Mk4 CABRIOLET vs VOLKSWAGEN GOLF
The 1980s brought about a revival of the convertible, an automotive idiom that many observers believed would be doomed by the end of the previous decade. In the early 1970s, there were rumours that impending US safety legislation would outlaw soft-tops altogether; thus, the launch of the Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet in 1979 marked the return of a oncefamiliar genre – the open-air version of a family car – and was also perfectly timed for the MGB owner who now required a back seat.
The Cabriolet was constructed by Karmann of Innsbruck, with VW supplying the components, and while the standard Golf was updated as the Mk2 in 1984, the convertible retained the Mk1 body until April 1993. Later models were given ‘Clipper’ colour-coded body panels that resulted in a reasonably svelte-looking Golf – just right for transporting its owner to a ‘Power Breakfast’ at Canary Wharf.
Alex Wilkinson modestly describes his splendid 1991 GTI as: “Not perfect, but still standard. I bought it in 2015, at which time it had been sitting in a field for five years. I got it running and through an MOT, and I’m slowly getting the imperfections sorted’. With its 15in BBS crossspoke alloys and hide trim, the VW conveys that ‘Croydon’s answer to the Miami Vice’ look, especially with its electrically powered roof.
Only the most awe-inspiring of ’80s Escorts could hope to compete with the Golf – and Barry Woodward owns just such a car. Any Mk4 XR3I Cabriolet in original condition is now a rare sight, but this example in Flambeau Red over Moonstone Blue is positively decadent. As with the Volkswagen, the Escort’s body was devised by Karmann, and when it was given its debut in 1983 it was the first official Ford drophead since the demise of the Consul/zephyr/zodiac MKII. The elaborate work involved in strengthening the floorpan resulted in a price increase of around 25%, so it was only available in Ghia or XR guise yet, by the late ’80s, the Escort Mk4 was the best-selling convertible in the UK.
Whether you would opt for a Ford rather than the Volkswagen would probably have been less to do with the price factor and more to do with your own vision of summer motoring. The latter does suffer from a hood that looks awkward in comparison with the XR3I, but any Golf enthusiast will be more enthused about its chassis, its steering and its sheer quality. “The engine is just so smooth and because the Golf is such a lightweight car it handles so well,” says Wilkinson. Its rival, meanwhile, seems to be a slightly more approachable car, one that blends an exceptionally well-devised top into a sporting Ford that genuinely could be used every day. “The acceleration is quick,” says Woodward, “but its nicest aspect is that it takes you back to driving in the 1980s.” It might only be 30 years old, but nostalgia really is what it used to be.
‘ANY Mk4 CABRIOLET IS NOW A RARE BEAST, BUT IN THIS COLOUR IT’S POSITIVELY DECADENT’