The best first car for teenagers - Mk4 golf review in 2022

[@nikolaisedov2295]

I feel like i just watched a 2000s Top Gear episode haha

[@RHanson.]

Haha thank you, the best complement one can get!

[@marcolazza4454]

Confirmed!

[@marcolazza4454]

Btw got the same car !

[@RHanson.]

Cool!

[@darioiff1301]

Hahahahhaha

[@Supraifyification]

One of the most timeless designs in my opinion from the late 90's, this and the e46 3 series are some of my favourites from this era for young people.

[@RHanson.]

Agreed, both beautiful cars.

[@worldhello1234]

It is timeless, classy, hard to improve and easy to rice.

[@kalox3210]

@@worldhello1234 Don't rice the Golf.

[@marcustaylor670]

I've got the E46 coupe and the MK4 Golf with remapped ARL PD150 motor. The Golf does what it says on the tin, it is by no means desirable or attractive but weighing up the cost, practicality, performance and reliability I can't find anything better out there. Thinking about doing my 2nd trackday with it soon. I've got the 330CD for best and it is my favorite, just no where near as good as the Golf as a daily driver.

[@MrTheHillfolk]

Any college town here in the states used to be littered with them. I do alot of driving for work, and I'll still spot 3-5 mk4s a day still riding around.

[@JJ-sj9sb]

I have 2001 1.6petrol and it has been awesome. Owned it since 2019 and I have driven it 80 000km with it. Only basic maintenance timing belt, oil and filter, brakediscs and pads and stuff like that with few exeptions springs, central locking microswitch to driver door, radiator (rusted througs), pcv valve and some bodywork stuff. In my opinion this is perfect car what you can buy cheap, reliable, parts are really inexpensive and easy to get. Because car is old you can do most of this stuff yourself with basic tools and you can find videos for fixing exactly for your car with step by step tutorials :D My car has done 280 000 kilometres (174000miles) and still going strong without any problems not even that check engine light :D

[@katzehvh]

my first car at 18, a 1.9 tdi axr remapped to ~140ps. i'm 21 now and this old tractor still holds very well at 520k kms, i love it!

[@RHanson.]

Ay cool and wow! That may be the most mileage I've come across!

[@demianhamers7595]

i am doing the same, started same age and turning 21 in a month, very nice!

[@pno]

@@Who-cu9eudepends on the motor truthfully

[@mattalki]

I drove a mk4 Golf TDI for 18 years and 400K miles. I bought it new when I was 27. The only reason I sold it was I got an incredible deal on a mk7 Golf TDI. They're great cars for sure! Yours seems to be in really good shape. I really miss mine, as it was my first *new* car. I drove the hell out of it!

[@RHanson.]

Wow that's really cool, you must've looked after it well. I'm sure the Mk7 will do you well too! Thanks!

[@silv6301]

yes they realy are! My whole friendgroup all drive MK4 1.9 TDI's. My mate his MK4 TDi has driven almost 600.000 KM's with the original engine and gearbox. Incredible!

[@RHanson.]

@@silv6301 600 000km, wow!

[@lennerd6]

Damn i got mine when i was 18, used, and its at over 400K KM with original gearbox but the interior is just breaking apart due to the weather in Belgium it unfortunately didn't make financial sense to keep repairing it.

[@RHanson.]

@@lennerd6 Wow and yeah, sometimes changing is the sensible decision

[@JohnSmith-pv1mz]

Was my first car for 8 years. There was something about its size and light weight that made it so fun to drive. It’s a similar feeling to driving a go-kart. You can really feel it when you accelerate and it handles curves beautifully.

[@JohnSmith-pv1mz]

Also the visibility in that car is second to none. Almost half the body is window.

[@DavuxMakesMusic]

Recently bought a v5 mk4 golf for my daily driver. Funny seeing all the differences between the 2 cars. When you started saying there were no cup holders, I honestly thought you just didn’t know they were push panels. Although the back cup holders in the back are about as effective as a table in an earthquake. Great video man

[@RHanson.]

Hahah yeah, I've had so many comments saying that there are actually are cup holders - I think it's just a really low interior spec... cheers mate!

[@dragonfire56600]

I had a 1.4 as my first car. Now I’ve upgraded to a 1.8T. Brilliant cars

[@RHanson.]

Cool! Totally agree.

[@discotequilasunset]

hey i’m thinking of buying a 1.8T what do you think after a year

[@danoV1c]

Things to add: -Engine wise if you don't care what fuel the car uses go with a 1.9 tdi, avoid the sdi unless you want a very slow car otherwise it's even more bulletproof as an engine and gets very very good mileage (both sdi and tdi) , from petrol engines I'd avoid the 1.4 as it has some oil burning issues and it doesn't consume that much less fuel than a 1.6/1.8, so get a 1.6/1.8/1.8t it you can find the later especially, it has huge aftermarket support -Cup holders came from the factory if the person ordered them -it uses the soft touch plastic coating so after 20 years if just scratches and peels off of all of the trim so repainting it is not a terrible idea -it may have some electrical issues just due to oxidation - rear hatch lock or the central lock, those are points of failure but don't cost a ton to fix -avoid automatic gearboxes if you can cause in case of repairs they are a tad pricier to fix All in all I totally agree it's a near perfect first car

[@RHanson.]

Good stuff!

[@knwgt5426]

How to fix rear hatch issue. It’s only electrical part and intermittent won’t unlock , I have a sunroof so thinking it’s leaking drain pipe at rear

[@RGV2300]

@@knwgt5426 "exercise" it with the key, mine had problems until i start doing that, now it works as it should.

[@MrTheHillfolk]

Denatured alcohol, and some rags and brushes to remove the soft touch. It helps to use a soaked rag and press it on the surface for a minute and wipe away. Plain vinyl dye can be used in place ,or leave it bare although it might have some visible scratches and discoloration.

[@nonecked7882]

what about the 2,0 petrol model? do they fall apart after over 200.000 kilometers? i want to buy a mk 4 as my first car. Im looking into either a 1,8 non turbo or the 2,0 model. money wise, the 2.0 will be the best one moneywise, but im not sure about the reliability on it.

[@de9493]

Should be on top gear

[@RHanson.]

Thank you, tho for now I'll stay in 3rd (going over 40mph is scary)

[@GeordieT867]

He really shouldn't

[@dacodawilliams9227]

I saved up and managed to find a mk5 gti as my first car, I got it for $3800, it had already had downpipe and a stage ii tune done, the only problem was the interior was completely shot, but for about $250 I got new seats for the interior and redid the doorpanels in plaid using what old seat material was left, best decision ever.

[@prezzy9349]

keep doing these reviews, you are actual entertaining to watch. And i hope you plan on doing this for a long time.

[@RHanson.]

Thank you, really appreciate that. I do indeed, hopefully make some more reviews soon too

[@jimskis]

I have an Mk4 Golf myself and it's the best first car! It's perfect for me and my small friend group. We all fit in the car even though it's small, and it's so easy to drive!

[@theone3555]

Bro there are cup holders in the back uner the cigarette tray you push it in and it comes out with 2 cup holders same thing in the front and my mk4 has storage behind the back seats and between the two rear seats

[@bv2001]

this happens to also be my first car. Ive had it for 2 years now and its a 2002 1.6 16v 105hp version. My feelings about it are very mixed. First of all, i absolutely love the design of the car exterior and interior and thats one of the main reasons i wanted it to be my first car. Also i got it in the trim i wanted (25th anniversary with 16inch alloys, 3 spoke steering wheel, blue/black bucket-style seats and no plastic trim around the car). The driving position is great, the interior very ergonomic and i love the fact that its a bit "old school" but not old enough so its not still usable today. Its also really practical and spacious, but not too big. Perfect size in my opinion. Plus, that little engine is pretty smooth and capable. I think i have the best time driving it on open roads, with big open turns, at around 80-120kph. Its smooth, pulls great and has good soundproofing for its age. And thats about it for the pros. Now, the cons. I bought the car for about 3800€ with 140.000kms. And that seemed high to me for a car with that mileage, but the maintenance book looked good. I mean, the previous owner has changed many major things that could fail later and it looked pretty well cared after. And my mechanic also checked it and said its a solid car. As it turned out though, it wasnt. Over the last 2 years, this car has been a maintenance nightmare for me. At first, it was little things like a hazard light switch failing, and then a small gas leak or some minor coolant leaks. Later on, the radiator fans failed. So i swapped them. And after that, only 2-3 months later, an oil light comes on. The fuel pump had gone bad, but after it was replaced the car was still behaving weird and still had that light. As it turned out, oil couldn't go through the engine properly because it was stuck on the inside (ont know how to explain it properly). So my mechanic suggested that we would have to replace the entire engine at some point because a rebuild is not worth it. So i just drove the car with a "stuck" engine like that for about 4 months until it finally failed completely. In the meantime though, some other minor things failed here and there and as i result in the 11 months i had the car at that point, it had left me stranded 3 times. I had to call road assistance 3 times in less than a year. And im young, i dont do long distances every day like going to work for example. Ive done only About 18000kms these past 2 years. But yeah i ended up replacing the engine about one year ago, and luckily the engine has been great so far, nothing has gone wrong with that. Its even better than with the last engine when i bought it. But the car overall is not exactly in great shape. The suspension is pretty shit, not very agile. The gearbox is somewhat clunky. The car makes all sort of clunky noizes when driving, either from the suspension or from the old interior plastics, and the steering is VERY heavy, and not good for twisty turns. Its a pain in the ass driving on mountain roads. Oh and i forgot to mention, in the last year only the thermostat has gone bad, although i havent replaced it cause it doesnt cause any overheating issues so its okay to drive. And recently, about 2 months ago, the egr valve failed, plus a battery fuse, and left me stranded once again after almost a year. And thats my experience with that car. A love/hate relationship. I love it cause it drives pretty ok considering its age and i love the looks interior etc, but i absolutely hate it for not feeling confident to go anywhere without worrying about it failing.

[@rien3252]

thats a shame, I guess youre kinda unlucky. 2 years ago I bought one for my sister 30.000 kms (yes I know thats insanely low) for 5000 euros. Nothing major has failed yet and she more than doubled the amount of kilometers. Only thing so far were failing coilpacks that we replaced and the headlight bulbs regularly go out.

[@conorf8091]

The cup holders are revolutionary. I think mine are factory spec. Always fun to bang on about. Also lights in the vanity mirrors

[@RHanson.]

That they are indeed and ay nice, can't say mine are!

[@Es1777s]

I don’t trust them

[@knwgt5426]

@@Es1777s can fit a near full pint of tea or coffee in both holders fine 😂

[@PhynxFN]

the fact you only have 200 subscribers is incredible, you deserve way more

[@RHanson.]

Thanks, really appreciate it :)

[@mimourjm5723]

i had my doubts but not anymore ,i’m buying it. thank you brother

[@erebostd]

The first car i ever bought nearly new was an MK4 Generations with the famous 1.9 TDI and 6 gears. Then changed to bigger cars, faster cars, mercedes and such…today in times of mobile office and pollution problems I’m back to a trusty golf. An eGolf, from the last batch. The best Golf I’ve ever driven, silent, nearly no maintenance and cheap to run - and it even beats the GTI on the 0-50 kmh. 😋👍

[@RHanson.]

Come fully full circle! I've not known of anyone else with an egolf, glad to hear it's good - especially as they're all going to be a big part of the future of motoring!

[@jagunar]

Yeah, your Golf has the basic trim. That's why you don't have cupholders, a three point rear middle buckle, an armrest on the rear bench, or any of the itty-bitty buttons left and right of the hazard lights button. You can tell basic trim from higher trims by the orange painted blinker section on the stoplights - higher trims have the blinker section either white (Pacific trim) or smoky grey (Edition trim). I'll write a quick run-down of my experiences with my MK4 - pros, and cons. My Golf is a 2001, 1.9TDi 90HP Edition MKIV and it has a ton of stuff - AC, heated seats, electrically adjustable side-view mirrors, both cupholders, both armrests, ESP, headlight washers, heated windshield washer nozzles, ventilated glove compartment, rolling windows down/up via key. What still functions to this day, however, is a different pair of shoes - drivers seat heating is busted, headlight washers don't work (aren't probably connected idk never checked tbh), ESP is basically a dead button - but the rest works perfectly well. The plastics are quite squeaky, laced with the rubbery matte coat Germans used during the start of 2000's which peels disgustingly and is sticky / dirty. The central locking goes completely crazy and does some mad shit on its own (windows rolling down on their own even when the car's been sitting for hours turned off, one side of the car locks when you unlock the other side and viceversa). Biggest flaw is their bodywork - very prone to cultivating rust on the wheel arches (especially where the arch meets the side skirt, behind the plastic - gunk, dirt and water collect there as it can't really go anywhere away and your Golf will start rotting there first before spreading along the side skirts and the whole wheel arches (tip: clean behind that plastic every now and then and spray inside with some rust protection)). Steering is quite sporty because of its stiff and tight (in civil terms) suspension which, for a downside, has a very uncomfortable ride when not driving on a perfect road. The car itself looks very attractive when done nicely, not like those silver body/black trim SDI's that look absolutely sad and pathetic. It's extremely utilitarian, it's massive, it's firm, it's built from quality metals and thus much safer than other cars of that age (especially more than some modern cars whose bodywork feels like it was made from a recycled tin can). Finally, the engines - go for the TDi engines. They consume significantly less than the petrols, and their power output is impressive. The diesels (especially SDI's) are a powerhouse that can last well over a million km's with no special maintenance other than mandatory. They're also great project engines with a lot of way to tune it and tune it affordably (my 90 hp TDi has over 500k kms on it and it still accelerates like it has 30hp more). TLDR: MK4'S ARE INDESTRUCTIBLE, ATTRACTIVE , CHEAP TO RUN BEAUTIES. GRAB A TDi AND SAY BYE-BYE TO UNRELIABLE CARS AND WEEKLY MECHANIC VISITS. DO MIND, THESE CARS ARE 20+ YEARS OLD WHICH MEANS YOU WILL MOST PROBABLY HAVE TO KICK IN A FEW DOLLARS FROM THE GET-GO, BUT NOTHING SCARY. GOODLUCK!

[@futreno]

Es una buena reseña 👍

[@jpr123dk7]

There is a Coop holder in the back

[@SlowSTEN]

My first car and current daily is a 2 Door MK4 golf, absolutely love it

[@RHanson.]

Cool!

[@kkaaas7159]

i turned 18 about 4 months ago and 1 month after my birthday my father bought me a mk4 golf tdi alh since i only owned it for 3 months now i cant really say much but at first it was quite a hassle. bought the car end of march or early april and it was quite some work 2 massive holes in the floor battery was fucked brakes needed to be done and some other rust aswell so yeah it was fucked but we bought it fpr 400 EUR and after everything we did we spend (with registration etc) about 1800 EUR on it so yeah it was about 2 months of work to fix it and now im optic tuning it. i just spend 180 EUR on a cleaned tailgate with votex spoiler (looks the best imo) so now we need to figure out how to open it after we install it next things the i will do are angel eyes and blacked out taillights (legal in my country) and 225/35 R18 i think they are the wheels i need to register but the lights i just need to build in. so what exactly was the point of this whole text? tbh idk why i wrote all that buy yourself a mk4 and after a few months it will grow on you (btw 8000 km in 3 months) and for anybody wondering if 90hp my be too less 210nm of torque and trust me you will feel it may not be the fastest and doesnt have the best 0-100kph but it will bring you from a to b and you will have fun with your own little shitbox like i do. (for anybody wondering you would be surprised how tuned some of the mk4's came out of the factory i mean air suspension 19 inch wheels lowered to almost kiss the ground)

[@deepspacetravel9016]

I bought one when I passed my driving test at 18 (for about 2000 £ in 2016 in my native country). It was Diesel. I remember it was soo cheap driving and it had power as well. No major issues at all. Sold it for 1200 £ after 3.5 years. That was my first car. Very good choice

[@RHanson.]

Sounds very good tbf!

[@FragITFPS]

Nice video. First car I ever bought with my own money was a 2003 GTI almost a decade ago. Now it’s a built motor, big turbo monster that never gets driven

[@DesolationTech]

the main thing with these and every other car is maintenence...i had a 1.6 all blacked out version now a 1.8T running 180bhp from 150bhp (AUM block)...no lights on the dash mechanically sound aside from the shock absorbers/top mounts needing to be replaced..ive replaced everything else and she drives absolutely perfect!

[@RHanson.]

Yeah for sure, and that sounds very good indeed, must be nice to have the extra power... also rare to have no lights, my emission light likes to pop on and off randomly!

[@pianoboogie51]

Good video, I got a 2001 polo and found a wireless Bluetooth cassette adapter works well in those radios.

[@RHanson.]

Thanks! Sounds good - they're a good solution.

[@Ankchy]

Bought a 2004 mk4 jetta 1.8t as my first car and I love it so much ❤️

[@ZeldaIsMyLove]

The MK4 golf is IMO the greatest starter/affordable car out there and I will continue to drive one so long as I can.

[@RHanson.]

Agreed!

[@sokolmiftari3887]

i have a mk4 , for 6 years and its a 98 year model , its not fast but in corners i found out i can challenge any newer car ,because its super light it goes in tight corners very fast and easy it weights only 1.250 kg

[@RHanson.]

Oh really that's very cool - will bear in mind!

[@LAZZZl]

Bought the mk4 (2000) 10 months ago. Gotta say definitely a great car. It’s very efficient too in my opinion.

[@RHanson.]

Sounds lovely, enjoy!

[@Bmovie5000]

Great first car choice. When I started driving (sounding like the gen X I am), used vehicles as nice and as solid simply did not exist as options for new drivers.

[@RHanson.]

Thank you! Never thought about that, wonder what it'll be like in another decade or two...

[@gillershot2993]

I have one myself, i have the GTI model and its insane, when i reach high revs and change gear ( manual ) i can hear the stuuuu of the turbo. It looks beautiful and is beautiful. it is also EXTREMELY reliable, i drove over 1 million kilometers or 621 thousand miles so my baby isn't going anywhere any time soon 😂❤

[@chriskakakis1796]

I moved to Greece 14-15 years ago and the first time that I set my eyes on the golf 4, I fell in love with it, still own it still love it, what hasn’t it done, where hasn’t it gone, when it’s time I’ll get a newer one, until then, I’ll keep her!!!!

[@RHanson.]

Nice!

[@chriskakakis1796]

@@RHanson. I wasn’t implying anything, but I forgot to mention that my seats must of been switched, I guess they’re from a gti and they’re recaro seats!!!!

[@lucia-lux]

I switched a brand new car for a golf 4 1.9 101hp, this is still quality and really reliable ! Love it 😁

[@arisaka233]

i’m 18 and i moved to another country with a decent economy that allows me to buy a car the same year i began working, my goal has been for a long time buying a car with all my saved up salaries (i save 90%) i wanted to buy a golf mk3 first, but my family started throwing shit at how it didnt have AC and it was a very old car, expensive parts, unreliability and all of that, then i started noticing there were quite a lot of golf MK4s through my city, i got in love with the grey golf after that and it’s what im after for what i love the most is its mix between curves and boxes at the same time, it is an authentic 1999 milennium transition era, i also love its 90’s car interior, the wheel, non-leather seats (i dont like modernity) and it overall seems to be a really good choice and i’ll probably keep it for a long time because i like it :) started to look for some options recently, saw one for $3400 dollars and i currently have saved up 2/3 of that so my family can loan me the rest until i get that money, cool vid bro :)

[@RHanson.]

Ah nice!! Well if you get one, enjoy!! Thanks :)

[@Birmingham_racing]

I didn't get my first car until my 20s so my first car was a mk4 Ibiza 2003 1.9 diesel 130bhp. My second car was a bora (based on the mk4 golf) and I still miss it sometimes. Put an Apple car play headunit in that will make it much more modern

[@RHanson.]

Ahh cool - almost bought one myself before the settling on the golf

[@carloaugusto9547]

Im about to buy mine and looks exactly as yours. This video made me feel more excited about it. Great video, keep it up with the good work!

[@RHanson.]

Great, hope it serves you well! And thanks, much appreciated!

[@matthewhale2531]

Awesome review - I'm glad I know what car to look for for my viking friends and one where I don't need to sacrifice children going up a hill 😪

[@RHanson.]

Thank you! And they are of course what all people look for in a car

[@MrTheHillfolk]

I'm over here in the states, years ago my cousin got his 1st car from mom , a hand me down 4-5yo(at the time) mk4 golf with a 2.0 and 40k on the clock. Despite blowing every motor mount out probably 3 tines and numerous axles , he drove it for 8yrs and had 210k on it when he sold it. Used hard ans abused,but still cookin.

[@toiletgaming2005]

i got my 1.6 16v mk4 golf for 1000€ 270 000km and still drives AMAZING ive driven many other cars, new toyotas etc but they dont compare to how good the mk4 golf feels to drive

[@ElVatoLoco645]

Although not my first car i got a 2004 golf 2 door with the 2.0 and 5 speed manual. I had recently wrecked my 2002 jetta with the automatic 2.0 and i had a ton of parts i had found in junkyards as mk4s were super common at the time and as soon as i got into that golf i started throwing those parts in there. My favorite time being when i finally got my santa monica gli wheels fitted with tires and slapped them on. Guy i sold it to trashed the interior but fixed the rust and fixed it up mechanically. Almost want to buy it back i still have those old santa monicas at my parents shed.

[@wadderz8060]

My first car is an e92 325i BMW, my absolute favourite thing in the world and such a pleasure to drive. But i learnt to drive in a mk7 GTD and the performance and power in the car along with just the general handling and design/look is incredible. I was contemplating buying my own one for a long time but saw a great deal on my bimmer. Still may get one in the future! Great video lads, really enjoyed it!

[@RHanson.]

Oh nice! That is a great car. And cool, could always be an option! Thanks!

[@JO-cw5xe]

Great review. Fully agree, have one myself, and have fallen in love with it. Has no radio, and was beat to hell, but she is all right now. I am 6'4 and even for me, it is amazing. In 4 years, I only replaced the water pump on my 1.6l sr.

[@RHanson.]

Thanks! Cool - that's good going, hopefully I get similar longevity

[@JO-cw5xe]

@@RHanson. Hopefully your golf is as good( or better) than mine. It's a good car. In my opinion, of course.

[@RHanson.]

@@JO-cw5xe Hopefully! Mine too :)

[@RosarioSound]

Mk4 fan here. Interesting to see all the small differences between markets. I have both a 3-door vr6 4motion (r32 wannabe) and perhaps the ultimate mk4, 130hp PD diesel 4motion estate. Not top spec but with the most important creature comforts. Cheers from sweden!🤗

[@RHanson.]

Indeed, no two are the same (maybe)! Hej, hello from the UK! :)

[@mindaugasmariager1001]

Hey there great video. Just wanted to let you know ive actually bought this car as my first car, it has a 2.0 motor, great car, additional cup holders were a nice addition, plus i got the car used with AC added onto it and that was and still is a very good addition for the hot summers we get. I personally wouldnt want anything else for my first car as its reliable, cheap and very fun to drive. Ive recently added a subwofer in the trunk taking most of the space there, and danm was it worth it.

[@RHanson.]

Cheers! And cool, agreed!

[@gabrielkjellgren7567]

Owned my mk4 1.6 now for 4 years, love it

[@RHanson.]

Great!

[@chipsfilip]

Great video. I just me one just like this today! Your video is very much like the Top Gear style and I love it.

[@allan8524]

My first car was a mk6 gti I’ve had it for almost 2 years and I absolutely love it I’d say the mk4 definitely aged well and I would definitely choose one over a mk5

[@RHanson.]

Ay cool and yeah agreed with that - mk6 gti is a great car also.

[@h3llb0und38]

There are actually cup holders in the back seats, there's a little compartment under the ash tray, if you press that, it pops out, kind of like the ones in the front seats. Mine came standard with them.

[@simonarmstrong3105]

Just bought one! 1.4L but I'm loving it for the week I've owned it so far!

[@RHanson.]

Great! Exciting times, enjoy! :)

[@kalox3210]

I have a Golf Mk.4 from 2002. Leather seats, steering wheel, etc, all in black. My front seats have a little pocket in the back so people who sit in the back can put stuff in. It's pretty efficient to say the least.

[@RHanson.]

Sounds good!

[@davis9045]

Already 1 month of owning a 2000 Mk4 Bora/Jetta .1.9TDI PD 115hp (of course ,some say that the 110hp non-PD version would be better) , 6 speed manual gearbox and just done 357 000 kilometres. Black interior ,3 spoke wheel and a nice looking ,blue lighted dashboard. Not a fan of hatchbacks ,so bought a Golf sedan version :D definetely didn't think that i would buy a VW ,was looking at Audi A4 B5 /B6 ,but saw the Bora for a quite good price (1600 euros) and i think there's not much to worry about for a 2000's Volkswagen ,if it's not rusted out or with bad previous maintenance. Maintenance wise the previous owner has got everything pretty much done -oil change ,filters ,all 4 brake pads and discs etc. Even got it with basically new Continental winter tires ( i live in eastern europe ,so winter and snow isn't a stranger). No issues with rust overall ,a few small spots around the whole car ,but nothing visible. Has some scratches on bodywork ,but for a 22 year old car no issue for me and also it's in the most common silver colour ,so not that visible. :D Quite like the design of it too ,doesn't feel that old. As a first car quite good i think. Not very expensive ,quite basic and powerful enough ,also the fuel consumption ain't that big. Which helps a bit for students who don't have a stable income yet.

[@RHanson.]

Cool! The 1.9 is a sick engine, and yeah sounds pretty decent for a first car!

[@Morgan-un2cr]

My first car is a 2.0 mk4 gti, sat in my drive as i havent passed my tests yet, but im super excited to drive it

[@RHanson.]

Cool! Sure it'll be great

[@homegamerwelder8834]

my 1st car was a mk3 with SDI engine with whopping 68 hp, but it got me everywhere. Sadly it rusted fairly quickly and I had to replace it, so I got a mk5 GT Sport with 1.9 TDI, next one will be mk7 GTI for sure. I love my golfs.

[@alexwilson4112]

My Golf is a mk4 2003 1.6L. That one has a few extra details. Rear interior lights, arm rest, rear and front cup holders, rear storage, rear arm rest, managed to get 140mph without any modifications to the engine to increase the BHP, Huge storage space in boot once the rear chairs are laid down completely flat and leather seats with the two front ones being heated. Its just depends on the year released but it is defiantly a very good first car. For me this car is my 2nd for £900. I ended up installing a custom radio for Bluetooth.

[@RHanson.]

Cool, sounds great - a higher specification than mine for sure, bargain!

[@SailorGuy98]

got myself one have it for almost 3 years now no problems at all only my driving style sometimes made things break but after that repaired was 800 euros in total still going strong with no problems at all only an exaust leak but love it also my first car

[@RHanson.]

Cool! Sounds like a great buy

[@Anastasis-c9h]

My dad used to have it ,what a lovely car so beautiful with quality and reliability ❤❤❤❤

[@RHanson.]

Agreed!

[@did_u_just5531]

My first car is a bmw 530i e60, which might sound really nice at first,but as a newbie-driver parking in a relatively large car or driving in a somewhat narrow street is pretty much hell for me lol I'd rather take the golf mk4 just because it's cheaper,smaller and the risk in getting cosmetic damage is exponentially lower due to its size while still being a really beautiful car.

[@RHanson.]

That is indeed really nice but I understand where you're coming from, can make driving a bit stressful I suppose. But hey it'll give you good experience at least!

[@GIGAGRU]

At my house we have an old one that has been sitting for a couple of years and will need a little work to get it good to drive, but other than that it could definitely be my first car when I get older. later on I might even add more to it for more power and different upgrades, but that's a whole other thought.

[@johnson3231]

For such a small channel, this level of production quality is fantastic! Bravo! New sub! One VW owner to another.😁

[@RHanson.]

Thank you! Much appreciated, and that it is. :)

[@AlexMrsnik]

Hey, just wanted to tell you that it does have cup holders in the front and tin the back, but only in the higher models. I have the mk4 1.8 20v 4motion and it has both cupholders.

[@BluejuiceT4]

Ive just bought one for £350 with 274k on the clock and no mot...only failed MOT on a dodgy jacking point whoch cost £83 so overall im very happy. Its the PD130 so is quite zippy!

[@virgilem1011]

I have a 1.4 and it’s my first car. I’ve been driving it for almost 3 years now and it goes very well ! It has by now 235000km and no problem, I bought it for 1.1k € so… almost nothing I recommend this car 100% (sorry if I did some mistakes in my langage, I’m not english🇫🇷) very good video continue comme ça :)😊

[@RHanson.]

Great I'm glad to hear! And your English is great, better than my French! Merci beaucoup :)

[@morikushi8082]

Kinda late to the party, but i bought a mk4 variant (the long one) for 2,9k. It has 80.000 km on it and we had to do some minor fixes, but otherwise its in almost perfect condition for its age of 21 years. i will switch the radio to one with CD and Bluetooth support (probably the Blaupunkt Stockholm 400 DAB, because it fits optically too), but otherwise the car is "modern" enough imo. everytime i drive with the driving school's car i forget about all these optional support systems it has, because honestly i dont need them. and for its age, the golf packs a lot of stuff i didnt think it had. So even if its not the fastest first car (which might be a little sad on the german autobahn) it sure is a lot of fun and i just love my golf. 10/10, can recommend the golf as a first car. Even more so the "variant" model, because it has even more storage.

[@moreplatesmoredates6750]

there is a cup holder !!!! the panel below the hazards lights have a push out cup holder. i think the back has one too underneath the little opening tray

[@MrsAnnotations]

I believe there should be a cup holder in the middle back seat. In my mk4 i could lower down the seat, open it and there was space to put things as well as a cup holder. That one was way more effective than the one underneath the rear ashtray. 😊

[@damilolaakanni]

I've had some kinda major issues with mine. The fans broke once, the exhaust was leaking twice, the fuel pump went out, the fuel injector nozzle decided to detach itself from the engine while I was driving and emptied about half the tank of fuel on the road, the engine mounts went out (it seems to be a common issue) and on two occasions the fans just stopped working for no apparent reason. Also the headlight on one side just stopped working. All these issues were fixed, alongside regular maintenance, and it's fine...for now. I don't know what problems it will throw at me next.

[@RHanson.]

Wow quite a lot of stuff going on there, that's very unlucky, I hope it stays in one piece from now on! It seems at the very least that the car has quite a personality

[@tomgl6684]

Holy cow. We had ours for 15 years (parents had it for 11, I had it for four). Only issues we had were windows dropping without warning once (seems to be a common issue with their plastic clips perishing) and a faulty sensor that would interfere with the stability control. Only other issues were general wear and tear but all happening with too frequent a regularity at end of life.

[@RHanson.]

@@tomgl6684 yeah generally they seem very reliable!

[@bv2001]

my experience was even worse with it....

[@bv2001]

this happens to also be my first car. Ive had it for 2 years now and its a 2002 1.6 16v 105hp version. My feelings about it are very mixed. First of all, i absolutely love the design of the car exterior and interior and thats one of the main reasons i wanted it to be my first car. Also i got it in the trim i wanted (25th anniversary with 16inch alloys, 3 spoke steering wheel, blue/black bucket-style seats and no plastic trim around the car). The driving position is great, the interior very ergonomic and i love the fact that its a bit "old school", but not old enough so its not still usable today. Its also really practical and spacious, but not too big. Perfect size in my opinion. Plus, that little engine is pretty smooth and capable. I think i have the best time driving it on open roads, with big open turns, at around 80-120kph. Its smooth, it accelerates and pulls great, and has good soundproofing for its age. And thats about it for the pros. Now, the cons. I bought the car for about 3800€ with 140.000kms. And that seemed high to me for a car with that mileage, but the maintenance book looked good. I mean, the previous owner had changed many major things that could fail later and it looked pretty well cared after. And my mechanic also checked it and said its a solid car. As it turned out though, it wasnt. Over the last 2 years this car has been a maintenance nightmare for me. At first, it was little things like a hazard light switch failing, and then a small gas leak or some minor coolant leaks. Later on, the radiator fans failed. So i swapped them. And after that, only 2-3 months later, an oil light comes on. The oil pump had gone bad, but after it was replaced the car was still behaving weird and still had that oil light on. As it turned out, oil couldn't go through the engine properly because it was "stuck" on the inside (dont know how to explain it properly). So my mechanic suggested that we would have to replace the entire engine at some point because a rebuild was not worth it. So i just drove the car with a "stuck" engine like that for about 4 months until it finally failed completely. In the meantime though, some other minor things failed here and there and as a result in the 11 months i had the car at that point, it had left me stranded 3 times. I had to call road assistance 3 times in less than a year. And im young, i dont do long distances every day like, for example, going to work with my car. Ive done only About 18000kms these past 2 years. But yeah i ended up replacing the engine about one year ago, and luckily the engine has been great so far, nothing has gone wrong with that. Its even better than it was with the last engine. But the car overall is not exactly in great shape. The suspension is pretty hard, which can be good at big open roads, but overall the car is not very agile, it feels like a boat sometimes. Then the gearbox is somewhat clunky. And the car makes all sort of clunky noises when driving, either from the suspension or from the old interior plastics, and the steering is VERY heavy, and not good for twisty turns. Its a pain in the ass driving on mountain roads. Oh and i forgot to mention, in the last year only the thermostat has been kinda misbehaving, although i havent replaced it cause it doesnt cause any overheating issues so its okay to drive. And recently, about 2 months ago, the egr valve failed, plus a battery fuse, and the car left me stranded once again after almost a year. And thats my experience with that car. A love/hate relationship. I love it cause it drives pretty nice (for the most part) considering its age and i love the looks and the interior etc, but i absolutely hate it for not feeling confident to go anywhere without worrying about it failing.

[@chady7009]

Bro the cup holders is the panel right below the hazard button, you press the rectangle cover and the cup holders pop out.

[@Angeebabee]

I love my mk4 Golf Hes had a full body works fixed and resprayed black but when the sun hits him he looks blue 😉

[@RHanson.]

Ooo that's very cool indeed

[@knwgt5426]

If you pick a VCDS cable and software you can also diagnose some repairs , programme new keys or code in new parts to the car that would usually cost £££. Skills learnt can be carried across to all VAG group cars when you upgrade

[@RHanson.]

Smart!

[@nicoladesilvestro3333]

There are cup holders in the back! Press the rectangular plastic thing below the ash tray and they’ll pop out

[@RHanson.]

Not in mine! But yeah in most

[@fastrace14]

They are one of the best cars ever made, and are still usable for a car that is over 20 years old and are so well built and reliable, easy to get parts for too.

[@RHanson.]

100% agree, mines still going strong at 20!

[@kingbeast2385]

Bro you should upgrade to a Bluetooth radio it would look better and new headlights on the front of the car

[@RHanson.]

Yeah both good ideas, and indeed I had a headlight out in that vid, all fixed now!

[@themightygamer2249]

On the back of the armrest in the back there’s three dots below the cigarette tray, press on them and cup holders come out.

[@RHanson.]

Unfortunately I have neither an armrest or cupholders in the back, though most do!

[@ronvandenberg2045]

there actually are 2 cupholders under the ashtray in the back. you just press the plastic bar under and they will slide out

[@RHanson.]

In most yes, not mine!

[@Tom-pq1rv]

There actually is cup holder in the rear, you have to press the little plastic thingy which is coming from middle console

[@RHanson.]

Not in mine! In most yes...

[@acque2011]

You did everything right! I own that exact car as my first car BUT I took the 1.4 l 75HP Version. It is definitely underpowered. Wish I would have taken the 1.6l version.

[@RHanson.]

Cool! Still it's sure great :)

[@nikolajmladenovski]

my 1st car and still it is its mk3 1.8i petrol on tng 90hp its still satisfyes me even today the acceleration its pretty great and the max top speed i managed to reach was around 230km/h on highway ofc but the usual top speed i do its between 160-180km/h very realble and has passed around 1.5m km and it still goes on with the original enginie and i drive it for 5 years for now

[@RHanson.]

Cool, sounds like a good car! Sure it'll continue to run on and on!

[@razvanrosu8239]

I got a Bora/Jetta mk4 as my first car. I love it.

[@RHanson.]

Sounds great!

[@roannabben418]

I have the cupholders standard in my golf mk4 2.0L and also storage space behind the rear seats. Also there is a storage box you can pull down in between the rear seats

[@RHanson.]

Sounds good!

[@therazor514]

Great video mate I have a 1.6 and it has quite a lot of features front and back cupholders full fis heated leather seats with memory front and back armrests folding mirrors a rain sensor that doesn't work for some reason and my favorite the cruise control i absolutely love this thing its super reliable and it just keeps on going no matter the conditions cold or hot starts every time and gets me anywhere I want I've had it for 3 years now but I'm planning to upgrade to a 1.8T because I've had situations where I could've used more power and I've decided to trade it or sell it when the winter season is over

[@RHanson.]

Cheers mate and nice that sounds like a higher spec than mine and yeah the 1.8/1.9 engines do seem like a good choice, more power wld be nice too, agreed!

[@soapplayyt415]

I also have a mk4 as my first every car and i really like it. The only downside that i have are the 75hp. At the start it didnt bothered me at all, but after a half year it really doesnt satisfy me at all anymore. I also life in Germany and i can only drive like 160kp/h on the Autobahn...would love to drive 250 like in my dads car or at least 200...

[@RHanson.]

Ahh yeah, I guess that is quite a small amount, shame but still not too bad for a first car

[@skylinee]

got mine in july, 1999 v-reg 1.6 16v, in silver. so far needed a few important bits like the fuel pump and filter changed, but i got the car for £1800 in spotless condition at 65k miles and full VW service history :)

[@RHanson.]

Sick, sounds good!

[@bennoisms]

Just got a mk4 Jetta and I love it.

[@RHanson.]

Glad to hear it!

[@louiseholmes90]

Drink holders in the back are under the ashtray, you push in and the drink holder sliders out.

[@RHanson.]

Yeah in most, mines a low spec so missing it!

[@ThePatrik79]

You have cupholders in the front just above the CD changer, you can see the small picture of a glass, press in it'll pop out.

[@RHanson.]

If you continue to watch the video this is explained.

[@ThePatrik79]

@@RHanson. Oh yeah i paused just before. nice Golf, i have a mark 4 myself.

[@RHanson.]

@@ThePatrik79 no worries and cheers!

[@eduartkongjinaj7840]

It's a tank not a car. Never be broken.

[@lavkie9017]

this is still my first car. From 1998, 275 000km and it's still solid

[@RHanson.]

Cool! Had a few comments like this, they seem to go on and on if well treated

[@lavkie9017]

@@RHanson. they go, but the guy before me didn't take care of it much, so there was some job done, but I got it for cheap(285€)

[@RHanson.]

@@lavkie9017 Ahh that's a shame - at least it wasn't too huge a cost

[@crow7.624]

Have mine for over 10 years. With pain in my heart i need to sell it for something bigger. Love the 1.9 TDI engine. Very durable cars, i have 300k km’s atm. Also mine has cupholders front and back.

[@RHanson.]

Shame to see it go I'm sure, but indeed a great car, sure you have good memories with it.

[@Cityj0hn]

There is actually a cup holder for the rear seats. If you press the panel underneath the ashtray it will pop out mate.

[@Cityj0hn]

There are actually also cupholders in the front... it's literally shown by a cup icon on the top panel in your center console. IF you press that panel it will extend and reveal 2 cupholders...

[@Cityj0hn]

The cupholders were an option. Very few MK4's didn't have them.

[@RHanson.]

Yes there is in most, mine doesn't have it for some reason and I talked about the ones in the front later in the video!

[@PetTyRs]

In the rear under the ashtray theres a square u push and cup holders pop out same as the front under the hazard lights panel.

[@RHanson.]

Yeah I've seen this on a few other models, for some reason mine doesn't have it, but cheers anyway

[@chestnut01111]

@@RHanson. My 2001 "S" had them. My 2003 Match didn't. needless to say they were transferred.

[@RHanson.]

@@chestnut01111 Match is the same model as mine, good to know it can be done, cheers!

[@ramp7857]

You could get a mk4 with the cup holders on that area you installed yours on, mine has them stock

[@olliehilliam8171]

Ohh tell me about the cup holders on the glove box, I drove around a corner and not 1 but 2 drinks went toppling over. Very nice video though, very well put together!

[@RHanson.]

Ikr, nightmare! And thank you!

[@SIRROM12]

I owned one of these as my first car. served me well for the year i had it, I loved it so much i went and bought a new golf the next year after getting it. It did have it's faults like one of the doors not unlocking unless you gave it a special knock on the door or the electric windows that would suddenly activate suddenly letting cold air into the car driving down the motorway. But i would never of had it any other way defiantly glad that was my first car

[@RHanson.]

Cool! Sounds like it had a bit of personality

[@SIRROM12]

@@RHanson. Oh it definitely did! haha miss Toby lol

[@RHanson.]

@@SIRROM12 Haha - Toby was a good man car

[@mellow_underscore]

Manifesting for it 🙏🏽🤧

[@MrTheHillfolk]

3:35 cupholders are the reason Vw almost was dead here in the states in the mid/late 90s,or the lack of them. Just a moment to let that settle in: Vw almost folded up shop in the states because of a cupholder.

[@RHanson.]

Rip

[@kostas7973]

My first car is an E83 x3 been perfectly reliable fun quite economical and luxurious husking that I bought it for 10k I love it and it was a great buy

[@RHanson.]

Cool, sounds like a good car!

[@kostas7973]

@@RHanson. it is and it sounds great insurance isn’t that bad either

[@israelberrios2050]

I own a MK4 Golf that came with the cupholder, the 3 point middle seat belt and arm rest, behind the front seats u have a small space to put some papers or something small

[@RHanson.]

Cool! Sounds good

[@balazs7808]

Great review! My first car is a mk4 golf as well. 4motion, 6-speed manual, 1.9 tdi. I fucking love the car. I have driven a lot of cars but the experience this car gives is uncomparable. And it is very fuel efficient as well. When push it too much it goes up to 6 liters. But i can easiely average out 5-5.5 liters. And let me remind you that all 4 wheels are active. The only big minus is rust. I may have to sell it. It's literally rotting away and it seems like it's going to be hard to save it... Great first car for any teen. Lots of options as well. You can pick faster ones that can be tuned easiely. But you can pick slower ones. It's really kinda like a all purpose car. I just love it.

[@RHanson.]

Thanks! Sounds like a good and fun car but yeah that's a shame, I think rust is a bit of an issue with Golfs. Either way hope it works out!

[@smey02]

It has cup holders lol haha They are right above your radio (Nevermind....I have no idea whats going on there in the UK, or where you got that car from, but those cup holders are standard all around the world, couldnt get one without them (also makes no sense), no idea why yoiur car did not have them, never seen it before haha. And thats another thing, you just get a cheap random radio with bluetooth, so you can connect your phone with it, or how I did it, get a 2 Din Radio With a big Screen and Apple Car play, which throws the car 15+ years ahead of how old it actually is. Only thing I have to agree a bit is the storage space in the back, yes you have some with the armrest (not on this cheap cheap model), which you can open, but it it would be nice to have something in the doors. But there are actually some models that have a pocket in the back of the frontseat but not many models have that, think those are especially on the variant model Overall an amazing car! Was my first one, and now I just got myself a 25th GTI Anniversary Golf IV, so a slight upgrade, its glorious

[@RHanson.]

Yeah it's weird, possibly someone removed them to sell but I think that's relatively unlikely. And yeah I could do that, I generally want to keep it standard, at least on the inside, but I guess we'll see. Cool!