Mk3 Golfs, Any Good?

[damien 22 1 Cars]

ive been toying with the idea of getting shot of the estate (its jusy too big) for a 5 door hatch.

ive got a right soft spot for the mk3 golf gti's but ive never owned a vw before.

has anyone got any views on them?

[kyepan 291]

no, but the vr6's sound amazeballs with a decent exhaust on, and handle if lowered a touch and fettled with.

 

J

[1 FAT PUG 39]

slower than the mk2 as there a heavier car, im thinking about a mk4 20v turbo, but then would need it remapping to make it anything proper

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

Rust big time, Slow as well as they are lardy so handling isn't that great either as std, How they got away sticking a GTi badge on them I do not know with a poxy 8v engine

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

The worst Golf GTI that VW ever made.

[damien 22 1 Cars]

it does say on one of the owners sites that they suffer from rust and the 8v lumps are lazy but live forever, the 16v ones are the "real" gti of the mk3's but still soft compared to others in the same class.

[GilesW 41]

Pfft. The mk3 in either 8 or 16v valve is a boring car.

The vr6 I fancied so I borrowed my mates for a week. At NO time did I find it an exciting or involving drive. It's underpowered (for fun), and is (and feels) nose heavy.

 

Avoid them all and get something like a decent Clio instead (yes I can't believe I'm recommending a Clio either!!).

[welshpug 1,657]

If you're looking at a VR6 you might as well buy a 6 and avoid the DubTAX, just as quick, less rusty (usually...) less thirsty.

 

 

or a Xsara VTS, get a phase 2 if you can hack the looks, as they're better on fuel than the phase1 and the 306's.

[sensualt101 31 1 Cars]

from what i have read the golf gti's as a family progressively got wider heavier and slower and contrary to popular belief rust suprisingly readily!

 

the mark 3 in particular get some pretty bad press for being slow and thirsty.

 

i am sure that vw enthusiasts would disagree.

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

The worst Golf GTI that VW ever made.

 

disagree, the Mk4 was the worst Golf GTi ever made closely followed by the 3! Both terrible cars, honestly cannot see the appeal of them

Edited June 15, 2012 by BERTMAN

[Paul_13 212 1 Cars]

Quite a few electrical problems as well

[damien 22 1 Cars]

From what I've read from reviews they are good strong cars as long as you don't think of them as gti's.

 

I don't really want another French car and I've only got 1k to spend, I need something with back doors for the kids and I want something sportyish

 

Seems like a big thumbs down on here.

 

[BERTMAN 40 1 Cars]

why not getting something along the lines of a sporty mondeo or the like? Zetec, or an ST24 or something... they are ridiculously cheap

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

All you will buy for £1000 is someone else's problem. I would stick with what you have. Better the devil you know.

[welshpug 1,657]

Cant think why you are saying a 306 estate is too big, my sister and bro inlaw have a C5 an its often not big enough

[maturin23 10]

Mk3 GTI wasn't half as bad as the Mk4.

 

I ran an 8v Mk3 as a company pool car back in the day. Was a nice solid car and a decent place to be on the motorway but felt competent rather than fun. I had an E30 325 Touring as my own car at the time and that was FAR more fun.

[damien 22 1 Cars]

All you will buy for £1000 is someone else's problem. I would stick with what you have. Better the devil you know.

 

abit harsh, ive had some great bargin cars but as you said there is afew lemons out there you just have to have your eyes open.

 

its just the 306 estate is abit OTT for us, we have never used the tow bar and the only time the extra space has been useful has been for tip runs.

 

will have to give it a good long think....

[Gentrix 2 1 Cars]

I had a mk3 estate GT which had the 115HP 8V GTI engine - and yes it is not fast. But after 2 Years the TÜV spotted rust at the sills - but it turned out to be much more - both sills big way and the footwell behind the frontseats was really Fred Flintstone style.

Apart from that I couldn't bear with the look of the MK3 any more - they are overly done here in Germany back in the days - and whatever you try to improve lookswise - it makes it worse

[laldy875 6 1 Cars]

why not get an old seat?

[welshpug 1,657]

why not get an old seat?

 

See VW comments above.

[damien 22 1 Cars]

lol

 

will have a noise about at the st24's, would love another 6 but i should really have something with back doors.

 

i dont know what it is but its something about the mk3's, its kind of a classic but not....