Introducing Drew's Mk2 Golf GTI 16v

#classic #car #GolfGTI
Drew takes one of his classic cars for a drive, this time it's his Mk2 Volkswagen Golf GTI 16v. Built in 1988 this is a 1.8 litre 16v with 139bhp. Drew argues the case for it being the best hot hatchback that was ever made.

[@McLovinSB84]

My first Car was a the MK2 GTI 16V Executive. Was a 5 door with black leather seats & beautiful red paint job. I loved racing around in it. Handled amazingly & was was to date the most exciting car I have ever driven. The sound of the engine, the feedback. It was amazing. Would give both my testicles to get another one.

[@schifferfoto8659]

OMG, I love the sound of that car. Had one for a couple of years way back in the 90s. Not much weight and a relatively strong engine - lots of fun!

[@HereWeGo38]

A nice example of a true classic, love the colour. Certainly a case of revs, revs and more revs, which is what the 16v was all about. Thanks for sharing.

[@slicer819]

Love 16valvers. Mine's a 1988 Mk2 16V Jade Green GTi Engineering RE2000 with 170bhp and 95000 on the clock, second owner and in original condition. Absolutely love it, fantastic engine. Goes like the clappers.

[@jonathonbrett-qn1ic]

I own a mk2 golf Gti 8v alpine white and love it 118,000 miles still going strong. Great videos thank you

[@handbuiltinengland]

I’ve just bought a mk2 Golf GTI 8v in alpine white with 118k miles! 😂

[@Sorted7]

The mk2 had a special something that allowed it to not look out of place anywhere, it was kind of classless. A nice one could sit happily outside a mansion, a modified one sat on an 18yr olds driveway. They are great

[@nutzonspanners6607]

Great review, after nearly 36 years I still have my Tornado Red Mk2 16v bought new from Jack Barclays (Dovercourt) Battersea in November '87 and with only 56,000mls on it today. Sounds daft today but I ordered all the so called 'extras' (except leather) - Power steering, electric Recaro's, split rear seat, sunroof (that might have been standard?) Air conditioning, which VW never fitted at the factory only in the country of delivery, a Salmon-Diavia unit, at their Thames Ditton branch. a £1,200 extra plus £1,200 for the Recaro's minus £600 VW give you back in lieu of the standard seats they keep? In March 1983 I took delivery of a new RS1600i, in early March 1984 I wrote-off said RS, 10 days later paid out in full by insurance, promptly skipped along to Jack Barclays ordered a new Mk2 GTI in silver. Took delivery September '84, mid 1985 drove to GTI Engineering at Silverstone to speak to Tony Rutter about having a new Oettinger 16v cylinder head fitted.........something like £4K...sod that !! Since the late 1960s I've owned, mostly on a tight budget, some great cars but this Mk2 16v is, as Drew says, the best.

[@Grahame59]

GORGEOUS CAR! I have a Mk2 but an 8v in black. Had it since 1996 and love it. Your handbrake light looks like it's permanently on? You mention the fact that the Golf has the edge of practicality over, say the Peugeot GTi. But it's a winner for another reason - build quality and longevity. Golfs just last. The Pug just can't come close in that department. Nor does the Astra GTE, Escort XR3i, Alfasud Ti or any of its contemporary rivals. I've owned two 'Suds btw (before I got my Golf). Far more character and also brilliant handling but even I would not try and pretend they have longevity.

[@ravenmaster6364]

Drew Wager of the mk1 owners club/ club gti, proper old school enthusiast and a very familiar name in golf circles 👍👍.Lovely car and a great video too , good to see you're still a fan!

[@drewwagar]

Now that was a long time ago. :)

[@ravenmaster6364]

@@drewwagar 👍👍 werent you the registrar Drew? happy days when the mk1 and mk2s were everywhere! take it easy 👍

[@drewwagar]

@@ravenmaster6364 I was the first chairman of the Mk1 Golf Owners' Club - and started the predecessor which was the "Campaign Register" back in the early 2000s! :)

[@zacldimickifZdaDrstx]

As a 16 valve owner I know exactly what you're talking about, the feeling the power at the higher end of the rpms it's worth the wait. the driving is so much more fun than modern car. Great video!

[@geoffclarke3796]

Great video. Back in the 90's, I was fortunate to own a Mk 2 Golf GTI 16V, a 205GTI 1.9 and an Astra GTE 16V and agree with your conclusion that the Golf was the best all rounder. The Astra had the best engine by far, one of the best engines ever fitted to a hot hatch but rather wayward , unpredictable handling. The 205 GTI was the prettiest and the most fun on a twisting road with its go kart handling though it was a bit of a handful if you really pushed it on the period tyres (much less of an issue on modern rubber) but overall the Golf was the best.

[@frederickbowdler8169]

Brought a smile every time I sat in it for fifteen years coil packed up once and a head gasket paint perfect .

[@bazza5699]

love this car.. i passed my test in one.. brilliant :)

[@bobbyfraser9515]

My 1st car was a 1984 3dr mk2 GTi 8v in Atlas grey back in 1998 and I got the bug, the next year I got a decent bonus and I bought a red 16v small bumper 3dr exactly like that. Felt like a king driving it. Belting down the road and looking over to see that lovely red 16v badge on the glove compartment made you know your car was special. Had another 2 red 16v after that 1, 1 with a factory fitted bbs body kit. Spent over a decade driving just them haha Love 'em. Moved on to Corrados now but still 1.8 16v early 1s. Great video, hope you've still got it. Vw forever!

[@colevincent8563]

Very well spoken chap that!

[@ljones396]

I will get my hands on one of these one day. My Dad had two, the GTI and the GTI 16v, then the Jetta 16v when me and my brother came along. I never really got to ask him what they were like to drive, but he obviously liked them very much. (He had two Scirocco GTXs before the Golfs too!) Thanks for the video, it was oddly nostalgic to me, and I can tell how much fun they are to drive.

[@seaskimmer]

Wow, been so long since I've seen one. Drew Wager lore of the GTI 😂

[@allosaurusfragilis7782]

We had one of these for about 12 years. What a great car it was. Totally reliable, great handling. We sold it with about 100k miles on it. The engine was running perfectly. No loss of power. The next guy wrote it off unfortunately. We then got an r32, which we had for the next 10 years. It was even better!

[@chrismc1977]

Now own the spiritual successor with a DC2 Integra R. Loved my 8v & 16v mk2’s though. Best engine mod is a 2L block. With the relatively light kerbweight you really notice the extra torque that 200cc gives. Fit some decent anti roll bars & 280mm brakes & you can run rings round some modern stuff!. Also with some 2L go a 16v will dip below 7secs to 60 & an 8v in the low 7’s. (From experience & being timed properly!) Very respectable!! Hope you got the misfire & idle sorted. Reckon it was running a wee bit shy on BHP in the vid!

[@norfolk-harry1724]

AhoyHoy @Drew Wagar Sir! You didn’t go to Goodwood for the weekend did you?! Love your work as always, most civilised....

[@SledgeFox]

Such a wonderful car you have there! Pristine condition, Tornado red I assume? I loved driving this car, the power at the end of the rev band and the sound, great times like my GTI-I 1.6 model 82, the original. You sir have a great taste, thank you very much!

[@richardcowen5717]

I had an 8v Gti back (tornado read, as well) in the 90s and what a car! Fun, fun, fun. I agree with everything you say in the video. It was the best hot hatch because it could do everything really well. A truly great experience…until it got nicked and I never saw it again :,,,(. Had BMWs after that but average in comparison to this car. Thanks for the video. You brought back so many happy memories. Loved that car :)

[@saddiqkhan5821]

lovely car! I had a mk2 golf c. it was my second car. love the mark 2s. I came from your frontier streams! :)

[@Lambonights]

Beautiful car you have there Drew. :) Never had a GTi but I did have a '79 Mk1 GLS that had a beige interior! Golfs were great. :)

[@User76575]

Cracking video! Still lust after one of these

[@jugeeae]

What a great video! I happen to have exactly similar car with only differences it being LHD with BBS RM 012 wheels. Even the Blaupunkt is similar. Okey -- my paint does not look that good but close enough. Keep it up & cheers from Finland!

[@bribri2694]

I had an 87 Blue Mica GTI 16v here in the US. Roll up windows but with AC and Sunroof. We didn’t get the cool round headlights at the time. I don’t recall it being loud.

[@adams7405]

Own/have owned a number of nice cars including a 335d,Arteon, Audi A4 Lexus and E class,still have a soft spot for my old 16v mk2 which was still taught and tight after 170,000 miles.Oak green with the BBS wheels.And from 5000/7000 RPM it will leave most current diesels for dead

[@KingCast65]

You don't have to tell me brother. My performance VWs included 4 A1 GTi and a 16V Jetta. Lovely cars. Went on to SAABs and BMWs, still drive an '88 535is. Thanks for sharing.

[@ivannachoo]

Wow! You have a really mint mk2 16v!!!

[@pluxauag7555]

"Big Car" channel has all about the Golf. Also the Capri, Escort XR3i...superb channel. Keep up the great vids Drew. The Lancia Stratos and Ford RS200 would be (limited production) the hottest of them all in looks. My vote, The VW Golf GTI Cabriolet wins. What's that Doug DeMuro Channel reviewing, that VW looks weird....the XL-1. Tesla Cyber Truck hits the roads in November.

[@ciartdsfa4899]

Get it ported & polished , friend had one with headwork that made 178bhp, was a great going car.

[@gsylass]

Lovely car! Thanks for sharing :)

[@TheJamesvgnr]

I have the 8v k-jet version.Power is lower down than the 16v,but acceleration is immediate,sharp and strong.You don't have to rev it to get the best out of it,but the exhaust note is still similar to the 16V.

[@ciartdsfa4899]

Had a MK1 8v, with Kent fast road cam, BRD head , Ashley 4branch, autocavan exhaust & otter bits and pieces and tbh you lost a bit before 4000rpm but there up was a riot 💯 sounded real lumpy on idle but super crisp when you revved it, both MK1 & MK2 GTi golfs of both 8v and 16v variety are really good cars, the amount of them with big power 20vt conversions etc are still quite drivable if thought out right speaks volumes about the chassis 😎

[@johnlaw3502]

it is georgious, pls keep doing more.u should be on top gear

[@johnstannard8366]

Nice I had the same colour but an E Reg 8 valve version.

[@bumfluffmcregor3730]

A friend of mine got one of these back in the day I had a Honda crx I had a go and was amazed how slow it was I gave him a go of mine and he sold it the next day

[@drewwagar]

If they're not properly set up they do feel very sluggish, particularly the 16v.

[@deavo74]

Your videos seem to have taken an interesting turn… 👍

[@drewwagar]

Variety is the spice of life I think. :)

[@deavo74]

@@drewwagar Top Gear Drew style!

[@4geraX]

but can it deploy SLFs?

[@jesuschristensen4182]

Golfs are fantastic. My brother has a MK4 with 180000 miles on the clock, still going. Btw you should join top gear.

[@garytwinem5275]

Bet you have your eye out for an Escort RS Turbo next 😉

[@norfolk-harry1724]

Renault 5 Turbo surely....

[@drewwagar]

Too many cars, not enough time. ;)

[@garytwinem5275]

@@norfolk-harry1724 Get a Corsa and rake it around town centres at 1.00 in the morning. 🙂

[@norfolk-harry1724]

@@garytwinem5275 might have been ther, couldn’t say 🙄

[@keyo525]

Have you got the original downpipe which has a muffler- that dampens the rasp on the exhaust.

[@malkyhendry6560]

There's an immaculate one on ebay. 1991 I think it is with low miles for around 19 grand? Is that pricey as I want to buy it. Cheers

[@drewwagar]

Very difficult to price nowadays, but an unmodified mk2 with low miles is a rare thing indeed!

[@h930hec]

Absolutely LOVE my corrado 16v. Same block as the early mk2s and Mk1s, the KR. So fun to rev the absolute tits off of it.

[@djsquibby]

The noise makes it more fun ;)_~

[@Lando-kx6so]

My dad and a bunch of his friends had these back in the day in NYC (my dad still has his). All of his friends had theirs stolen though

[@LaVirek]

Is that Drew’s personal Cobra mk 0,3? 😅

[@curtislongbow]

yes cmdr o7. I have a mk2 gold driver in tornado red. ive got heated washer jets on mine lol. drive safe o7

[@MrBones98]

The best car ever made!!!

[@nerodcs3087]

for some reason youtube seems to have mirrored the video...

[@glenn_r_frank_author]

Is the Cobra Mk III the hot hatch of the future?

[@garytwinem5275]

Cargo bay extension: www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/705446729124618800/

[@davidcooks5265]

Was that Renault fuel injection, the I stands for injection in the GTi so if you haven't got injection then your not a GTi

[@20vTurbae]

It's a shame people only buy them as an investment they were built to be kept and driven

[@squid11160]

The most coveted automobile with Slavic peoples

[@black8art]

My Mk2 Cavalier SRI used to burn my boss' Mk2 Golf GTi every time we used to "race" the 13 miles to/from work.

[@drewwagar]

Was that the 8v or 16v? Even the 8v SRi had 130bhp, enough to pounce on a 8v Golf with only 112. :)

[@black8art]

@@drewwagar "B reg" '85 8 valve, bright red 5 door hatch! (why are all my favourite cars all red?) Like my Mk2 Escort 1.3 Ghia, I had to give her up for financial reasons! ( and I mourned the passing for MANY YEARS!)

[@adams7405]

Vauxhall had the best engines at the time.wouldn't think my SRI was quicker than my GTI Golf's but was far smoother.

[@adams7405]

@@black8art I had a pre face-lift red SRI on a B 1984,later one's Vauxhall quietly dropped the Recaro seats,6 dial instruments and thinned the carpets to save money.A great car

[@glenn_r_frank_author]

farfegnugen

[@schifferfoto8659]

Fahrvergnügen 😉

[@theenglishtrucker1849]

If you would like to make it a bit quieter and slightly better on fuel on the motorway, fit a gearbox from a diesel 1.8L. It fits perfectly you just need an 8v GTi clutch. It will drop 500rpm off 70mph in 5th and its slightly stronger. Also, drill some holes in the bottom of the air box for an awesome intake noise. Hole diameter about same as a 10p coin.