VW GTI MK4 | The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly…

Hey guys welcome back to the channel and welcome back to another good bad and ugly on the wonderful Volkswagen Golf gti or r32 mk4!! This is pretty much everything you need to know on this little euro hatchback that’s reliable as hell and still cool looking and fast! I hope you enjoy and if you do, please be sure to like, comment, and subscribe for more!!
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[@hellaflushhonda]

As a guy that owns a mk4 20th anniversary most maintenance isn’t too bad, this is a super popular car that shares the motor with the Jetta and other VWs so 1.8t videos are EVERYWHERE and since it’s a older VW parts are kinda cheap because there’s ALOT of aftermarket brands that make parts or used ones you can find at junkyards or eBay. An Exhaust for my 2018 Golf R is about $2000. My fully custom built 3” exhaust only cost me like $950. If you find one for cheap that’s in good condition get it! This is the first car I’ve ever worked on and I love learning on it

[@FrankBruno03]

The turbos on the 1.8t hardly ever fail, I’ve hardly ever heard anyone say their stock turbo has gone bad. I have 2 1.8t gti’s both tuned and have over 200k km. Both still on factory turbos. One has been tuned for over 100k km on 20psi.

[@Lockie01]

Ok imma be honest as a mk4 guy who currently owns 2 mk4 golfs. This review is honestly quite fair. In relation to timing and water pumps and things often it’s the tensioners that go out. But not often it’s mainly cos these things are old getting old. The factory water pumps the impeller is made outta plastic from factory so if u replace the water pump with a metal impeller u shouldn’t have any problems ever again. Also in terms of what a 1.8t sounds like not the greatest example but. These things can be great but are better when u know what ur looking at. If u don’t they can be quite complicated and frustrating.

[@spectrumxr_]

You already know this is a classic Mark roden W 🔥🔥🔥as always

[@BogusBolloks-mf4wq]

Owned a GTI 132KW for the past 10 years. Been working on it since i got it. Had a lot of mechanical neglect. Good car overall. Not very fast or powerful but looks great and very comfortable. Affordable to maintain, lots of aftermarket parts available and not a computer on wheels like newer moddels. Love mine.

[@gallaxzycollidez]

stay healthy mark, onto the next one!🙏🏻

[@420basco]

my dad has a tdi one, bought it in 05 with 40k and it has 450k km now. never had big problems

[@blakewollsieffer9424]

Been with your channel since around 17000 subscribers. Of course i remember these

[@bicyclelife7088]

I had the 24v 2.8L VR6 that was highly modified for track racing and made 300hp with a 6 speed stick. I had it for 10 years. The downside was the door interior was flimsy and soft-touch turned sticky and fell apart easily. The transmission/clutch broke 3 times and had to be replaced. It was amazing on corners. It sounded amazing (VR6 was mean compared to peoples 4s).

[@thaknobodi]

I owned a 180HP AWP motor MK4 5spd from 08-2017 only problems were One coil pack and strut went bad at 45k miles. Cam chain tensioners wore out around 125K and started rattle on start up. Timing belt blew off at 130k+ after only about 20k miles on that belt for some reason. Went from about a 4-5000$ to worthless after that belt blew off. Never modified that car, in fact i "downgraded" to 15" VW alloys and 215/60R15's to help deal with rough roads. The stock 225/45R17's could be a bit harsh on poor roads. What it excelled at as with all FWD was rolling races. Lots of torque and sub 3,000lb curb weight did well and was fun

[@luisangeljaquez3951]

Ive been waiting for this good, bad, and ugly 👍

[@nubicorno4338]

this car has been the car i’ve been lookin at, glad there is now a good video from a guy i like covering it.

[@gavyndawson3907]

Don’t buy it, I’ve spent a little over 3k in mine in under a year… all stupid issues

[@slowMk4]

@@gavyndawson3907 such as?

[@gavyndawson3907]

@@slowMk4 engine mount bracket bolt snappedhit timing belt, short in o2 sensor wiring had too trace, turbo blew up had to replace, intercooler leaked, boost pipes leaked, headlights stopped working, dogbone engine mount broke, oil pan leaked, cv axle leaked, outer tie rods blown. That’s just a few of the issues. But if it’s your first car and you don’t know much don’t get one. If you do know a lot ab cars go ahead and get one.

[@gavyndawson3907]

And a lot of the issues where somewhat caused by me but most of them where because the previous owner didn’t maintain it. So really look out and look for maintence records and such.

[@brian.t]

my 2c, i would personally try to find a clean example that hasn't been modified. i have an 02 with a k04 + bolt ons and its been nothing but reliable for me. however i take meticulous care of my car and i got lucky the previous owner did the same. as Gavyn said, just be sure to double check what maintenance records the vehicle has and be ready to fix some stuff after all its a 20+ year old car. they are super fun but have their quirks. only time mine has ever truly left me stranded was when my crank position sensor died and it wouldn't start.

[@adriancoric1721]

Would love if you did the E46 next, such a fun, iconic and beautiful car

[@ianmilo9982]

I own two Golfs MK4 TDI, one is 96kw Variant (estate), and the other is 110kw 4motion (AWD) I wouldn’t agree that there is cheap plastic inside. In fact, even by today’s standards, it’s better than a brand new VW Polo, and definitely better than an MK5. The build quality is amazing. TDi emgines start at 66kw or 90hp. The 64hp one you mentioned is not a turbo-diesel. It is naturally aspirated dirsel engine and is called SDI.

[@Jiolano]

sloth ave finally getting some shine

[@oVoKINGspade]

The cup holder comment haha I was lucky enough to have the 05 GLI and the cup holders were usable haha

[@owagoo]

Yo you think you could do the Mitsubishi starion/Chrysler conquest next? That would be really sick- keep up the good work on the vids btw! Consistent as all hell

[@rasmusseito4224]

you can find many 1.9 tdi golfs with 4 wheel drive too and stationwagons

[@iskwann-1572]

W vid 🔥

[@sportsgaming2169]

So i learned in this video that im guetting that 1.8T on market place🔥

[@adambrzeczek6541]

I'm running VR6 2.8 AUE Golf 4 with 4motion. It's 365.000 Km and it's still running on original timing chain - no issues, no sighns of wear, chain is still perfect. I'd say that it's waay more reliable than 1.8T for example. But the car itself isn't that fast, maybe 0-100km/h is decent but 1.8T and 1.9TDi will be better considering gas milage and speeds above 160km/h+ The V-max on 2.8 AUE is 250 km/h GPS meanwhile on my other golf 4 1.9 TDi the V-max is around 200-205km/h. 1.9 Burns around 5L/100km meanwhile 2.8 at the same pace burns 12L/100km

[@grimm8761]

currently own a 337 and love it

[@feasttree]

Had a 337, now have a 15 mk7 GTI. Miss the mk4 every day:/

[@gregorypatzelt6964]

I want one bad as a 2nd car. Love the 20th anniversary GTI.

[@tjaustin6445]

Completely neglected the fact that there is a huge aftermarket scene for the 1.9tdi PD engines in these

[@axe2grind244]

I have an R8 V10 6 speed and id sell that anyday of the week before I ever thought of selling my 24v GTI. I can find another one of those, ill never find a nice well sorted black on black leather sunroof 24v ever again.

[@justintaylor9148]

1.8t, 1.9tdi, 2.3vr5 and both 2.8 and 3.2 vr6's all came in 4motion aswell just not as many as fwd

[@Zombiekiller0412]

I have the 3.2 VR6 thing is lowkey a beast

[@charlievalenz7719]

Hey man I own a 2002 vw golf mk4 with a gls 2.0 i just wanted to know what type of mods i can do with it because ive heard putting a turbo is no good so i wanted to know the facts about my own car

[@niceshotbowlcut]

mk4 is a heavy car for its size, i think mine from the factory was close to 2900 lbs. which is wild since its a lil baby boi hatchy. still a fun car and it handles like a dream with the coilovers i slapped in there. just need to start weight reduction and give it a lil tune.

[@charlieouellette5932]

Do you have the 3 door or 5?

[@joserouracastano7812]

Si el peso ya esa época 1208kg el 3 puertas era peso una ballena pero aora ese peso es lo justo pesa mas un polo moderno 😂y el golf mas 1400y pico kg si yienes el gti Vll correras si no poco.fijate si cambia aora 1200 kg y 200cv del 1.8t 3 puertas algo preparado es delicia

[@wtfobiden]

My 03 4 door manual tdi ALh mk4 golf is my favorite car ive owned. Kerma tdi tuned and it pulls like a tractor.

[@wtfobiden]

365,000 miles on the body, 100k on the motor . .it will be making it to 500k and beyond !!!

[@shearussell4554]

My favorite body style Jetta or golf gti

[@segeros]

My dad had a wagon Golf 4, it was a pretty alright car, but it missed something from the earlier gen. You don't need to worry when you buy a 1.6 16v (no, not V16), it's very, very reliable, same with 1.9 TDIs below 120 hp, but these are literal Nokia 3310s. WARNING FOR PEOPLE THAT WILL BUY THE GOLF 4 CABRIO: It's still a Golf 3. Seriously. While hatches, wagons and sedans (Bora/Jetta) are based on the new construction, the cabrio is still based on the earlier gen, just with the outside stuff changed.

[@_____s___]

I love you mark

[@GM6BEAST]

I have the 1.9 GT TDI ARL engine. Soooo reliable. Can’t find an engine cover in a red TDI😭

[@Itesmassive]

just missed fender and rocker panel rust but accurate video

[@KamyFX]

Notification squad

[@Rehsuk_]

sloth ave🧼 💥💥🔥🔥🔥

[@igniux]

correction: there were TDI variants with 4motion system, not only r32 got the awd.

[@shockesta]

aswell as there was a 2.8l 4 motion vr6

[@ralphenstein9105]

I'm pretty sure there are VR5s with awd, as well.

[@LuckyMoua]

Can you do the six gen Honda Civic coupe and sedan models? I believe you did the hatchback version, but I want to see a video about those too.

[@tomasrodrigues8835]

Hey Mark, could you do an episode about the Honda Civic 6th gen? I think a lot of people would be interested in it.

[@Turner177]

So played out already

[@ghostsniper958]

Love the mk4 gti but it's in the shop for the 2nd time in 12k miles and down for the 10+ time period. Won't start again after starting perfectly twice with new parts after they were installed. Currently waiting to see what's keeping it from starting now.

[@Rockony]

Ground cable

[@ghostsniper958]

@@Rockony thank you. And yes it was even though it didn't look corroded .

[@cryptoisaac]

I found a 2000 automatic Gulf would you recommend? It has 159kmikes for 2600

[@cwbusrides]

Wheres the Mark Score from the e39 good bad and ugly

[@friscostreetstories5403]

I see more high mileage vr6s than 1.8s. Especially if the Vr was taken care of. I daily my Mark4 R32 it has 200k and pullls like new.

[@axe2grind244]

Same. There are so little nice VR6's left in North America but I def have one of them. Id sell my R8 100x over before I sold my 24v VR6.

[@user-dc7br4yj7l]

Can you do a good bad and ugly on the mazdaspeed 3

[@Turner177]

1999-2004, 2.0L ,1.8T ,1.9TDI ,2.8VR6-24V. Unless youre from England or something.

[@eliteheocinx9719]

Thoughts on the 330ci?

[@peer0554]

Nice vid but 2things were incorrect 1.there were awd (haldex) mod3ls but i dont know if the USA got them because in europe the was never a vr6 gti 2. Do not unterestimate the speed of those things there are some people pushing 500hp on the 1.9tdi and over 1000hp on the vr6 models

[@derteekessel]

2:40 this is wrong. 1.8-2.8 engines all had the option for 4WD. The 3.2L engine was the only one that came with only 4WD And the Automatic transmissions on the MK4 are awesome. For the GTI and R32 I would recommend manual, but for the rest I can recommend the torque converter auto transmission.

[@armzstronk6744]

1.8t boy here.turbos never fail only if you oil starve them. secondly .the timing belt,just change it every 50k meters.about ignition coils.. change them once to the upgraded which cost 100$ and forget it forever.. that is the truth ..aaah oil sludge. regular oil change every 7-8k meters and use once every 2-3 oil changes an oil cleaner.thats all.otherwise they are more reliable than many jdm newer cars

[@lomnoumm7018]

PLEASE do the BMW z3 next

[@vlpositive7145]

Yesssss or z4

[@lomnoumm7018]

Ye but the old z4 i think is better for the price, still amazing in any gen

[@Turner177]

Be better if you googled yourself

[@BlueTickCH]

BummerK

[@lomnoumm7018]

@@Turner177 WDYM?

[@hakke2485]

CB Accord sometime?

[@Funkrudin]

hp/kg ?

[@user-fq9sx1xz8u]

All caps DO NOT USE THE FACTORY CUP HOLDERS

[@cynevins5856]

I found the worlds cheapest 20th anniversary golf and I was debating on getting it or not

[@v_35hr]

13:00 you mean a base civic or and Si? I'm between EP3 Si and MK4 gti 1.8T, VW its a little bit cheaper where I'm from

[@jordyvasquez239]

Bro same 😭

[@ducebigbelow5598]

Buick regal GS please

[@Hoxtonligger]

I have a remapped 1.8t AUM mk4 GTI ko3s best I Can get mg is 42mpg on motorway on e5 99 Octain Super Unleaded if not peddle happy.

[@fetushislami5170]

2.8 vr6 its also 4motion

[@friscostreetstories5403]

A vr6 will always outlast a 1.8T. GTI has an awesome racing circuit in Britian, VW usta sell bare bodies. The interiors will always be far nicer than any Honda imo. I daily my Mark 4 r32. 200K

[@vlpositive7145]

BMW z3!!!!!!

[@bullishjeff1998]

2002.5 silver 24v vr6 6sp king of fwd mk4. I wouldnt sell ever

[@landen1449]

The Cabriolet is not a mk4, it’s a mk3.5, only sharing the front end look

[@landen1449]

And they’re not light weight, on the three that I’ve owned, all their grvw was about 4000

[@gmans7859]

Nissan Sentra SE-R ?

[@rallipete]

Imo the interior still holds up really fell,

[@guy307]

Sold my rhd k swapped civic looking at a mk4 weekend/project. One reason: Hondas get stolen.

[@nochan99]

Bro... two corrections; 1. my european 2.8 VR6 is AWD and I think NOT GTI, so not only the R32 that is AWD. Also it is 204 HP and not 201. 2. The VR6 is hailed by many as the best sounding engine of all time. Why the hell did you just show the sound of the 4-banger? xD

[@BlueTickCH]

Damn I've got a 2001 GTI GLX 2.8l vr6 5sp. FWD . Awd???

[@ShadowNoCap]

Go over the tiberon hyundai im digging it genesis coupe too pricey for me

[@Lurch-Bot]

Someone made a Golf look like a Dodge Neon🤣🤣 A shame the Jetta GLX doesn't get any recognition because it is an awesome car. But they really didn't make many of them. There are more Jetta VR6s but that's not the same car. I've drifted my MkIV plenty of times. It can be done it is just that most people don't know how. Frankly most drivers don't know how to drive a FWD car, period. At 10:05, that is literally a drift🤦‍♂🤦‍♂ What you mean is you can't do a burnout drift in a FWD car, at least not one that anybody wants to see, lol. Pretty dumb to just smoke your tires for no reason anyway. Yeah, the 1.8T is good for tuning - if you are going to do it properly. If you just want to do a stage 1 tune, you really want to get a VR6 because that can push out way more extra power without internal mods and not compromise longevity. IDK where you got the idea the VR6 is less reliable because that absolutely is not true. As long as you mind the timing chain replacement interval (which should be stated as 110k mi, not 150k mi), they are bulletproof. On the other hand, you might get 80k mi out of a VW turbo if you baby it and they aren't cheap to replace. Part of the problem with the Mk IV reliability is a lot of people put natural oil in them. This will cause the timing chain on a VR6 to fail very quickly and cause greatly accelerated wear in the valvetrain. Maybe this is where you got the idea they are unreliable. If you don't take care of an engine properly, it will be unreliable.

[@BasRuten]

why is there skyrim music in this bruh

[@VWASUTT]

As a guy who owns a mk4 gti I would never buy a Honda 🤮 can’t beat the shape of a mk4 unless your a mk1 or mk2 🤣

[@VImessenjah]

Not buying a fart knocking honda... GTI is more than good enough.

[@lomnoumm7018]

First

[@nubicorno4338]

woah an actual first comment

[@lomnoumm7018]

Ive had a lot more than one of theese

[@nubicorno4338]

First I’ve seen

[@kylep3759]

Had one a real long time ago, like 06 - 09... I miss it. The fuel pump broke 3 times in a year. You know how much of a B it is to do the fuel pump on a GTI? The first time it broke I didn't know how to work on a VW cuz I was a 17 year old moron and I spent close to a grand at a shop. What other car do you know that has a fuel pump break 3 times in a row? I had a E46 330I and after a cooling system overhaul and a oil pan gasket fix it's still fine. I miss the GTI but I must've had a real lemon and it totally spoiled it for me

[@gobbledgoop8350]

Oil Pans and Heater Cores