Volkswagen Golf IV 1.8 T GTI

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 ... more

I bought this as a cheap commuter-cum-weekend project (not to mod, but to get back up to scratch). A one owner, straight, but slightly fleabitten ten year old 1.8T GTI 5dr, with 133,000 miles, and a comprehensive service history for £1800. I've only had it a couple of weeks, but it's been enough to form some first impressions. First of all, this isn't really a hot hatch. I believe this model is known as the "Highline" in other markets, and was simply badged "GTI" for the UK, in order to cash in on the British love affair with the hot hatch. When you drive the car, this makes a lot of sense ... more

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, it's probably not the quietest, but as an overall car I've not found one to match it. It's acceleration is good, especially at the low end of ... more

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 at any kinds of speeds. The seats are so comfy that you could fall asleep in them without any problem. The steering wheel is hand stitched leather ... more

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. The controls are user-friendly and accessible. The pedals are very responsive – I would say that the breaks, in my car at least, are just a ... more