BY ANDY ENRIGHT
Viewed with the benefit of hindsight, the Golf GTI reached its nadir in Mk4 guise. Weight went up, power went down and prices tickled those of proper junior executive cars. The bubble had to burst and it wasnt until the arrival of younger, swifter rivals that the Golf GTi was exposed for what it had become slightly middle aged. The arrival of 180bhp versions helped repair its image but dont mistake the GTi for a proper hot hatch.
Instead view it as a plush sports touring car. The rave reviews afforded the Mk5 GTi have depressed Mk4 prices and now could be a good time to buy a refined, well built hatch.
The Mk4 GTi may be styled in an evolutionary fashion, but its largely different from the ground up. Where the opposition have had to develop their cars from scratch within tight budgets, the men from Volkswagen were able to throw millions of Deutschmarks at creating the finest floorpan in the compact car world. Money was no object, declared the Wolfsburg board, safe in the knowledge that their investment could be justified by the use of the same componentry in each of their other three group brands. That said, none of the Golf GTi engines could accurately be described as state of the art.
The 1.8T is the best of the bunch. On the move, French rivals can sometimes be more fun round the corners but none feels as safe or as reassuring to drive. Whichever model you choose, it will come complete with twin front airbags, side airbags, ABS, a height and reach-adjustable steering column and rear seats incorporating the clever Isofix system for attaching a child seat.
Its the little touches that impress you most though. Cup holders in the front and the rear, the self-dimming interior lights, the chrome tie-down hooks in the luggage area, the gas struts to hold up the bonnet, the special cover on the boot locking pin so you dont get things caught in it save to say that this is a car that makes its competitors feel cheap. Its a car that will please those with an eye for thoroughness and attention to detail, if not those who remember what the original Golf GTi stood for.
Mk4 versions start at £3,800 for a 1998 R registered normally aspirated 1.8-litre three-door car, whilst a five-door is around £100 more. The turbocharged 1.8T is well worth the additional outlay, a 1998R three-door fetching around £4,600.
A late 2003 plated example with five-doors will retail for around £10,000. The unremarkable 2.0-litre versions start at £4,600 on a 1999 T plate. The desirable 180bhp Anniversary models are still very rare, but low mileage examples are changing hands for around £2,000 in addition to equivalent 1.8T prices.
The Golf has a strong reputation for reliability, but it still has a few areas that need to be checked carefully. One is the manual gearbox in high-mileage cars. These can have worn bearings which need expensive repairs if there's a lot of noise from the gearbox, get it checked. Corrosion is rare on a Golf, which speaks volumes for Volkswagen's rustproofing methods and the quality of the steel it uses. A GTi with rust should scream "badly repaired accident damage" at you. Steer well clear, as a bent chassis will probably have caused misaligned panels and subsequent corrosion. With Mk4 cars, consider the premium you are paying and ask yourself whether a used SEAT or Skoda, which share similar Volkswagen Group underpinnings, may be better value.
(approx based on a 1997 Golf GTI 2.0 Ex Vat) An exhaust system is about £85. A clutch assembly will be around £75 and a new catalyst will be around £60. An alternator should be close to £50.
Brake pads front and rear are about £45 and £33, respectively. A replacement headlamp is close to £65. A windscreen should be in the region of £90. Major and minor services are around £75 and £35 respectively.
The Golf GTi has been piling on the pounds over the last few decades. The Mk4 Golf is a whopping 48 percent heavier than the original Mk1. All this means that the later cars need much more power just to stay in the same league as the originals. Despite its 20 valves, turbo and modern electronic engine management, the Mk4 GTi 1.8 Turbo can't match even the earliest humble 1.6 GTi in terms of power to weight ratio. To have the same power to weight ratio as that early car, the modern Mk4 would need 162 bhp, to catch the Mk2 16v, a whopping 180bhp! The Golfs reputation as the car that would corner on three wheels with steering that danced in your hands and a chassis that made the keen drivers eyes light up is a bit of ancient history now. The Mk4 Golf GTi is a far more urbane creature, looking disdainfully at such juvenile antics.
Even the 1.8T GTi models are smooth, refined and syrupy, with none of the verve of old models.
Other cars in the Mk4 Golf line up - such as the V5 and the R32 carry the sporting torch a lot more convincingly than the GTi. As long as you dont expect a tyre smoking performance hatch you shouldnt be disappointed. Think of it instead as a briskish hatch that doesnt fall to pieces at the sight of a corner and you should be happy with a Mk4 GTi. Our pick would be one of the later 180bhp cars which can get a respectable hustle on and still feel agreeably modern inside.
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