Wednesday 27th March

VW Golf VR6 | Spotted

All the VR6-engined Golfs seem desirable these days - does that also mean the Mk3?

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The collectability of classic VW Golfs isn’t going anywhere now. We all hoped that big-money GTIs were a blip, only for them to sort of stay there. Then go up a bit more. Now, in the Golf’s 50th year, with the manual GTI dead and with any future retro-themed, hot hatchy product going to be electric, those authentic originals are almost certain to remain highly prized. Bad news for those wanting to buy one; great news for those hoping to sell. To many, the Mk1 and Mk2 Golf are the definitive GTIs, and that seems unlikely to change. 

Just as the Mk3 GTI will never, ever be anyone’s favourite. Even with the '90s fashionable and even with some smart-looking examples now around, its lesser-than status seems assured. Not as fun as the early cars, not as easily tuneable (or as handsome) as later turbo models. That’s just the way it is. But the GTI wasn’t the only fast Golf Mk3, of course, because the third generation of Golf also saw the introduction of the VR6. And that’s a very different kettle of fish, not least because it had no predecessor to be endlessly compared with. Back in the early 1990s, the 2.8-litre six was something new for the Golf and something new for hatchbacks generally. Now, with the era of big engines in small cars done, it’s easy to look back on one of the pioneers quite fondly. 

True, the engine may have found its best-loved home in the front of the Corrado, and the R32 may remain the most revered Golf that isn’t a GTI, yet the VR6 remains significant. The near-180hp ensured a level of performance unheard of in a Golf until that time, along with a cultured, rasping soundtrack that a four-cylinder could never hope to replicate. Considered as a shrunken, practical GT rather than a supersonic pocket rocket, there was a lot to like about the VR6. Indeed, such was the reputation established by it that the Mk4 Golf carried on with the 2.8-litre unit before the 3.2-litre R32 arrived. At the time, nobody could get enough VR6 in the Golf. From Mk3 to the end of Mk5 R32, we had 15 years of them in the UK.

Certainly, this example shouldn’t be ignored. Short of a Rosso Corsa 355 that’s polished every day, it’s hard to imagine a red car from the '90s still retaining such lustrous paint, for starters. It looks to have been garaged for every night of its 29 years. The interior is perhaps more dour, though looks equally well preserved. Those perfectly paired BBS wheels (try to name a Golf they don’t look good on) have barely a mark on them.

Somewhat incredibly given the VR6’s reputation as a mile muncher, this Golf has covered just 43,000 miles since 1995 with only two owners. Clearly they’ve been dedicated to the car and its up keep, because this sort of condition doesn’t happen by accident. For a Golf edition that’s widely liked but perhaps not adored, that’s good to see. As a three-door manual, it’s the most desirable spec for collectors (and surely the nicest to drive). 

It’s £10k, too, which doesn’t go very far on planet classic Golf. There just aren’t Mk1 and Mk2 GTIs to find for that money; there are automatic Clippers being offered for more. There are cheap Mk4 2.8s around, but nobody really wants one of those. An R32 with anything like comparable mileage is at least 50 per cent extra, and more like double for the Mk4. While certainly different prospects with additional power and four-wheel drive, a lot of the charm is in that snarling engine first introduced in the Mk3. For a slightly different take on an old school Golf, this VR6 looks very appealing indeed.

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SPECIFICATION | VW GOLF VR6

Engine: 2,792cc V6
Transmission: 5-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 174@5,800rpm
Torque (lb ft): 173@4,200rpm
MPG: c. 25mpg
CO2: N/A
Recorded mileage: 43,000
Year registered: 1995
Price new: N/A
Yours for: £10,995

See the original advert here

[NicoG]

Fond memories of the L-reg VR6 I had around 2002/3 - I used to commute 120 miles daily in it, and with a bit of restraint, it returned (an indicated) 44mpg, which was believable. (fuel was well under a-nugget-a-litre then from memory too., even the high-voltage stuff..)

Mine had the ubiquitous rust patch under the rear window rubber, and I felt it was always a bit lacking in corrosion protection. The one in the article has clearly been looked-after to have dodged the rust 20 years later.

Swapped it for an E30 325i Sport

Edited to add - I paid £1,400 for mine from memory....