TSWs that will not bend on a crack on the road.
It has all that stuff now that I wanted as a Teen in high school. Took me a while, but it is there. Tastefully Modified, not Excessively.
Now it just needs a headliner replacement (yep, the typical “drop”,happened). I bought some faux balck suede that should look nice from Joanne Fabrics.
I love the lack of power crap. It is the ideal package. You have the comfortable seats, a manual sunroof that won’t fail, or power window switches that fail ( my wife’s Forester in only 10 years old.. and her PW switch failed a few weeks ago…).
I kind of lost interest in VW after 1992. The cars were bloated. Too complicated. Too much power stuff.. but it saved them from leaving the USA with the A3 and it’s more Japanese like compared to the A2 packaging.
I have no plans to get something new. I have only been eyeing a old Vanagon with an engine conversion like Bostig or Subaru… because that WBX engine.. too many issues.
Issues I have had? Theres been a few. The original radiator, they suck. 2 over 75k. New dog house cooler, fan switch, etc.
New alternator recently and Sachs clutch kit. New motor mounts, I went for Turn Two. Exhaust and catalytic converter needed replacement, took care of that with a nice Techtonics Tuning one back in 2003, also a stock Cat because I heard the aftermarket sporty flowing ones fail. 2 front wheel bearings back in 140k range. Nothing too major. Transmission was redone by prior owner by 90k, too… it is has been fine for me.. but I think there was some updated parts when they replaced these known to self machine transmissions. I replaced brake pads one time.
The doors leaked a nice pool of water into the back of my driver’s seat. Swished around curbs. So, my friend and I ripped out the carpet, ket it dry, adn added better plastic in the doors. Solved.
Original motor has 180k and never been cracked open in my ownership, but I had records that the original owner had to have the head gasket done at 90k. Seems early.
But there is not anything else out there as cool as a timeless A2 16v GTI. I am sure if I had a Sentra SE-R or Acura Integra.. I would have been drifting about looking at new cars by now, or something more interesting.
The 2 liter is IMHO the coolest GTI we ever received on American soil. Just right. Not too heavy, not too over packaged, tastefully styled with those burley front fenders and the quad light grille. I am getting ready to buy some nice bright Hella H4’s to replace my aging cracked quad lights.
Yeah.. I love it! The slogan when the 92 A2 was released, “The Most Loved Cars in The World”.. maybe better than Farvegnugen. (?)I had the peel off sticker for the window on my 92 16v in Monty Green. I bought this red one because my original one was repoed. Log story short, parents bought it for me, mom had a major financial hardship, I was just graduating high school without a clue about life and paying payments, and she had to volunteer it to VWOA.
I wanted another. 8 years later.. I bought one for cash and never looked back.
I think the 2nd gen Golf only seemed like a step backward visually until the Golf III came along. Then and now I find them and their Jetta counterparts quite unattractive. As a three time water cooled VW owner (well, four time if a Wasserboxer Vanagon counts) I’ve obviously drunk the Koolade a bit, and find our base model Golf VII to be very appealing. And the one Golf 2 that I’ve driven, an 8V GTI, was very sporty feeling for its time. Ironically, my least favorite VW driving experience was a first gen US market GTI.
I had one. A european model 4+e. 1300cc with a tall 5th gear. It was competent at everything, and instantly forgettable. Maybe that meant it was a good car?
I have a long personal history with these cars – the A2 Volkswagens.
I first encountered them when a family friend, with whom I spent a lot of time when I was still in primary school, acquired an early example new. Silver 4-door Jetta, base trim without power steering or air-con, 1.6 carb engine with 60 kW and 130 Nm, and a 5-speed. Because I couldn’t drive it, I had no particularly pleasant associations with it, but no unpleasant ones, either. I do know that this car racked up intergalactic mileages, as the owner was a district judge, and used it to cover an easy 10k km a month in the course of his duties. I also know that they ran that car for years, even after his retirement, and that it was still alive 20 years later (the last time I had contact with them). As with all South African-market Golfs and Jettas (all four doors), it was built locally at Volkswagen’s Uitenhage factory, alongside the T3 Transporter and A1 Golf/Jetta/Caddy, Passat, and Audi C3..
Then, much later, my father came home for lunch in a colleague’s 1.8 16V. I was smitten: it’s the first time I ever encountered a car engine that could rev past 7000 r/min (I haven’t had exposure to any 4A-GE Toyotas at that stage), and the power just stunned me: here was a Jetta that could run with the 325i E30 then in the family fleet. I was privileged to enjoy a drive in this car years later, once I got my driver’s license, and it was just as brilliant to drive as I imagined it would be: a nicer version of the 1.8-litre carb-fed Jetta my father bought new in 1989, with which I spent a significant portion of my early driving life.
That blue 1.8 Jetta of my father’s also ran forever, as did the white 1992 model he bought new (one of the last mk2s to be sold before replacement by the locally-built A3 generation). Our family managed to put more than a quarter of a million kilometers on each one without undue problems. They weren’t particularly great to drive in stock form, though – handling was superb in spite of the skinny tyres, but that 1.8 carbie with its wide-ratio 5-speed was a dog’s breakfast: coarse, noisy, and with a low rev ceiling (enforced by a hyper-conservative carb sizing and very tame camshaft).
All these things were easily remedied, though. The 1992-model became my daily driver in 1997, after a collision which killed my beloved 1989 CitiGolf 1.6 (A1). I kept the drivetrain from that A1 and fitted the higher-revving smaller engine, along with its close-ratio 5-speed, upgraded (GTI “A” cam) camshaft and a twin-choke downdraft Weber carburetor in place of the long-legged 1.8. And then continued to drive it like I stole it…
Thus was my love for hot A2s born. That 1992 Jetta eventually got a turbocharged and injected 16V engine, but by the time it was finished, I’d over-invested so heavily I had to sell it to settle the debt. (This seems to be a recurring theme in my car history.) It was crashed within a week of leaving my hands, and I still regret letting it go: I built the perfect Jetta (for me), but never really got to enjoy it. (This, too, seems to be a recurring theme in my motoring history.)
Then followed a period with an A3 Golf GTI – which only came with the lame 2.slow 8V engine in our market. I’d juiced it up some, but it takes a lot of work and money to get that donkey to perform properly, and I wasn’t prepared to spend more on it in terms of tuning. It ran for a couple of hundred thousand trouble-free kilometers before the bug bit me again…
… but not before taking a detour down BMW M30 lane, and my first 6-cylinder. That engine was a masterpiece, especially with a helping of turbo boost, but it used to lunch gearboxes and clutches like they were service items…
So I went back to what I knew best: an A2 Jetta. My last one. Once again turbocharged, but this time with an 020 gearbox as a cost saving measure. Even after detuning it to only 200 kW and reinforcing the transmission as far as possible, it still lunched gearboxes with depressing frequency. I had that car for a few years, and the only reason I persevered with it was because it wasn’t my daily driver – I’d graduated to a B5 Audi A4 by then. The Jetta was later sold after killing yet another gearbox, and I just had enough.
Once again, I regret letting it go: with a bigger budget, I could have had it working reliably with an O2A transmission, and would have enjoyed more of that excellent driving dynamics (after I fitted my customary James springs, Bilstein dampers, and 205/40R17 tyres). I’ve subsequently had peripheral contact with (by now very old) A2s in my workshop, but that last Jetta ruined them all for me – I just couldn’t enjoy them like I used to, because I knew they could be so much more.
In fact… I just realised: I miss all of my old A2s. But do I miss them as much as the A1s which still hold my heart? Probably not.
Paul’s spot on about the percieved classlessness of the Golf. That played well in Britain as well as Germany, both very class concious countries. There was a halo effect around all German cars by then, all assumed to be well made and reliable. The post Chrysler meger Mercs did for that. Actually the Mk2 Golfs and Siroccos both rusted pretty badly on our heavily salted roads, particulary the sills.