Volkswagen Golf Mk1 | Retro Car Review | German Car | Drive in | 1974

Thames TV's 'Drive in' show takes a look around the latest VW Golf.
First Shown: 18/12/1974
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Quote: VT9870

[@k.j.g.9601]

I’m hopelessly addicted to these old clips. I always feel like the cars in these videos, although brand new, always look like they have 60k miles on them

[@ozzie-sk9dh]

'Plenty of headroom. Even for the hat wearer.' Said with not a trace of sarcasm. Simpler days.

[@paulbaumer8210]

Depends on the hat. If you were a Rubettes fan you would have been fine, but Slade fans might have had a problem.

[@GeorgiaHeard]

In the US of 1987 it meant my friends razor sharp mohawk just lightly scraped the roof. It had a loud sound system so we were good 😁.

[@AviationDirection]

I guess the UK didn't have any paved roads in the 70s.

[@ewaf88]

Didn't matter so much as the music was so great,

[@rexluminus9867]

😂Hahaha! Looks like not. That's luxirous.

[@Harrylechat01]

Do you mind, he's on the (future) M25

[@TheKenjoje]

@Pedro Daniel Lopes Ferreira well, pedro, that was very clever one, cheers :)

[@jashugg]

I think the point was that he was driving around a golf course

[@Smithy67]

One thing always strikes me about so many of the Drive In reviews, including this one - they always seem to be driving the car down a dirty, muddy track with the car looking quite filthy as a result.

[@liminal-m3g]

This muddy excursion has more justification than the others as it's on a Golf Course - geddit? : )

[@liminal-m3g]

The whole scenario is becoming increasingly logical : )

[@spankysmp]

Even at brand new (ish) it looks a bit of a shed for some reason.

[@zebedep]

I agree that it doesn’t show the car in the best light. Also it’s interesting to note that the very early models such as this didn’t have reverse lights. My parents had a 1978 T-reg 1100 in 3-door.

[@k.j.g.9601]

Exactly what I was thinking, the cars look dated,worn and generally dirty. Not exactly what the manufacturers had in mind I'm sure. But then again, it was the 70's, Britain and winter as a sunny day may have been more rare than finding anyone of these reviewers in anything other than polyester and bellbottoms....Kind of goes along with the full ugly they must have been striving for...that was what they were going for wasn't it?....

[@glpilpi6209]

Having worked at a VAG dealership in the early 80s I noted that most of the N and P reg Golfs had quite a few rust problems when they were traded in . But VW had sorted this out and the handling and trim quality by the 78 model year . The vehicle was much better by then as was the Sciroco .

[@donaldasayers]

I had a MK2 Golf that was 21 years old and had absolutely no rust at all. Wish I had kept it.

[@byronmills5952]

The first Golf's were very poorly built. They didn't really get them right until 1981 when they fitted the larger rear clusters. They changed the body protection system at the time of the Mk2 Polos introduction.

[@finnmanproductions9240]

I had a 1980 base model which I sold around 1992 and it never had any rust.

[@neilturner647]

My first car was an 1100 N reg Golf, I loved it, but the inner o/s wing rusted away.

[@ngauruhoezodiac3143]

The golf had way fewer rust issues than any British British car.

[@donsolaris8477]

The car that saved VW. Early seventies, things weren't looking good for them.

[@EyesWideOpen61]

It was a third attempt at a replacement for the beetle- this one worked. But how ignorant is this reviewer? He says the front spoiler is silly on a family car and just for styling- but the Germans never did anything for frivolous reasons (back then.).The front chin spoiler lowers the drag coefficient of the car, increasing the performance & economy because it’s taking wind turbulence away from the underside mechanicals

[@herrfister1477]

Thanks chum. I think most people watching this know the script.

[@saintnick7]

Love these old shows, "I don't like the winkers, very vulnerable " quality quote

[@markhealey9409]

😂😂😂😂 i hd never heard them calles 'winkers' until I watched this! Plenty of people call them 'blinkers' in the USA,though....which makes more sense.

[@numberstation]

“I don’t like the winkers set into the bumper.” I wonder how he felt about the rain-sweep-away sticks, the make-the-car-go-in-a-different-direction circle and the see in the dark thingies at the front?

[@AaronSmart.online]

"winker" must have been a more common term at some stage, as they're still called that in Japanese (they must have picked it up from some anglophone country)

[@MrTrull1]

I remember 'winkers' being used as a normal term. I have to agree too - I hate lights set in bumpers, even on modern cars!

[@spidyman8853]

LOL

[@EgoShredder]

We all used the term winkers up until around the 1990s maybe.

[@nlpnt]

I've only heard the term "blinkers". I wonder if he'd have preferred the USDM bumpers which were much bigger and had the signals set inboard of the (hydraulic strut) bumper supports.

[@davidhayes4814]

Mentioning the Allegro as competition........ please! The Golf mark 1 was one of the most iconic cars of all time.

[@RoadCone411]

David Hayes I bet anybody who chose the new Golf over an Allegro never regretted the extra £160!

[@johnb.9806]

It wasn't in 1974.

[@james64ibm]

One could argue that the Allegro was also an iconic car, albeit for slightly different reasons. But yeah, 45 years later (goddammit, time really flies), comparing a Golf and an Allegro sounds outrageous ...

[@S7EVE_P]

Not then. It was just a car then. The MPG was the same, the Allegro was more comfortable and cheaper. I agree now that I'd rather have the Golf, but I guess as a proper motoring programme they presented viable options to the viewer at the time.

[@williamwoods8022]

james64ibm - Actually only the dumb and stupid who believe all of the drivel from Top Gear and the mainstream media with regard to Allegro's and BL cars in general think that these cars were crap. Thew rest of us who can actually use our brains for critical thinking and who used to actually own these cars know the TRUTH about them and what really went on back then. FACT is the Golf like the rest of the VW's were NOT very reliable, with the exception of the Beetle, and rust buckets to boot just like all cars back then. VW used the Beetles reliablity for years in their adverts to sell all their cars until they were banned from doing so because their cars were NOT very reliable and that is why they are not using this in adverts any more. VW build quality was just as bad/good as on BL cars and most of the rest of them from back then. I had a 1980 Allegro 1750TC Equipe and it was an excellent reliable car and I can tell you that I always came back to that car with people looking at and in it and you would never had that with any Golf back then even the GTi. My brother also had a 1978 Allegro 1500LE at the same time that ended up with my mother which was also a very reliable car. Before I had my Equipe I had a 1978 Marina 1800 HL/TC which was a very reliable and fast car for its day and I would still have had that car if it hadn't been written off in an accident. Trouble is with the dumb masses is that they believe everything that they have been told by the mainstream media and journalists and politicians and believe that there are terrorists running about everywhere trying to kill us, that money is real and that our countries are in massive debt and that the Russians are trying to hack our elections and kill people with not very deadly poisons that dont kill their victims or the mass of people around them and think that the political parties/governments are there to serve the people - Google Paisley Expressions and the Jesus, Hitler and Wizard of Oz post on there just now that exposes how we have always been getting lied to - it has been easy for the elites to con the masses because the masses prefer living in a world of drivel than think for themselves.

[@MrTrull1]

Fold down seats so you can fit in a set of golf clubs...promptly takes out golf clubs which fit in without putting the seats down...

[@darrenwilson8042]

early Golfs were proper rotters too

[@oskich]

A Swedish 80's car show illustrate the problem: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXLCoomZjbGEmLc

[@waytosacramento3843]

And despite this elaborate and very unbiased review the Golf became the most successful hatchback until today. And the Allegro disappeared into oblivion...

[@jackiron4785]

Imagine reviews on the new mk8 Golf with Rover Groups excellent Allegro Mk 7, both offering petrol, diesel, hybrid and ev.

[@estebanhenriquez3491]

Lovin' these VW retro reviews! It's so cool and amazing to see them as they were back in the days, new vehicles establishing legacies and titles; such as the GTI ("Pocket Rocket").

[@MrTrull1]

I get the Golf review at a golf course thing, but surely they could have found a road that didn't splatter the poor thing in mud!

[@RayEttler]

MrTrull1 esp since the golf was named after the gulf stream, as well as scirocco and passat: they inherited their names from the respective winds.

[@ewaf88]

It hid the rust.

[@RayEttler]

@@ewaf88 how creative, great joke.

[@spaceageMrT]

Useful parcel shelf at Christmas.. So that's where Santa gets his presents from, I always thought it was Woolworths.

[@rob5944]

Can't see how it's so impressive to be honest.

[@Banglish123]

Skids to a halt and steps into a puddle. Also great use of the word 'teutonic'. This was generally a polite way of saying Kraut.

[@CubeCyclone]

That reminds me, I still have an original Mk1 golf NSF door in my garage !

[@michaelgrace1298]

I've got a mk 1 driver's door

[@dcanmore]

VW Golf MkI production 6.8 million (+ legacy); Austin Allegro 642,000 (+ bankruptcy) ... people certainly did vote with their wallets.

[@williamwoods8022]

More to do with the Europeans not liking the arrogant British to start with than the actual cars plus they mostly still bought their own locally built brands back then as well. The Allegro should have had a hatchback from day one but we know how BL management would not let any other car in the range have a hatchback so as not to compete with the Maxi and that would have made a big difference to the sales. The Golf was NOT actually very reliable and it and VW cars were just as bad/good for build quality as most cars back then including BL and were just as bad for rust as well. I had a 1980 Allegro 1750TC Equipe which was an excellent reliable car. The Golf was nothing special over most cars back then apart from the hatchback that some other cars had before it as well. I prefered the MK2 Golf but that wasn't any more reliable than the MK1.

[@kevinkerr8310]

William woods , I worked on all the types of cars mentioned in the video (and still fixing cars) and the golf was a much better car in every way more so the mark 2

[@moochincrawdad]

dcanmore that really hurt - I can almost hear the murmurs of the shocked crowd as the Austin Allegro is towed away in chains! 🙁

[@rob5944]

@@williamwoods8022 Yes, I've been looking at these old reviews and can't see how the German cars were any better.

[@rob5944]

@supernumery I didn't think that Golf looked much of it either tbh

[@FrankJCarver]

I was 10 in 1974 and my primary school teacher had a red one of these. He would drive it into the school parking space at a very dangerous speed. I loved the car from that point, I thought it looked great. It was very modern for the time and it was also the first time I saw a car with a plastic grill and semi plastic bumpers.

[@MonkeyHunch1]

That colour takes me back to my dads car when i was still a toddler. A VW derby in the same blue.

[@nlpnt]

L51C Miami Blue. Usually paired with a blue, or occasionally white, interior on the Golf/Rabbit rather than this car's black one.

[@MonkeyHunch1]

Thanks for that i like that it was called Miami blue as it would look better under a sunny sky instead of the grey ones we get here.:) The VW derby my dad had was a very early one pretty rare now. After that he bought a Polo classic which was like a MK2 derby in some sort of Navy blue. Was quite a nice looking car with it`s boot spoiler and the round headlights.

[@gerardprowodowski1791]

miami blue!!!

[@video99couk]

More than the Allegro, stiffer competition probably came from the more conventional Escort and Avenger, both of which were roomier and cheaper, no worse built (which is to say pretty shockingly by today's standards), came with nice gearboxes, good handling and a comfortable ride. But of course the Golf was the car which made the front wheel drive hatchback popular and so set the scene for nearly all cars since.

[@CubeCyclone]

I loved the seatbelt latches on this mk1 car. Impossible to twist seatbelt out of shape. Preferred them to the more conventional ones today.

[@keithjackson8076]

Loved the styling of the Mk1 Golf. The early cars did have a corrosion problem, not so with my 1979 GLS, but it had an equal thirst for oil as petrol. I also later owned 2 convertibles, first a Clipper automatic, which was thirsty and time ran out for the automatic transmission at 90k. The next a GTi Rivage was equally thirsty and none too impressive performance wise. Still own a VW, a 2001 Polo 6N which has given impeccable service.

[@XLordLeamingtonX]

Dog at the end is like "why are you parked on a golf course?"

[@version736ha2]

Funny lol

[@RPNization]

I have still a Golf 1, a late one from november 1982, i'm very happy with it. In the past i've owned two Golf 1 GTI's from 1983, both were so called "Pirelli" GTI's (same like the British so called "Campaign" GTI). The first one i've sold after an accident a year after i bought it. The second one i've sold after 8 years owned in 2005. Oh man i regret this till today, if i could turn back time, i would never sold it.

[@RPNization]

And my first car ever btw was a 1979 Golf GL, like the car in this little vid with the small 1.1 engine and with four doors.

[@nev7711]

Solid car that saved VW.

[@General.Longstreet]

Let me see now. Should I go for the Allegro or the Golf? I just can't decide!

[@finnmanproductions9240]

These videos are great - keep them coming!

[@andrewshore262]

At around 3:30 ish a large white 4 legged yeti can be seen in the background. A common occurrence at British golf courses in the 70’s. This car review was clearly getting in the way of a planned round of golf, it’s also my opinion that the presenter has been on the sauce, looks like they’ve been tearing up and down the fairway. At least he’s not wearing golfing trousers

[@VDPEFi]

Another flattering review there, looks like a total shed in this video!

[@2233golf2]

He didn't know then that he presented the most produced car in the world straight after the beetle.....and today,44 years later golfs still leave the assembly lines 24/7 .My golf mark 2,from 1991 with 387.000 miles on the dash.

[@lewis72]

5 door hatchback. Something that BL missed in doing the Allegro but, oddly, not the Maxi or the SD1.

[@georgejacob3162]

4:25. Random stray dog wants a ride home!

[@Nimmo1492]

44 years later, and Golfs still have a 10,000 mile service interval.

[@annwalsh1804]

Is that a good thing? Thanks

[@McVaio]

​@@annwalsh1804It would've been a good thing if it were true.

[@asm1]

Vehicle make: VOLKSWAGEN Date of first registration: November 1974 Year of manufacture: 1974 Cylinder capacity (cc): 1093 cc CO₂Emissions: Not available Fuel type: PETROL Euro Status: Not available Export marker: No Vehicle status: Not taxed Vehicle colour: BLUE Vehicle type approval: Not available Wheelplan: 2-AXLE-RIGID BODY Revenue weight: Not available Tax Due 28th June 1990 Long gone I think. Surprised this has proper RHD wipers, My brothers 86 D - plate Mk 2 had LHD wipers, so the front passenger had a clearer view... lol.

[@jasonkeen9401]

40 odd years later, what would you rather have. A land crab, or a mk1 golf. Golf wins hands down.

[@rob5944]

Well to answer you I think the value of VW's has been blown out of all proportion, there are comments above from ex dealers who cite rust and reliability problems on early cars, just the sort of thing B.L. got slated for. If you want to go rallying the crab had one of the stiffest chassis......hows that?

[@saxongreen78]

Landcrab, please.

[@alarmactionukalarmactionuk893]

Winkers never heard that term before lol

[@inquisitor229]

The odd rear aerial on the 'C' pillar is intriguing, and the strange number painted on the camshaft belt cover suggests some sort of early prototype. My 1100cc Golf wouldn't go through a small puddle without stalling, so this one must have had special damp treatment. And a comparison to the Allegro? Tongue in cheek me thinks!

[@androo4519]

Not easily impressed, was he, by the most iconic and trend-setting hatch of the time?

[@byronmills5952]

Because in reality the Golf was nothing that hadn't really been done years before by the likes of Fiat Renault and Simca. Neither did it drive anywhere near as well as an Alfasud.. which although had no hatch was similarly sized. The Golf looked good. But the Mk1s brakes were shockingly bad, the ride poor and the finish as patchy as any of its contemporary rivals of its era. That interior seat fabric was lucky to last more than 3years before disintegrating from Uv damage.. and to cap it all.. they rusted terribly. There are barely any early UK Golf's left in the UK that were originally registered here. Guigurios styling was a masterstroke, the rest of the car was average in the extreme.

[@ewaf88]

byronmills You haven't lived until you've tried to drive the basic Golf Driver model of the 1990's. With no power steering and a thin basic steering wheel I think the Austin Maxi beat it in the handling takes.

[@DiscoFang]

androo4519 You need to realise that things don't become icons instantly. And it wasn't until the Gti that the Golf was taking it's first steps to the way we view it now. The AlfaSud & Fiat 124T were far better cars.

[@Darwinion]

That was because it wasn't the iconic trend setting hatch of the time. It was boring... look at the models on offer. No mention of the GTi because VW only released it as an after thought in Germany and then released it further afield when people wanted it. So.... "at the time"... it was dull and uninteresting. Only the GTi (later) changed that.

[@MaximilianvonPinneberg]

Not to mention a cramped interior. The R14 and Strada were much better cars at the time, the only problem was they disintegrated as quickly as the Golf's seat trim.

[@andydinwoodie1497]

You could buy a British Leyland Allegro as an alternative....LOL

[@syxepop]

They didn't knew better...or cared.

[@paulhunter123]

@J.P. Craven which didnt work

[@paulhunter123]

@J.P. Craven 0

[@paulhunter123]

@J.P. Craven im glad someone likes them

[@gotham61]

@J.P. Craven Not really. A Mk 1 Golf had fully independent suspension with MacPhearson struts up front. Pretty sophisticated for the time.

[@JustinAbroad]

We have a ton of these MK1s in peru. Most of them are beat up. Everyonce in awhile you'll see a super clean one

[@andyt8216]

3:23 "the winkers" I think my mum might call them that still. Sounds rather amusing to hear though.

[@lash9400]

I had 2 Mk1 1100 Golfs, a 78 (same colour as in the review ). & a 1982. They were both extremely unreliable and left me stranded numerous times but I simply adored them for some odd reason. Still do

[@WillyKidd]

Thank you. Richard Hudson-Evans is a fabulous presenter

[@jankotze1959]

Awesome car, I bought my first Golf 1 in 1979, was a 1.1L, then a 1980 GTS 1.6 then a 1984 GTI 1.8, Big fun cars

[@Joke9972]

The 'Golf' reduced to a ... golf cart, with a bit more room for your 'golf clubs' in the back... it IS a Golf.He recently tested a 'Tiguan' in the Indian jungle (tiger), a Passat on the Fiji islands (wind) and an 'Aerton' on a Brazilian cemetery.

[@hartoz]

3:23 Vulnerable Winkers LOL

[@tsomeone950]

He wasn't impressed because it was not British. Couldn't drive it on a road even.... The golf looks so much newer and substantial than that allegro or horrible chevette I just watched..... Wonder what they thought when the golf reached the 80's ......

[@janhanchenmichelsen2627]

"Teutonic interior"! I think he recognised the basic qualities - but really hated the car because he also saw that this was another nail in the coffin for UK car export. The first Golfs were really not perfect, but the concept was brilliant. And still looking modern. But I would rather have an MGB today. Green, chrome bumpers, please.

[@AlfaGiuliaQV]

Deep inside he realised that the teutonic interior was the future and BL: s vinyl and fake wood was now a thing of the past. And my god did he hate it!

[@djh29971]

I'm sure if this had have been a British Car, then Thames might a paid someone an extra pound to give it a clean. The coda to this 'review' could have been ' Buy Foreign - If you must' .

[@MacXpert74]

Yeah, that was the vibe I also got from this review. It's like they purposely wanted to make the Golf look like a poor choice. I think it's save to say the strategy didn't work out. ;D

[@tubester4567]

You're nuts. Germans and Japanese still have a nationalistic view of their car companies today, and their governments subsidize the heck out of them.

[@mikeblatzheim2797]

@@tubester4567 The German government subsidising our car companies would be news to the German government. VW etc. are doing perfectly fine without any subsidies, and unlike BL haven't gotten billions of taxpayer pounds before going bankrupt.

[@tubester4567]

@@mikeblatzheim2797 Thats not really true. Heres a report that says the German government spent 115 billion Euro over the last 10 years: www.motoring.com.au/secret-german-auto-subsidies-exposed-107275/ Theres also new subsides related to Covid worth about 80 billion. If you google search the topic, theres plenty of information.

[@mikeblatzheim2797]

@@tubester4567 Those aren't limited to German car manufacturers though. The incentives apply to cars built by all marques. The number mentioned is what benefitted the German auto industry specifically, whilst conveniently ignoring that other manufacturers equally benefitted from purchasing incentives (that were mentioned in the incredibly vague article you linked) and reduction in Vat, which would apply this year.

[@JoaoCarlos-nq3oe]

Beatiful wonderful

[@RazSux]

It was only in the last minute that I got the whole golf course thing!

[@fortyfour1654]

FORE!!!!

[@BugoHossBH]

What clever television. A Golf on a golf course hehehe

[@Thinker669]

We call them the Rabbit until 1983. They were assembled in Pennsylvania. The Golf made it's debut in 1984.

[@wernerbloemwagen6878]

The bonnet was open upon his approach and arrival.

[@valicourt]

3:33 is that a unicorn?

[@cristinacrisu5445]

My Little Pony ?

[@ZarbulkSales2]

This same basic shape continued in production in SA almost 4 decades after this video was made.

[@Zolega89]

Golf is still alive :)

[@jennydonne8946]

Still going strong 44 years & 7 generations on

[@rutter1ify]

Really?? Lol

[@owensteele1274]

The Golf used in this test lasted a good 16 of them. It had its tax disc cashed in on 28th June 1990. It's done very well, all things considered.

[@marks6663]

In America and Canada, the golf was called the Rabbit initially. In January 1982, I was in England and we rented a volkswagen rabbit but it said Golf on the back. I was wondering why a rabbit was named a Golf. I thought it was an odd name for a car. Golf is a sport. Rabbit is a small, agile creature.

[@stephenm6100]

my mate had a black GTI one. quick as hell. 🚖.

[@hutchcraftcp]

My brother owned a diesel similar to this car. Loud and dreadfully slow. He was use to going slowly. He had a 1974 super Beetle before.

[@appalachiahiker853]

Good car

[@vwsaiphone]

Hot damn how far have cars come !

[@GaryJohnWalker1]

A Golf? Still looks much the same.

[@dvamateur]

You mean in cost?

[@spidyman8853]

No electric windows or power steering LOL

[@carlosgochygonzalezrubio]

Here in mexico was named caribe and united states rabbitt but was popular in sarajevo Bosnia Herzegovina Yugoslavia

[@johanvandersandt8904]

One of the best cars VW ever made.

[@neilmustow368]

This Golf still alive and taxed Registered November 1974

[@paulhackett1313]

It must have had a major restoration along the way.

[@paulhackett2440]

You must mean 1984

[@JordanEmonds]

At the start.. Either the bonnet is open and not fully latched or that’s some serious panel gap 😂

[@ArrowGent]

good catch. it is closed because he opened it in the same shot. but... vw's hoods had adjusters so it could have been tweaked for some reason

[@AndySnap]

I think the production budget for this in 74 is about the same a sandwich for the Grand Tour crew today...

[@richards9407]

They don't have sandwiches, they eat steaks. Or Jeremy gets annoyed....

[@charlesmacgilchrist3648]

I'm suprised anyone would go for the 1100 considering the 1500 was only 2mpg less and the top LS cost just 15% more than the basic 1100 entry model.

[@Alex-373]

Winkers

[@cuptoyou1244]

Which tosser put the winkers there

[@mauricevanmourik1982]

I'd choose the Allegro! Although the VW has a nice Giugiaro styling, the allegro relied on the trusted A-series engines whereas the Golf had a vulnerable head-gasket and rusted almost as quickly as the Allegro. Needless to mention that i'm a lover for quirky cars...

[@Renegade666]

no reverse lights..... thats very rare!

[@nlpnt]

When were they first required in the UK? It seems strange to see that on a post-1968 car.

[@mollyfilms]

Can’t believe a word he said... wears s flat cap and plays golf!!

[@anthonyperkins7556]

Better than the Austin Metro and beat it ten times over! Better car, better made, and quality all the way.

[@geoffk777]

It's amazing how tiny this looks now. MK1 Golfs aren't any bigger than modern Polos. And given the reliability of the MK1, I'm pretty sure that that diagnostic port got used well before 10,000 miles.

[@billybellend1155]

Just before VW released the GTi version of the Golf. Making BL’s sports cars look laughable.

[@robertmarsh3588]

Nah, that's just not right. Dolomite Sprint was pretty competitive against anything VW had to offer and predated the Golf GTI, though the car is a much earlier design so was obsolete by the time the GTI became popular in UK.

[@williamwoods8022]

Robert Marsh - Bang on plus the sports cars were for a completely different market than saloon cars and not much point in having a fast saloon car when you cannot go fast anyway apart from in Germany of course.

[@donaldasayers]

@@williamwoods8022 Yeah but who is going to buy a horrible unreliable lump like the MGB GT when a Golf GTI is faster?

[@BobMartinsback]

In retrospect, the 'don't mention the war' bias hinted at in this clip is slightly uncomfortable, the mention of the Allegro as a peer and valid comparator is risable.

[@williamwoods8022]

Only if you believe all of the DRIVEL about the Allegro from the likes of JOURNALISTS such as Clarkston. The Allegro was far more reliable than the Golf or VW in general - VW got banned from advertising how reliable they were because they WEREN'T and that included the Golf and they still do not advertise how reliable they are for this reason just like ALL German brands are POOR for reliablity in the ACTUAL break down charts here in the UK and just as bad in the rest of the world. We had two Allegros in the family back then - my 1980 1750 Equipe and my brothers 1978 1500 LE both excellent and reliable cars and I know others that had Allegros and say the same. If they had had a hatchback they would have been even better cars and ther are far more Allegros surviving than Golfs ecause the Allegros had some rustproofing from the factory unlike the Golfs.

[@BobMartinsback]

Not so much about believing drivel from others than my family's own experience of 2 Allegros, together with 3 Marinas and various other shorter term cars from the BL camp, all of them company cars (otherwise wouldn't have chosen them) and all of them rubbish. Different folk, different experiences.

[@rjft7003]

The true is that the VW Golf made all the contemporary competitors look dull in comparison. The Fiat 128 turned into a boxy Italian car from late 60's, the Allegro outdated and all of the rear wheel drive competitors such as the Toyota Corolla, Datsun Sunny and Opel Kadett/Vauxhall Chevette technically from another era. I would say the VW Golf marks the beginning of the hatchback era.

[@nlpnt]

For a time in this size bracket you could have a sorted RWD - Corolla, Chevette, Sunny/B210, Escort/Pinto - or a state-of-the-art but fragile FWD - 128, the first few years of Rabbit/Golf, or just about any Renault. Or a hopeless case like a Vega or Marina.

[@taxus750]

"...VW Golf marks the beginning of the hatchback era" Beginning of its popularity perhaps, but not the era. FWD hatchbacks that were around or predated the Golf included Renaults R5, R6, R12 and R16 (and the R4 if you stretch the point a little); Datsun 100A, Simca 1100 and Fiat 127.

[@rjft7003]

@@taxus750 I agree. Beginning of popularity. The Renault 16 was the pioneer true, as the Mini was for the nowadays standard front wheel drive and transverse engine layout.

[@williamwoods8022]

nlpnt I had a 1978 Marina 1.8 HL/TC which was a an excellent reliable and fast car for its day. You just had to watch the back end some times but then again you had to do that with some other cars as well such as the Capri. The Marina was far from hopeless but it was made as a stop gap car to do a job as a fleet car for businesses cheap to run and maintain and it did its job well considering BL was starved of cash by the government all the time.

[@stuartwilkie4887]

We had a company Morris Ital 1.7 for a while. Dad thought it was quite a quick car. His sister had a 1.8 TC marina - liked it so much she bought another one after a few years. A 1.8 super. She marveled at the TCs power - most noticeable on hills. The second one developed rust spots, getting quite large in a quick time. She said the dealer didn't do enough to deal with it, so she finished with BL. Both of the Marinas were bought new, and apart from the rust, she never had a bad word to say about either of them. I don't think they ever broke down being so new at the time. The moral of the story? It's nice to be able to buy new. And if you like it - get it.

[@howellstevens9622]

Pushing the bonnet down on a new car!

[@JakobKsGarage]

Peculiar that they always used that strange antenna to transmit the sound from inside the car, instead of just recording it and syncing it up with the images later.

[@中居間]

great car

[@jtkent28]

That thing looked old even when it was new lol. I had an ‘84 diesel in high school.

[@17genc]

Mk1 and Mkk2 are the most reliable and best VW product to this time.. i own a VW Jetta mk2 they are more reliable even than a Japanese. I daily drive it btw in the worst conditions of driving only traffic/hills and short distance no highway.. yet works fine as charm..

[@ghvtg]

It's got an OBD port!!! 😮😮😯

[@bmorris5863]

Supposedly it only does exhaust emissions

[@timhulio1]

This is going on the TV, yeah? - Yeah Shall we wash the car? - Nah, who'll notice.

[@jackdaw339]

Nice to see the old style VW emblem w/ the split between the V and W.

[@christopherd6399]

Was that computer diagnostic capability in 1974??

[@lefteris85gr]

MK1 GTI had an ECU, it had electronic fuel injection and suprisingly, a trip computer... The diagnostic port must have been some pre- OBD era VW diagnostic protocol.....

[@christopherd6399]

Yeah, I'm guessing dealers had some primitive readout that could interpret data coming through the port under the bonnet. Good ol' days.

[@richards9407]

It gave an accurate and honest readout of the exhaust emissions......

[@no1DdC]

VW introduced the system in 1968 on the fuel-injected Type 3 models, which made them the first in the industry to have this feature.

[@sverduijn1]

In good VW tradition it was the computer for the emissions-cheating software :)

[@idreesemahomed403]

This basic design was continued 1 decade into the 21st century as the Citigolf

[@howellstevens9622]

And the rest is history.

[@johnstairs]

Surely they could popped over to Spain for the road test,everyone was going there in the mid seventies!

[@joemcsilver8098]

This car has more an italian soul, than german. The design was made by Giorgio Giugaro. It's always a good idea to ask an italian if you find no way out.

[@Rockythefishman]

Sounds like the reviewer did not think much off it. If he only new !

[@simonthomas5367]

Were rally tests essential in the 70's?

[@syxepop]

If you've seen Japanese car ads from as early as the '60s they prominently show the cars IN ACTION, RALLY STYLE. That was very common EVERYWHERE back then to show every cars (it didn't needed to be a truck) to show HOW STRONG THEY WERE.

[@clairebannister4749]

Did he say winkers? test drive on a golf course? ah.. I get it.. jolly good show chaps - why not have an allegro instead.. holy crap.

[@williamwoods8022]

Allegros were far more reliable than the Golf - we had two Allegros in the family my 1980 1750 Equipe and my brothers 1978 1500 LE very reliable cars plus the Allegro actually had some rustproofing hence why there are far more Allegros still surviving today compared to Golfs which didn't. Also VW was banned from advertising how reliable they were because they WEREN'T and that is why they still dont advertise their "reliability" to this day.

[@clairebannister4749]

great! evidence of a happy customer! and miles ahead in some design areas - eg even 'Vorsprung Durch TWATnich' Daudis have square steering wheels now - and the new Aston I believe..

[@philcampbell3168]

A golf or an allegro 🤔 now there’s a hard choice!!

[@dcanmore]

and to think there was only one year between the launch of the Golf and Allegro, zero forward thinking from BL.

[@williamwoods8022]

Zero forward thinking from most manufacturers at the time who were still coming out with saloons rather than hatchbacks and apart from the hatchback the Golf was not much different to any other car back then and was not very reliable either and actually helped in getting VW's adverts boasting about how reliable they were banned because their cars apart from the Beetle were NOT very reliable plus the Golf like most cars from back then was a rust bucket as well. The Allegro had the problem of the BL management coming out with the crap that none of the other cars in their stable should have a hatchback so as not to compete for sales with the Maxi - utterly stupid - as the Allegro would have been a far better car if it had had a hatchback.

[@sdry1688]

Anybody know, what you could read from the Diagnostic Plug? - since there was no ECU or Crankshaft Position sensors etc?

[@bens1972]

The VW Up is bigger than this now lol