MotorWeek | Retro Review: Volkswagen MKII Golf & GTi

Gotta love those seats.

[@knitterscheidt]

I had the 1985 1.8L Golf, bought it new, white with black interior, I loved it! I moved to New Mexico a few years later and that car had no trouble climbing twisty, narrow, steep incline roads with the a/c on. I can't believe it was only 85 hp!

[@theskig]

Automatic or manual?

[@eatonjask]

Torque. VW engines are good at torque, and torque climbs hills, not horsepower.

[@averadin]

Thank you motorweek, for filling my work day with these amazing videos. your dedication to your viewers is awesome!

[@hertzair1186]

Tristan ...get back to work.

[@thetreblerebel]

I honestly love 80s Hatchbacks.. they look like you can hop up the engine and get done loud high revs! That's why Honda Civics got so popular in America... It's really the best VWs ever made...by way of Japan. If you ever heard a loud I4 rev to 7 grand plus,it's awesome

[@edwardbianchi192]

A high school classmate of mine had a diesel rabbit 4 door. The his dad bought him an 86 GTI. It was pretty cool. I did not get into VWs until much later in life.

[@djkenny1202]

I have the last and best of the breed.. the 92 MK2 GTI 16v. Never plan to sell it.

[@djkenny1202]

I liked those a lot. I am sure the Turbo would mean faster acceleration than my normally aspirated 16v DOHC motor. Not sure about the long term cost to maintain in comparison. I do not think the turbos are prone to failure too hard and I think a rebuild unit is reasonable to get

[@drc911]

Hahaha. Beautiful machine

[@djkenny1202]

Still love mine. Just put new engine seals, wheel bearings, timing belt, removed the failing EGR (not worth replacing), new hoses, serpentine belt, etc.

[@timw.1485]

I sold my 1990 8V GTI over 15 years ago and I still haven't found one like it. :(

[@djkenny1202]

Yeah, I cannot Part with the 16v. I thought about it. We had 1 child, then another... I am like.. it is quite practical. No reason to sell it. Just got L engine seals, wheel bearing, new timing belt, some hoses, serpentine belt.. I think this is a forever car potentially. It just goes up in value, too. So another reason I won't bother with something new that will lose value. The new ones are not only pricy, but I find them over loaded with things I don't need.

[@rickreid81]

Love the retro reviews! I had an 85 Golf with the 1.8 5spd. Silver too. It was such a great car. I miss it.

[@HesCNile]

I also had an 85 Golf I bought new with the 1.8l and 5 spd. 4 door beige. 179,000 miles in 5 years. Then I gave it to my sister. The only things on it that wore out other than tires and wiper blades, were: 1 fuel pump, 1 heater core, 1 wheel bearing and both front struts.

[@fernandorocha8459]

@@HesCNile l love Golf 85-88 and 85-88. What engine, hp e torque?

[@spandel100]

Only spoiled by the "square type" headlamps...the round lights are more asthetic :-)

[@djkenny1202]

Only stock in the USA 90-92.

[@adamv242]

Loved my Golf.. 4-door 5-speed. Silver base model.

[@g41thomas]

The most common car during late 80s and early 90s

[@Mario_N64]

Not in the US...

[@jgizzy]

The old Rabbit GTI (1983 Retro vid) did the quarter in 17.2 seconds (74mph) - so this is less quick, less nimble, and less fun? Well, it's still a great car even still.

[@kevinjohnson386]

Loved my car sold it and 120,000 miles to a friend he drove it to over 200,000 Mi when the 4-cylinder engine finally developed some problems and he had to turn it in for trash

[@kevinjohnson386]

Wish I still had my little pocket rocket as it was called by Motor Trend back in 1985 as their car the year and believe me at 105 horsepower back then it was a pocket rocket and when you went around corners yes it got up on three wheels

[@masterchinese28]

I had a '86 Golf and then later a '87 Jetta GLI. The latter had around 230k miles by the time I sold it. Old VWs were great and built to last.

[@pguth98]

"Fast quarter mile at 17.5 seconds" Good Lord, our standards were low. Great car, anyway.

[@FantomLightning]

Peter Guthrie Keep in mind there are cars that take that long to just go 0-60...

[@speedrcer1]

Peter Guthrie Yeah, I had one. I see one today and think I might want one, then remember that 103 HP and 9.6 0-60 times are really bad! But in the day, it was faster than any US Muscle. (the Grand National came out a little later. That was faster for sure)

[@SmangItDrums]

Peter Guthrie Times were different in the 80's. Cars were lighter, engines were less powerful due to more crude, less efficient designs (or earler iterations of today's designs), and they had much less technology and luxury. In the 90's, hitting 60 between the 4.4-6.5 range was a big deal. Nowdays, 4.0-4.5 sec 0-60 ranges are pretty common among high dollar vehicles, with cars like the GTI now hitting 60 in roughly 5.5-6.0 seconds.

[@9890jsp]

speedrcer1 what?!! You realize gm had a sunbird turbo, 165 HP 0-60 7.9.. That was 1988. The turbo dodge colt... 1985. The h.o 2.3 155hp engines from gm... We made very well performing cars. I just think everyone has forgotten.

[@frankgarrett242]

Not low, just what was available at the time thanks to tech.

[@donnm6811]

Okay, I had an '86 GTI that I cammed up and put a German exhaust on. Maybe I got 120HP from it at best. This was a new car. But That was then. Restomods are popular with American muscle cars. Why not with GTI's? Put a nice R32 or a new R version 2.0T in an Mk2 GTI?

[@fernandorocha-dx1wv]

Golf, Cabriolet and GTi 85-88 is my favorites. Best small car

[@kevinjohnson386]

I went through in door handle maybe because the Van Andel when you open the door itself opens and pushes down on the ground in this made a pot metal so anyway the funny thing is I was at the junkyard and the guy had a whole box of them brand new and I just kept buying them one after the other and that was the only real defect I ever had with my GTI

[@kevinjohnson386]

The only problem I ever had with my GTI was the pump metal door handles

[@stevenmaginnis1965]

I was eagerly awaiting this car in the '80s more than the Fiero. :-)

[@Nihaowilson]

0-60 in 9.8 secs was stupid fast, back in the day, for any car under $10k

[@rps1689]

It sure was. Of all the cars I have driven and owned, it is the one I miss the most. Just fun to drive and so easy to work on.

[@wernerbloemwagen6878]

Golf - at long last America joins the rest of the World with the correct name!

[@stevenmaginnis1965]

And Canada. It had been called the Rabbit there too. And by the way, the Golf was originally called the Caribe in Latin America.

[@CamdenBloke]

@@stevenmaginnis1965 Ithought the rabbit was the golf witht he air cooled engine?

[@stevenmaginnis1965]

@@CamdenBloke: No, the Rabbit was what North Americans called the original Golf. No Golf or Rabbit ever had an air-cooled engine.

[@AltaSonata]

GTI this was my first car back in 1996. Bought it for $500 and had 180Kmiles, leaky sunroof roof, busted door handles, poor brakes, and reved pretty high at highway speeds.

[@Deanyfromtheburgh]

for better acceleration in fifth,you cpuld always retro fit the 4+E gearbox out the 1.8 carb model for lower revs in top.

[@kevinjohnson386]

I picked on black vs silver and red that got off the car carrier in that year the very first car sold at Columbus Porsche Audi and Bakersfield California

[@nathanpetrohilos]

any chance theres a retro review on the 7th gen corolla ae100 or geo prizm?

[@Vampirebear13]

Yet another video that proves older cars are just better than new. My GTI looks just like this one except it's teal green with a grey velour interior out of a 2001 Jetta GTI.

[@misamisatv]

Try telling that to any new car available now.

[@Escienca]

In Europe, headlights are round and double. I prefer, or maybe I do. 😀

[@blackericdenice]

Can anyone tell me why the GTI make 15 more hp?

[@jbm0866]

Is it just me or do all 80's cars look a little old and worn even brand new?

[@r.i.pyoutube6881]

jbm0866 it’s just you

[@RoadCone411]

The video is slightly faded, so that makes it look older. But I remember when the Mk2s came out, they were quite a bit bigger and more mature than the original Golf/Rabbits. The cabin was typically German but more user-friendly than the Rabbit's. And those seats, love them or hate them, the colorful fabric was a splash of 1980s European trendy designwear, adding color and whimsy to an otherwise drab, dark cabin. I liked them and they separated the GTIs from Japanese competitors for the rest of the 1980s. It took a full decade for VW to replace the original Golf/Rabbit, and almost a full decade to replace the Mk2s, at least in the USA. That was too long and these cars were long in the tooth by the end of their run; with the weak dollar and declining sales, and a paucity of new models, VW almost followed the likes of Alfa Romeo, Renault and Peugeot by leaving the US market. All subsequent Golf and Jetta models have had a 4-6 year sales cycle, more like Honda, Toyota and Nissan.

[@Drmdunn]

I always thought it was just me that felt this way haha.

[@mydsmber05]

Most episodes of Motorweek were shot on video instead of tape which gives an older look. They used lacquer paint so they were generally shinier than they are now, the fabrics and plastics looked just as new and the new car smell was probably stronger.

[@Mario_N64]

You're right. Cars back then looked 5 years old after just a year of use. They deteriorated fast, unless you obsessively tended to them. I rode in a lot of 80s cars, all had that problem. This stopped in the early 2000s.

[@gfree4173]

Loved my 90 golf gl model.

[@kevinjohnson386]

I bought the very first Golf GTI in Bakersfield California in 1985

[@hertzair1186]

Always wondered why it wasn’t marketed under its English translated name “Gulf”...not any odder than calling it Golf.

[@RoadCone411]

Because "Golf" also refers to the sport. In fact, building on this, VW called their subcompact Polo in Europe when introduced in the late 1970s. So, Polo (named after the sport), Golf (double entendre sport/wind), Passat (wind) and Scirocco (wind) were the major vehicles on sale in Europe in the 1980s, the latter three in the US as well. The fact that VW still make new versions of the Golf, Polo and Passat today is quite commendable; think about how often Ford or GM change their model names. Only Mustang is safe with Ford, so it would seem.

[@Clacla8888]

superbe et unique Golf 2

[@8584zender]

Had the 8V Mk2 US model GTI. Built in Pueblo Mexico. Fun car but what a piece of crap. If the part could fail, it did.

[@djkenny1202]

My 1992 16 valve MX built GTI has been great since I bought it in 1999.

[@cargueone1971]

AH / funny this is that those were an extreme step up in quality than the the U.S. Pennsylvania built that build them from the early 80's.

[@marshalmagooo3899]

Mine was built in Pennsylvania. Fun but loved cv axles

[@mikef.1532]

My 91 Mk2 in Montana Green was also built in Mexico. It was fun to dive, but it has so many different problems it took the fun right out of owning it.

[@user-iz3gv5vo6b]

What episode is this?

[@n--r--s--7___9___6]

Grande auto👌

[@SabreLilly.]

I thought the Mk2 had round headlamps

[@griffinsavoy]

Not in the US till later.

[@djkenny1202]

Dburger62 Yeah, that was not until 1990. I have a 92 with the quad rounds. Pretty.

[@stevenmaginnis1965]

European ones had round headlights, and aero lamps came to the standard Golf in 1987.

[@stevenmaginnis1965]

The marketing in North America was ridiculous. VW used two different kinds of headlights to make the base Golf and the Golf GTI seem like totally separate models, yet they were really one and the same, the GTI simply being a Golf with a performance package. VWoA got rid of the Rabbit name because of bad connotations (excessive oil consumption), but it couldn't sell the Golf as all-new because it still looked like the old Rabbit. In Europe, the evolutionary styling was a selling point, but in North America, it made for a confusing marketing environment.

[@djkenny1202]

Steven Maginnis not for VW fans

[@JustinJenseninCurrentEvents]

Good car.

[@thetreblerebel]

Rabbit GTI lol why not!

[@KRAMPUS_G60_16V]

MKII 4LIFE

[@KootBear]

lol, euro headlamps look extremely much better

[@kippaseo8027]

Typical motor week nothing more than a sales brochure on video. The in phocis was on the low volume selling GTI rather than the one that most people got stuck I mean ended up buying. I guess VW told them not to published the numbers of the lesser trim level?

[@insanesoninlaw]

A hare faster

[@boovoo66]

Funny so slow compared to today's gti

[@vo7tage]

***** this review is of the earlier 8v engine...the 16v has the same power to weight ratio as the modern gti.

[@djkenny1202]

I know... I have a 92 GTI 16v. It is pretty quick, and handles like it is on Rails.

[@vinzclortho7766]

wow, an 8v. What a turd. Ugly too.

[@AdamG1983]

Those cars were trash. My mom's went through two engines and she barely drove it

[@drverano1918]

lol trash? this is some of the most sold autombiles on the planet...

[@dranoelr]

Lol, mine has 310.000 km on one motor and is still going strong