Volkswagen Golf GTi Mk3 16v

i have owned a 16v mk3 golf for a year now the 1 i have is a jap import with the recaro seats as standard its a bit taty on the outside needing the door resprayed it has on just covered 70k and never lets me down i wouldn't say it feels fast but when you race people of the light it keeps up well but i wouldn't say it keeps up with mk4 r32s that just daft you have got to push it abit witch i dont realy like doing to it as no matter what you say its an old car

ive just bought a mk3 gti 16v as my bmw coupe went up in smoke , i find these cars very reliable as i have had many gholfs from mk 2 to mk4s and i find that the mk3 is better handling and economical u very rearly have faults with these like the mk4s with the sensor problems , they just run forever , i dont know why i ever gt rid of my first mk3 it was showroom condition i still kick myself now 3 years dwn the line , i recomend these cars all day long

I've had my 16v GTi 1.8 for nearly 3 months now, although its 14yrs old it still drives like a dream. the performance of this car is breathtaking to say the least and the handling is amazing, i've so far hit 230km/hr on it and mind you its stock standard with no modifications

Golf Mk2 GTI 16v 5 door

I really can't praise the car enough. It's 18 years old and still looks fantastic in it's original oak green. I've always wanted one since I was taken to school in a white 8v gti when I was 13 by a mate's mum. I was hooked from that day, it seemed very fast, much cooler than any other car I had been in.

So some 21 years later I decided it was time to get one! It's debatable but I've bought the rarest colour and it's done 135,000 miles.

So what can I say about it, firstly the awesome handling, it's got 185 tyres but it sticks to corners like nothing I've ever driven and it's also very sure footed, it let's you know in plenty of time when it's losing grip even in the wet. I don't drive it like a lunatic, but on a quiet country road, very little can keep up with it through the bends if you put your mind to it.

The engine is great, there's that huge which is better 8v or 16v debate going on, mine has a jetex exhaust on it, but is entirely standard apart from that. Once you get over 4k rpm, it just takes off, not disimilar to having a turbo and it gets faster and faster towards the red line. Sure there are faster cars out there, but I'm sure mine must be hitting 60 in about 7 seconds and the way it does it, always puts a smile on your face.

It's utterly reliable, when I first got it, it had been standing in a garage for a year, it started and then cut out at a roundabout! Not a good start I thought, but it made it home over 300 miles away and a quick look on a VW owners forum, a clean of the throttle body and it's been fantastic, always starts rain or shine, cold or hot and I'd happily drive it abroard without any worries about it breaking down.

Sure it's had a couple of problems, a power steering rack that dropped all it's fluid, knackered shocks, but all acceptable on a car that's done 135k miles. I constantly get asked if I want to sell it, which is nice.

But I won't part with it for anything, a brilliant car and VW made a car that was built to last, look around for Ford's or Vauxhalls that haven't been restored of the same age, and if you can find them, they will be largely in pieces.

Finally, if you drive sensibly, it's also remarkably economical, on a recent trip from bournemouth it registered 36.5 mpg (I know the MFA is optimistic!) and used a quarter of a tank in the 140 mile trip.

I'll shut up now, but this is a seriously good car and is as close to perfection in a hot hatch as I think you can get.

I've owned two Volkswagen Golf GTi Mk3 16vs for a total of 5 years now. In general excellent cars - Not super fast but with a few mods such as a 3.94 final drive, lightened flywheel, chip, filter and airbox mods the pace becomes easily equivalent to that of a standard VR6 before even looking at proper engine work.

Reasonable grip and handling as standard which can be significantly improved upon.

As for any MK3 Golf - The front strut top bearings and rear axle bushes are probably well past their best with worn rear bushes making spirited driving suicidal. Fit a set of ream beam polys - cheap and easy to fit.

The ABF engine is bulletproof as long as it's looked after with regular servicing and allowed to fuly heat up before giving it any stick.

Electric windows can be a problem as well as coil packs on these cars but thats about it - generally exceptionally reliable otherwise. Excellent MPG and I regularly get 35MPG+ Inexpensive to insure, cheap to run & a pleasure to drive if mechanically sound & well set up.

Look out for rust on the tailgate (under the rear window), chassis bung holes (esp those in the rear footwells) leading top edge of windscreen and on the sills where the dool seals meet.

The Volkswagen Golf GTi Mk3 16v is a complete ultimate bad boi gti fast as hel wouldnt swap mine for a mk5.wen u put your foot down the gears jus go on and on. not a bad comment to say about car so far oh ye leaves st170 for dust

I have had this VW Golf Mk3 2.0L gti for some time now and is by far the best car i have ever had!! Its power and performance is amazing, handles well and looks amazing. The only problem i have encountered with these golf's is the electric windows tend to stop working for no reason. But apart from that i would recomend this car to anyone. Engine seems to run forever without any problems and also the car can look really nice when kitted up!

The Volkswagen Golf GTi Mk3 16v is a good car with a few annoying faults

i've owned my mk3 gti abf 16v for about a year, spent about a grand on the suspension but appart from that nothing else major. havn't come accross a car yet that i cant keep up with or even over take. inc r32 mk4, porsche cayne s turbo ( left him at the lights! twice), 2008 slk kompresor!!! this car is serious fun if u know how to drive it!!!! it has a very hi range through the gears and puts the power to the road amazingly! but not in the wet!!!!

I have had many VW cars and i currentley own a 94 Mk3 2.0 GTI 16V Edition model which where the last 200 made in that shape before they stopped making them, it was used as a show car at the VW owners club and was lowered 60mm which i couldnt drive anywhere in it (handled a dream though) so i changed the suspention and that is the only thing i have changed on it since buying the car and i can tell you i have never broke down it, the handling is out of this world along with the performance and the ride is perfect. VW forever