RE: VW Golf GTI 25th Anniversary: PH Carpool
Discussion
Adz The Rat said:
Very poor article, not much in there at all.
The MK4 was by far the worst of the Golf's. Never saw the appeal of the Anniversary, nice seats and thats about it.
IMO it was a good car overall and much better than the Mk3 Golf overall. The Astra at the time was no better overall though the Focus/306 were better in terms of handling/feel the Golf is still the nicest to be in day to day. Comfier and classier than the Astra/Focus/306.The MK4 was by far the worst of the Golf's. Never saw the appeal of the Anniversary, nice seats and thats about it.
I agree it wasn't a class leader for handling and how Clarkson made it his favourite 'hot' hatch of the time I have no idea. It is not exciting to drive in any way and does not like fast driver inputs with different amounts of understeer being all you get. Grip from the 205 tyred models is average but the 225 tyred models are much better IMO. I agree it's a bit soft/wallowy as well but it never feels twitchy or dangerous unlike some cars.
This makes it foolproof and that is why Clarkson liked it!
iloveboost said:
IMO it was a good car overall and much better than the Mk3 Golf overall. The Astra at the time was no better overall though the Focus/306 were better in terms of handling/feel the Golf is still the nicest to be in day to day. Comfier and classier than the Astra/Focus/306.
I agree it wasn't a class leader for handling and how Clarkson made it his favourite 'hot' hatch of the time I have no idea. It is not exciting to drive in any way and does not like fast driver inputs with different amounts of understeer being all you get. Grip from the 205 tyred models is average but the 225 tyred models are much better IMO. I agree it's a bit soft/wallowy as well but it never feels twitchy or dangerous unlike some cars.
This makes it foolproof and that is why Clarkson liked it!
I have tried reminding people before that if they are going to slate the mk4 golf all day long to have a think about the competition at the time, the mk4 astra is awful, the Fiat bravo, awful, the Citreon Xsara - awful, the toyota Corolla , the Alfa 146, MG ZS etcI agree it wasn't a class leader for handling and how Clarkson made it his favourite 'hot' hatch of the time I have no idea. It is not exciting to drive in any way and does not like fast driver inputs with different amounts of understeer being all you get. Grip from the 205 tyred models is average but the 225 tyred models are much better IMO. I agree it's a bit soft/wallowy as well but it never feels twitchy or dangerous unlike some cars.
This makes it foolproof and that is why Clarkson liked it!
There is even a Top Gear group test from around 1998 where they pick the A3 1.8T as first and Golf 1.8T as second ahead of the Pug 306 GTI-6, Xsara VTS, Rover BMR 200, Fiat Bravo HGT, Alfa, etc
http://www.alfa145.co.uk/downloads/Top_Gear_-_Alfa...
Theres two golf gti's worth their money
Mk1 1.8 8v
&
Mk5 onwards
The Mk2 was a mk1 with a restyled shell and only looked right with big bumpers, just a marketing ploy with no handling or performance gains.
the Mk3 was terrible, slow, heavy, dull - even the vr6 wasnt enough to right that wrong
The Mk4 handled like a boat and wasnt particularly fast, the interior was better than the predecessor but wore out very quickly - especially buttons and door handles etc.
Mk1 1.8 8v
&
Mk5 onwards
The Mk2 was a mk1 with a restyled shell and only looked right with big bumpers, just a marketing ploy with no handling or performance gains.
the Mk3 was terrible, slow, heavy, dull - even the vr6 wasnt enough to right that wrong
The Mk4 handled like a boat and wasnt particularly fast, the interior was better than the predecessor but wore out very quickly - especially buttons and door handles etc.
hman said:
Theres two golf gti's worth their money
Mk1 1.8 8v
&
Mk5 onwards
The Mk2 was a mk1 with a restyled shell and only looked right with big bumpers, just a marketing ploy with no handling or performance gains.
the Mk3 was terrible, slow, heavy, dull - even the vr6 wasnt enough to right that wrong
The Mk4 handled like a boat and wasnt particularly fast, the interior was better than the predecessor but wore out very quickly - especially buttons and door handles etc.
That has got to be a joke, I suggest you look at MK2 1.8 16v, 1.8 G60 models and re-evaluate. Both are very capable machines with 139hp & 160hp and in relative terms only a marginal increase in weight 840kg>950kg yet offer a far more modern feeling car with enough creature comforts.Mk1 1.8 8v
&
Mk5 onwards
The Mk2 was a mk1 with a restyled shell and only looked right with big bumpers, just a marketing ploy with no handling or performance gains.
the Mk3 was terrible, slow, heavy, dull - even the vr6 wasnt enough to right that wrong
The Mk4 handled like a boat and wasnt particularly fast, the interior was better than the predecessor but wore out very quickly - especially buttons and door handles etc.
aka_kerrly said:
hman said:
Theres two golf gti's worth their money
Mk1 1.8 8v
&
Mk5 onwards
The Mk2 was a mk1 with a restyled shell and only looked right with big bumpers, just a marketing ploy with no handling or performance gains.
the Mk3 was terrible, slow, heavy, dull - even the vr6 wasnt enough to right that wrong
The Mk4 handled like a boat and wasnt particularly fast, the interior was better than the predecessor but wore out very quickly - especially buttons and door handles etc.
That has got to be a joke, I suggest you look at MK2 1.8 16v, 1.8 G60 models and re-evaluate. Both are very capable machines with 139hp & 160hp and in relative terms only a marginal increase in weight 840kg>950kg yet offer a far more modern feeling car with enough creature comforts.Mk1 1.8 8v
&
Mk5 onwards
The Mk2 was a mk1 with a restyled shell and only looked right with big bumpers, just a marketing ploy with no handling or performance gains.
the Mk3 was terrible, slow, heavy, dull - even the vr6 wasnt enough to right that wrong
The Mk4 handled like a boat and wasnt particularly fast, the interior was better than the predecessor but wore out very quickly - especially buttons and door handles etc.
hman said:
The Mk2 was a mk1 with a restyled shell and only looked right with big bumpers, just a marketing ploy with no handling or performance gains.
This man has never owned or worked on a mk1 or mk2 golf. I have, and i now own a mk4. Il leave it at that as il get angry! The Golf has seen me from passing my driving test through to being 30. It has taught me how a car works, how to build an engine. How to improve and how to ruin.
Why oh why didnt VW fit the front subframe off the Leon Cupra/TT/S3? This almost rids the golf of understeer. Thankfully it will only cost me £200 to do from a breaker.
It also should have been offered with a ko4 blown engine.
With both the above it would have been the GTI it should have been.
The VAG parts bin is an increadable thing for used buyers. Im building a great car for fiesta money. Sure things break at 12 years old. It just means i now know what not going to break as its been replaced!
paultownsend said:
This man has never owned or worked on a mk1 or mk2 golf. I have, and i now own a mk4. Il leave it at that as il get angry!
The VAG parts bin is an increadable thing for used buyers. Im building a great car for fiesta money. Sure things break at 12 years old. It just means i now know what not going to break as its been replaced!
I concur. The VAG parts bin is an increadable thing for used buyers. Im building a great car for fiesta money. Sure things break at 12 years old. It just means i now know what not going to break as its been replaced!
I love knowing I can have parts from much newer models and it certainly helps to upgrade/maintain the older models. I could probably talk all day about the different parts from modern VAG group cars which I have fitted to various mk1/2 golfs, mk1>3 Polos, Corrados, Scirrocos etc which have made significant improvements and in most cases not even cost a lot of money.
paultownsend said:
This man has never owned or worked on a mk1 or mk2 golf. I have, and i now own a mk4. Il leave it at that as il get angry!
The Golf has seen me from passing my driving test through to being 30. It has taught me how a car works, how to build an engine. How to improve and how to ruin.
Why oh why didnt VW fit the front subframe off the Leon Cupra/TT/S3? This almost rids the golf of understeer. Thankfully it will only cost me £200 to do from a breaker.
It also should have been offered with a ko4 blown engine.
With both the above it would have been the GTI it should have been.
The VAG parts bin is an increadable thing for used buyers. Im building a great car for fiesta money. Sure things break at 12 years old. It just means i now know what not going to break as its been replaced!
With the k04 fitted it would have been quicker (ignoring the traction advantage of the 4wd off the line. The system fitted to the mk4 R32 wasnt exactly known for its sideways ability either, favouring understeer) than the R32. 225bhp vs 237bhp and a lot less weight.The Golf has seen me from passing my driving test through to being 30. It has taught me how a car works, how to build an engine. How to improve and how to ruin.
Why oh why didnt VW fit the front subframe off the Leon Cupra/TT/S3? This almost rids the golf of understeer. Thankfully it will only cost me £200 to do from a breaker.
It also should have been offered with a ko4 blown engine.
With both the above it would have been the GTI it should have been.
The VAG parts bin is an increadable thing for used buyers. Im building a great car for fiesta money. Sure things break at 12 years old. It just means i now know what not going to break as its been replaced!
My 1998 mk4 GT tdi has been the most unreliable car ive ever owned. I have now spent so much on it, replacing virtually everything, that i cant justify selling it, so will be keeping it until the very end - which probably wont be that far away judging by the newly recent failing items! Apart from the fuel consumption, i wish i still had the Fiat Coupe 20vt Plus i replaced it with...
aka_kerrly said:
I have tried reminding people before that if they are going to slate the mk4 golf all day long to have a think about the competition at the time, the mk4 astra is awful, the Fiat bravo, awful, the Citreon Xsara - awful, the toyota Corolla , the Alfa 146, MG ZS etc
There is even a Top Gear group test from around 1998 where they pick the A3 1.8T as first and Golf 1.8T as second ahead of the Pug 306 GTI-6, Xsara VTS, Rover BMR 200, Fiat Bravo HGT, Alfa, etc
http://www.alfa145.co.uk/downloads/Top_Gear_-_Alfa...
The Golfs were good cars at the time; unfortunately, the GTI version had a suboptimal front suspension arm geometry from the factory. GTI springs (and particularly the lower anniversary GTI springs) took the front suspension arms out of their optimal range. The anniv. model used stiffer springs to compensate, but with even lower springs, it actually handled worse than the normal GTI. There is even a Top Gear group test from around 1998 where they pick the A3 1.8T as first and Golf 1.8T as second ahead of the Pug 306 GTI-6, Xsara VTS, Rover BMR 200, Fiat Bravo HGT, Alfa, etc
http://www.alfa145.co.uk/downloads/Top_Gear_-_Alfa...
The MK4 R32 received front-end hardware changes to correct the problem. They made a mistake not applying that hardware to the GTIs.
hman said:
Theres two golf gti's worth their money
Mk1 1.8 8v
&
Mk5 onwards
The Mk2 was a mk1 with a restyled shell and only looked right with big bumpers, just a marketing ploy with no handling or performance gains.
I'm not sure where I've read a less accurate statement on PH! I own both a Mk1 and a Mk2 and they are completely different. The Mk1 might look better but the Mk 2 has much better handing and much more performance, the build quality is miles better and it actually stops. Get your facts right. Mk1 1.8 8v
&
Mk5 onwards
The Mk2 was a mk1 with a restyled shell and only looked right with big bumpers, just a marketing ploy with no handling or performance gains.
I owned one of these for 4 years, Silver 1.8T (Petrol)
I still miss that car, i've owned since then, Audi RS4 B7, BMW M3 E92, BMW M6, Merc E63 AMG Estate.
I still have some of my best memories in that car.
Anniversary number 642, if you're still out there and the owner is reading this. Say hello for me
I still miss that car, i've owned since then, Audi RS4 B7, BMW M3 E92, BMW M6, Merc E63 AMG Estate.
I still have some of my best memories in that car.
Anniversary number 642, if you're still out there and the owner is reading this. Say hello for me
I wouldn't consider a diesel varient. Only because i do not have the ability or understanding of the engine.
They should, as they do now, have created two versions. A k03 and k04. The k04 being the Anniverary.
Correct with the suspension arm geomerty Sir. My wishbones sit just above level with OE (old) springs.
Loweering any further would upset the handling. Thats why the TT/S3/R32 has a lower wishbone point to level the arms, and i beleive alter the castor.
My favorite, my old mk2 with mk3 16v running gear and 16v ABF 2.0.
I was worried going from the mk1 to mk2 would be an issue. In reality the mk2 chassis is much more usable and fifined (in 90' spec) for our roads. Well, until you rip out every ounce of sound deadening!
They should, as they do now, have created two versions. A k03 and k04. The k04 being the Anniverary.
Correct with the suspension arm geomerty Sir. My wishbones sit just above level with OE (old) springs.
Loweering any further would upset the handling. Thats why the TT/S3/R32 has a lower wishbone point to level the arms, and i beleive alter the castor.
My favorite, my old mk2 with mk3 16v running gear and 16v ABF 2.0.
I was worried going from the mk1 to mk2 would be an issue. In reality the mk2 chassis is much more usable and fifined (in 90' spec) for our roads. Well, until you rip out every ounce of sound deadening!
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