vallumlj

I am still looking for a cheap car and have never owned a mk4. you still see loads on the road.

You seem to be able to get one for less than 2k.

Are they reliable and safe for carrying two kids.

What model is best?

Thanks

cuprajake

iTrader: (11)

There good cars but getting old now.

1.8t is a good reliable and tuneable engine.

In standard firm the agu and aum will give 150bhp, mapping will give 190 and 200 respectively.

Things to look out for

Knocking suspension. Axel beam bushes, top mounts, drop links.

Mafs fail, the Vw are terrible for brittle hoses which give boost leaks,

The pollen filter can leak as can the door seals, they also get a common air bag light caused by drivers seat movement. The door seals leak too.

The central locking can go potty resulting in new locks.

This may sound like a lond bad list but in reality most of these are £30 fixes. Some even free

In standard for they do feel a bit gutless but a map brings them to life.

Look out for rust front wings as this was a warranty issue too

Hth

daz3883

iTrader: (1)

I owned a mk4 golf gti 1.8t, it was on a 51 plate. had the aum engine with the ko3s turbo (agu has the ko3), 150bhp standard, after puttin a forge recirc valve and a cold air induction kit, it remapped to 212bhp/290lbft (mate had the same but with a catback stainless which made 223bhp), pretty lively for a fwd car, owned for over two years never missed a beat, only thing i had to do was change the coilpacks after the remap which are common to go anyway. lovely car to drive, felt solid and well built as all vws do. The 1.8t engines are the most tunable, and anything newer than a 51plate is still covered by the 12 year anti corrosion warranty for piece of mind. hope this helps make up your mind

Matteeboy

R32 is good, the rest are well made but handle appallingly.

ScoobyJawa

Matteeboy is right on the handling front! Shocking. Though you can do a few mods to help.

I never forget my brother in laws face when he was following once in his MKIV. I was in my 205 Gti and went round a roundabout making progress, he thought well if he can go round like that I can - he was very wrong and almost went over the top of it instead of round it

grey_boy

R32 is sweet if you add the Haldex Adjustable Controller. Makes it perform/act/think it is a RWD or anywere in between. I had one on my TTMK2 V6

http://www.hpamotorsport.com/haldex.htm

romford-boy

A very very dull chassis, but tough and reliable.

If you think Audis drive well then you'll like the car, personally I find it as boring as hell to drive.

LUCKO

iTrader: (3)

i have owned a 2001 aum 20vt for just over a year now ko3s remapped and decatted i absolutely love driving it

i have a widetrack sti 2005 also

when i go for the keys the golf wins everytime its bags of fun and loads of mpg

daiski

i owned a a w- reg golf 1.8t and it was ok , but it was high millage 170k,
leg room in the back isnt good mate for two nippers ,
have you considered a seat leon cupra .
rarer and nicer looking imo and its the same car with a different cover

winnacott

iTrader: (2)

Why look at a golf if you want something cheap reliable and fun look at a renault sport clio 172 or 182 huge fun factor and never goes below 30mpg and can frighten an m3 down the right road.all for less than £2000.
basic cup 172s are nuts if you like fun but are very limited it the toy department,no abs aircon etc but are a proper stripped down lightened factory car, but standard 172/182 all have climate control xenons cruise etc etc.
Had my 182 for 3 years now and cant see anything that gives more smiles per pound out there,infact in this months EVO magazine,they do a £4000 budget thrills test,where the clio came out on top even against a scooby rb5.

Torquemada

I had an Anniversary Edition Mkiv and it was a good car, never really had any probs and with a bit of a tweak to the brakes and suspension I was happy with it as a daily driver. The Anni versions come with 180ps as standard, so a little bit more poke than the normal GTi but a little more rare to find.

Torquemada

Justme103

iTrader: (2)

Cant beat a nice Anni, This was mine

xcore

Cheap, solid ish and dull as dish water. Iv had a 20vt and a 4motion

thenewgalaxy

Pick up a good one for a couple of grand and you have a bargain. Bags of tuning potential as mentioned before if you so desire.

Unfortunately it is not much of a drivers' car especially compared to the MkV that followed. Not to say that it isn't capable though. They are secure and reasonably rapid and certainly comfortable. If I remember rightly the MkIV had good crash protection too.

The R32 variant of that chassis is a cracking car, a sure-fire future classic but well out of budget and probably not a great family car. I would say they're starting to become good investments if unmodified and low mileage.

Andy Porter

Pound for pound the MK4 GTI chassis is one of the most fundamentally floored chassis I have ever had the misfortune of driving