You’re kinda ugly and your standard 115-hp 2.0L 8-valve engine (later to be known as the “two-point-slow”) was hardly an inspiration point. Sorry, Mk 3, I’m placing you at the bottom of the heap for desirability. All the same goodness – precise steering, brilliant ride-handling balance and hatchback utility – with slicker body panels and some interior revisions. Not so much a new car as a refresh of the Mk 5. A cool collector piece if you can find one that hasn’t been thrashed. Price in Canada for the 20 th Anniversary GTI was a staggering $34,150 - nearly $8,000 over the regular 1.8T. These cabins still hold up, with their cool blue illuminated gauge cluster, elegant design and premium quality plastics.Īdding insult to injury, VW launched the 20 th Anniversary GTI in 2003, which was mechanically identical to the 337, just with different wheels and three available colours, Imola Yellow, Jazz Blue and Black. He demanded interior quality that had never been seen before in this segment, and royally kicked suppliers keisters to deliver what he wanted. Both were fitted with a five-speed transmission - leather interior and 17-inch alloys optional.įerdinand Piech, the guy responsible for, oh, the Audi Ur Quattro, Porsche 917 and, most recently, the Bugatti Veyron, had his mitts all over the Mk 4 Golf. The GTI was soon rolling into showrooms with either a 150-horsepower 175-lb-ft 20-valve Audi-sourced 1.8L turbo-four or the 2.8L VR6 making 174 horsepower and 181 lb-ft of torque. The Mk 4 GTI was originally launched in North America burdened with the “two-point-slow” 2.0-litre 115-horspower tractor engine, but that was mercifully a very brief dip into the Marianas Trench of lame-osity.
I’m placing it in fifth because I bought a VW GTI GLS 1.8T new in 2001, I still own it, and I like it. The Mk 4 is generally considered the most un-loved of GTIs. All accompanied by a hilarious “Un-Pimp Ze Auto” ad campaign wherein a white-suited nutty German and his mini-skirted sidekick destroy overly customized hot hatches in the most spectacular ways. Super-cool plaid seats are standard, and optional is a six-speed DSG dual-clutch auto.
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All the parts come together in a dynamic whole - and those parts include a new stiffer structure with a first-for-GTI multi-link independent rear suspension, standard 17-inch alloys, six-speed manual and a lusty 200 horsepower 2.0L direct-injection turbo four-cylinder. I’m placing the Mk 5 in third spot for importance. Volkswagen gets serious and the GTI regains its mojo. This is car I wish I still had.Īfter decades off course, the fifth gen marked redemption time. A raucous little nutter and rare as chicken lips. Built from only 1990 to 1992, the 2.0L 16v was a helluva swan song for the Mk 2 GTI. I purchased one immediately, with the optional crank sunroof. A very satisfying offering, but when were we going to get some real performance to match those GTIs tearing it up on the other side of the pond?įinally, a GTI that was fast. Initially launched with a 100-hp 1.8-litre four, the Mark 2 put all the classic GTI moves in a slightly larger, rounder and considerably slicker package. Named Motor Trend ’s 1985 Car of the Year, the ’85 Golf GTI brought a new level of refinement to the proceedings. In the hierarchy of GTI importance, I’m placing the Mark 2 in second spot. After two years of youthful abuse, my Rabbit GTI’s clutch started slipping, so I traded it in on a fresh Mk 2 GTI. Still, this seminal tinderbox drew me into the GTI fold. The car wasn’t particularly well-built, and fifth gear was so short the little four-pot spun a lofty 3,200 rpm at only 100 km/h (VW added a taller top gear for 1984). List price in Canada was just a few bucks under 10-grand.
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Much inspiration came from reading a rave review in the Car and Driver magazine kicking around the studio. Working as a studio bass player in Toronto at the time, I purchased a black unit after playing on a radio jingle for the then-new 1983 Rabbit GTI. Yet with a 90-horsepower 1.8-litre engine, close-ratio five-speed, 14-inch alloys and sport-tuned suspension, it was ours.
Granted, we had to wait six years for the “official” North American version – the Rabbit GTI – and, yes, our Pennsylvania-built car paled somewhat in comparison to its European brethren.
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I’ve rated them for importance and desirability, and have also thrown in a few personal notes, having been a serial GTI owner for quite some years.įirst spot goes to the original, the watershed Mk 1 GTI. Listed chronologically are the seven generations of GTI that have graced our showrooms. Article contentĪh, but in North America we had to wait - until 1983, actually. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.