VW Golf GTI 16v Mk2

Our classic Golf is reawakened for some trackday action, and reminds its owner what he’s been missing out on

‘I’m always surprised by how brilliantly it responds to being thrashed around a racetrack after months without use’

MY MK2 GOLF HAS LARGELY BEEN forgotten about recently, only emerging from its slumber for an evo track evening or two. But when that does happen, I’m always surprised by just how brilliantly it responds to being thrashed around a racetrack after months without use.

It was fantastic at Rockingham. On the long straight it would struggle to reach 110mph before the need to brake, but then it would three-wheel round the tight left-hand corner and start reeling in cars such as a BMW E46 M3 in the twists and turns. That’s proof, if I needed it, that the upgrades, particularly the suspension and the Yokohama Advan AD08S tyres, are doing their job.

Great though it is on track, I chose the Mk2 mainly to be a fast road car, and here, just like on track, it doesn’t fail to put a smile on my face. The five-speed manual ’box combined with perfectly spaced pedals allows easy heel- and-toe action – a skill I don’t get to practise enough with the proliferation of auto and DCT gearboxes in modern cars – and the engine sound is so addictive as it passes 5500rpm. It’s my perfect weekend machine.

Occasionally people ask me if I feel a little vulnerable driving a 25-year-old car with no airbags and no five-star safety rating. (If you own a Mk2, don’t watch the crash test video on Youtube.) The funny thing is, I’ve never felt unsafe in it, and I think this is down to three things. First, it offers superb vision thanks to its slim pillars and large windows. Second, the feedback it gives is so rich you can always feel exactly what the car is doing. And third, you’re never really going that fast anyway, not by modern standards: it may be light, but with 139bhp the 16v has less than half the horsepower of today’s feistiest front-drive hot hatches. I guess that’s progress for you. Dateacquired April 2012 Totalmileage 179,984 Mileagethismonth 221 Coststhismonth £0 mpgthismonth 27.0