When my brother in law offered me his 1999 Golf MkIV GTI with only 34,000 miles on the clock I had to jump at the chance.
I had only been in it previously as a passenger, but I found the seats extremely comfortable and supportive, the interior was very high quality with none of the cheap ... Read review
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Advantages: Outstanding build quality, tons of extras, Solid and dependable Disadvantages: Not the fastest GTI, expensive parts,
When my brother in law offered me his 1999 Golf MkIV GTI with only 34,000 miles on the clock I had to jump at the chance.
I had only been in it previously as a passenger, but I found the seats extremely comfortable and supportive, the interior was very high quality with none of the cheap plastic I was used to in my previous cars!
As my brother in law lives in London, the Golf was used very little, averaging around 4200 miles a year. ... ...only done 2,400 miles since the year before!
Once I had taken delivery of it, I found it very smooth, the steering and pedals give a good amount of feedback (which I fine crucial to enjoyable driving) and the brakes are sharp and precise. It is solidly built, and so much bigger than the last car I had (renault 5) that I feel as if I am driving a tank! There is plenty of boot space, and lots of legroom (and headroom) for rear passangers. ... more
When my brother in law offered me his 1999 Golf MkIV GTI with only 34,000 miles on the clock I had to jump at the chance. I had only been in it previously as a passenger, but I found the seats extremely comfortable and supportive, the interior was very high quality with none of the cheap plastic I was used to in my previous cars! As my brother in law lives in London, the Golf was used very little, averaging around 4200 miles a year. In fact, when I checked the service history, it had only done 2,400 miles since the year before!
Once I had taken delivery of it, I found it very smooth, the steering and pedals give a good amount of feedback (which I fine crucial to enjoyable driving) and the brakes are sharp and precise. It is solidly built, and so much bigger than the last car I had (renault 5) that I feel as if I am driving a tank! There is plenty of boot space, and lots of legroom (and headroom) for rear passangers. The air conditioning and CD player with 6 disc changer are some fun toys I haven't had before, and even without the extremely efficient Aircon the cabin seems well insulated and quiet. The Dash lights up with a cool blue glow that the needles stand out very well against.
The Multi function display is either going to save my life or cause my death - it has so many different displays - Time, Journey time, Momentary MPG, overall MPG, outside Temp, Av speed - that I spend most of my time driving looking at it and switching between them! However the same device is probably going to save my life and my wallet by showing me my MPG - Whereas I used to drive as quickly as I could, now you can see me crawling along in fifth attempting to average over 40MPG! At motorway speeds, the Average can get up to 50-55MPG - but it doesn't last long once you are back on the b-roads.
As for performance well, its quick, but somehow not as quick as I was expecting. The turbo seems to come on boost between 3500 and 4000 Rpm, which equates to a pretty large Turbo lag, so it seems to be even slower. When overtaking you really have to make sure you are prepared; drop a gear, rev hard before beginning your maneuver. The Gear lever is notchy but positive, and seems to be happier gong up through the gears than down. The whistle from the turbo is noticable when accelerating hard, and always brings a smile to my face.
Once the turbo spins up, it certainly can shift, but it never blows me away, I have been a passanger in a MkII 8v Gti and a MkIII VR6 and both seemed a faster ride.
To cover the (very) few bad points, the engine seems to struggle a little at low revs, when pulling away I find myself having to press the accelerator a little further than I would normally expect. Perhaps this is due to me not being used to such a heavy car. The only other gripe I have is with the Anti-lock brakes. Again, this is the first car I have owned with ABS, but I do find that it kicks in under circumstances where I don't feel I need it.
As for overall cost, parts and servicing can be expensive (even though the service at my local VW dealership was excellent), and even with the Multi-function display I still feel as if I am spending more on petrol now than I have before. Other reviews have said the insurance was costly, but the 1.8T model is only Group 10, and changing my insurance for the remainder (6months) of my policy from Third party on a 1.7ltr Renault 5 to Comprehensive on a 1.8Turbo Golf cost a mere £70. I might get a bit of a shock when I come to renew my insurance, but I doubt it.
So in conclusion, a reliable, safe, secure, reasonably fast, heavy, well made automobile.
Advantages: Easy to drive,fun,low rev acceleration,design. Disadvantages: Wallows on big bends
My Golf 1.8T GTi is the best car I've ever had. 2 years on and 50,000 miles I enjoy driving it now as much as when I first had it new. It's a company car. Having test driven a Passat, Mondeo, Vectra, Volvo S40, Audi A3, I chose the 5-door Golf. Easy to drive in town, fast, good handling, good looks, pleasant on long journeys. The reason I most like it is it's easy to live with, it's not the fastest car on the road, it's not got the best sports handling, ... ...I've not found one to match it.
It's acceleration is good, especially at the low end of the revs, in other words, I don't have to work the engine up the rev counter to accelerate. Think about this when reading reviews in car magazines. Some cars will have a better 0-60 acceleration but often this isn't used in day to day driving, we don’t all want to push the revs up to the red line. Similarly, the car doesn't have a particularly firm sports ...
tgtips 29.04.2001
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Volkswagen Golf IV 1.8 T GTI
Advantages: fast, fun and comfy - the perfect drive Disadvantages: expensive insurance and parts can be costly
I bought my X registered GTI T 150 in September 2004 for £8,000 and it had 69,000 miles on the clock with full service history. Drawn in by the fact that it looked beautiful in silver, was a four-door car and was a dream on the test drive I couldn't argue about the price. Inside the car is well built with everything in place for comfort from the plastic spring loaded cup holder to the deep Recaro seats that keep you firmly in place when cornering ... ...that you could fall asleep in them without any problem. The steering wheel is hand stitched leather and really easy to grip and from a driving point of view you don't have to lean or bend to reach the light adjusters or the CD player that comes as standard. At 6ft tall I can reach the pedals easily and don't have to have the seats pushed right back meaning that in the rear you can fit two strapping 6ft blokes and they will also have plenty of legroom.
...
campfreddy 05.10.2007
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Volkswagen Golf IV 1.8 T GTI
Advantages: Smooth handling, reliable. Disadvantages: Boring, has little character, expensive price and insurance.
I am a learner driver, and am insured on my mother’s Golf GTI. Luckily for me, thanks to my mother’s work circumstances, this is free – unfortunately, learner drivers should expect to pay up £6000 for insurance on this car. The Golf GTI is a beast – about a tonne of metal and smooth German engineering. Being a diesel car only adds to the power under the hood, and some may find 6 gears a little daunting. The gearbox is smooth, as is the power steering. ... ...responsive – I would say that the breaks, in my car at least, are just a touch too sharp. The clutch pedal throbs just a tiny bit, not enough to be noticeable or off-putting but enough to appreciate the engine. The acceleration pedal does not require as much pressure to achieve the desired revs – it is very responsive. The engine is smooth and demands respect, but unfortunately the Golf doesn’t live up to it. It’s becoming an increasingly common ...
Manic_expressive 22.07.2007
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Volkswagen Golf IV 1.8 T GTI
Advantages: Quick, Spacious, Comfortable, Good looking Disadvantages: fuel consumption
This car is fantastic. Comfort is fantastic and on long journeys that is a welcoming sight. It is very quick and once you get over the turbo lag it really lifts its game! my car is a year 2000 and it has had hardly anything needing replaced in that time. Everything on it is hard wearing and the build quality is superb. I did have a problem with a leak which was caused by my sunroof ducts being clogged but after sorting that i havent had any problems ... ...go right too cold but it didnt take much to sort. On both the motorway and back roads the car holds the road perfectly and it feels very safe to be inside. It doesnt bounce around and just feels lovely. Fuel consumption isnt the best around the town but it still gets around 26MPG and on the motorway i get around 42MPG which is fantastic. It is gorgeous to look at and both inside and outside were well thought out! All the controls are easy to find ...
Snarlin 04.09.2008
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Volkswagen Golf IV 1.8 T GTI
Advantages: Prestige, build quality Disadvantages: Small rear space
Whilst company cars are becoming less and less attractive, imagine the joy of being handed a list of over 100 cars and being asked to choose one. It's like being a kid in a candy store. So why choose the Golf over any of the other cars I could have chosen?
1. At the time, the MK IV Golf had just been launched and so there was the obvious appeal of having something totally new. 2. There was the badge prestige - in my book VW Golf beats Vauxhall Astra ... ...Focus Zetec interested me, it wasn't as powerful and, being a bloke, that was important. Still is!
4. It came in at the top end of the cars I could have chosen, so while I couldn't go for all the options, the very fact that it was one of the more expensive cars on there meant it was always going to be a contender.
So that was what persuaded to get one in the first place, but how has it been since?
Well, in 20,000 miles that the car has now done, ...
DevilsAdvocate 31.08.2000
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Volkswagen Golf IV 1.8 T GTI
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