As taken from my local paper this week:
We love hot hatches. They pack the day-to-day usefulness of a regular small car. But there’s pizzazz in their fiery engines and a sharpness in their steering and ride that makes other cars feel slow-witted.
And the way they look is the business, too – leaner and sharper than workaday hatchbacks. For us, the Golf is the original GTi. It was the first – indeed Volkswagen invented hot hatches when it dreamt up the category back in the 1970s.
In the years between, the Golf has moved through six versions, and each included a GTi. Other makes developed ‘me-too’ models, some bettering the Golf. But of late the Golf’s seen a return to form and the one you can buy new right now is as good a GTi as you’ll get.
Second-hand, the current-shape Mk5 (above) commands good money. You’ll pay around £8995 for the oldest of these, a 2005 05-registered three-door with about 50,000 miles covered. That’s a fair price for a car that’ll cost the best part of £20k when new. And Mk5 Golfs are solidly built so a mid-life example like this should keep its looks for some years yet and prove reliable, too, if it’s looked after.
If that’s within budget, it’s a terrific buy. First, it looks great – the black grille, lowered suspension and handsome alloys complete the GTi look nicely while keeping it subtle and grown-up. And the 199bhp 2.0 petrol turbo engine is a gem. It revs easily and smoothly, making a throaty blare as it gathers speed.
Inside, the cabin is sober, but a sports wheel and huggy chairs hark back to the original 1970s GTi
If you’re fortunate enough to have more to spend, the best Mk5 is the limited edition model, the 30, made in 2006 to mark 30 years of the GTi. Costing from £15,000 second-hand, these have beautiful 18in alloys and checked upholstery that mimics that of the original Mk1. But they also have modern comforts such as climate controlled air conditioning and satellite navigation built in.
Whichever you buy, it’s important that any GTi comes with proof that it has been cared for. Ideally, this should come as a service book carrying the dealer’s stamps to show it has had all the servicing it has needed. If the owner can present the garage invoices to show exactly what was done, so much the better. Look for evidence that the garage has used the expensive fully synthetic oil that the car prefers, too.
And, another tip. Look at the tyres. They should be a ‘name’ brand and should match each other, all-round. Different makes and/or a mix of budget brands would warn us that a past owner has skimped on the car’s upkeep.
Turning to older cars, the best buy among Mk 4 Golfs is the 130bhp or 150bhp turbodiesel. While the idea of a sporty Golf with a diesel engine might shock diehards, for us either of these pair are worthy for consideration if you’ve £5000-£7000 to spend. Volkswagen’s 1.9-litre diesel engine may be a touch noisy but it pulls hard and delivers a sparkling in-gear shove that beats rivals of its era. While this car doesn’t wear a GTi badge, for us it is the closest you’ll get to one.
It’s a well set-up car – alloy wheels, a six speed manual gearbox, four airbags, anti-lock brakes, and air conditioning are standard – and one where overall condition and a good history are as important as age and mileage. Many were bought new for company car fleets and have racked up 100,000 miles by their fifth birthdays. We’d be happy to buy one with that distance covered, if we saw good evidence of its maintenance record and the car looked sound and drove sharply.
Tracking a GTi’s service history can be tricky, though. While Mk4 and Mk5 Golfs have an on-board system to remind drivers when a garage visit is due, this can be set up in two ways, decided by the owner. Either he or she chooses annual servicing, meaning that the car will request a service once-yearly, unless a big mileage is covered.
Alternatively, it can be set to work on driving style and mileage. A car that does many short trips will require servicing after fewer miles than one that’s been used mostly for long motorway journeys. So you need to ask which schedule has been followed.
There are petrol-engined Mk4 Golfs that qualify as GTis, too. The pick is the 180bhp 1.8-litre turbo that appeared towards the end of the model’s run, to join a 150bhp model with the same engine. Both cars are acceptably quick and look the part but for us don’t have the sparkle you’d want from such a car. Finally, there is a 2.0-litre model, but with just 115bhp on tap, it’s too slow. Famously, the Top Gear TV show pitted this car in a 0-60mph race against a regular Toyota Corolla with a 1600cc petrol engine. Yes...you’ve guessed. The Corolla won, easily.
No matter which GTi you pick it’ll come with that fine feeling that, in some small way, you’ve purchased a nugget of motoring history.
