Jonny Smith, formerly of television show Fifth Gear, has shared his thoughts on the birth of the Volkswagen Golf GTI 35 years ago and its subsequent legacy. Here at AUSmotive HQ we currently have two GTIs parked in the a drive; a 1980 Mk1 and a 2006 Mk5. Having previously owned a 2001 Mk4 GTI as well, we were keen to see what Smith had to say in his article published on Influx.
Here’s a teaser, and make sure you follow the source link below for the full article:
Prior to the Golf GTI’s birth, to reach its calibre of performance you’d need to drive a cramped coupe or a bulky saloon. The GTI didn’t have the temperamental traits of highly-​​strung Italian machinery, the hit-​​and-​​miss quality of British cars or the kitsch of many ’70s Japanese try-​​hards.
Fitted with an eager fuel injected front-​​drive four-​​pot engine the thing just inhaled meandering B-​​roads and returned decent motorway comfort, together with real-​​world mpg. You could cruise it, you could gun it, and you could do the school run without it missing a beat or costing a fortune to keep alive.
[Source: Influx]
2 replies on “A look back at the Volkswagen Golf GTI”
Good read but I was cringing every time I saw “GTi”.
Haha, yes, me too.