VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTI
PROJECT £1000-3500 // USABLE £3500-7000 // GOOD £7000-15,000 // EXCELLENT £15,000+ // PRICE WHEN NEW £6808 (1983)
It’s no accident that the Golf GTI MkI has reached legendary status. Created by a team of engineers who wanted to build a limited-run special using the Audi 80GTE’s fuel-injected engine, it was an unexpected hit that sold out in no time.
The Golf GTI was so strong because the car it was based on was a masterpiece of design and engineering, topped off by a 110bhp version of one of the finest four-cylinder engines to emerge from the 1970s.
By the time it made it to the UK in right-hand drive form in 1979, it was already established as brilliant, and had the market to itself if you discount the smaller Renault 5 Alpine/Gordini or the RWD Chrysler Sunbeam Ti.
To complement its performance engine, it received subtle visual mods that Volkswagen still use to this day on its GTI models. There was red pinstriping for the grille, subtle side stripes and a larger chin spoiler for the exterior, while the inside received a sports steering wheel and seats, and a golf ball gearknob. Alloy wheels and lowered suspension complete the ensemble. These were simple tweaks that made the GTI a true aficionado’s car – you needed to know your cars to recognise it.
By the time the GTI made it to the UK, the motoring press was ecstatic about it. The usually acerbic CAR magazine concluded in 1980, ‘It feels like a little tiger of a car and, without you necessarily being the type who’d set out to dash through traffic and storm through bends, you’re liable to find yourself doing just that. If you like, the GTI is a boy racer par excellence’.
The GTI’s transition to classic car status was easier and earlier than the three cars it’s up against here. Today, the Golf GTI can still impress. It’s petite, bordering on tiny, and a solemn reminder of just how bloated modern family cars have become. But it’s roomy, and even if the cabin’s a bit gloomy you won’t mind once it bursts into life and you set off to stretch its legs.
The biggest joy is its quickfire response, and smooth engine which fizzes with enthusiasm – it wants to play as hard as you do. Start leaning on it and the quick and playful turn-in are something to behold. It’s not the stiffest car here, and it does roll a bit in bends, but that compliance and abundance of steering feel give masses of confidence.
Our GTI is a 1.8, so it doesn’t rev as freely as an earlier 1.6, but it’s quick off the mark, and delivers punch in the midrange. Brakes are its biggest weak link – spongy and underpowered, but they are an improvement over the 1.6’s. It’s a brilliant all-rounder, calm and comfy when you don’t want to hoon it.
Being a VW, there’s a huge classic car industry surrounding the Golf GTi, and although parts aren’t as readily available as the MkII, you’re never far from an expert who’ll put things right. Although it drives the wheels off the XR3i, the GTI’s values have been caught and overtaken by the rarer (now) Ford. Its survival rate has made it more affordable in recent years than its once deadly rival.
They’re still expensive – but your chances of finding an unmodified one in good condition are probably the best of all the four cars here.