VW GOLF AT 50
PC marks 50 years of the VW Golf by taking aspin in each generation: MkI to MkVIII
This year marks half a century since Volkswagen decided the future was probably water-cooled. It's safe to say that the hunch was a good one; even Porsche came round to the idea eventually. The Golf has become the archetypal hatchback, for no rival can match the Golf's continuity of model line and the way it has evolved so recognisably, always oozing Golfness.
You see a Golf – any Golf – and you instantly know what it is. The crisp lines from front to rear, the thick rear pillars, the bold and uncluttered detailing with minimal chrome and, obviously, the VW roundel are why. And the Golfs with the strongest personalities, the crispest looks and the biggest followings are the GTIs. The first arrived in 1976 (but UK buyers had to wait three years), the last – generation eight, the current one – for the 2020 model year.
We've brought together (thanks to Volkswagen UK's heritage fleet) all eight generations of these perfect practical hot hatchbacks, their classic status either established, pending or potential. They have grown in size, weight, power and complexity, but the essence of Golf has stayed intact. Some held the 'hot hatch crown' in contemporary group tests, some lost it, some got it back again by the next test. Sampling them all in one day is going to be fascinating. So, let's start at the beginning.
1 MARK ONE
Isn't it small? It's 12ft 2in long and weighs 860kg. (The MkVIII weighs an extra 603kg, is two feet longer and more than twice as powerful.) It squats on fat Pirelli P-slot alloys, being a final Campaign edition from 1983, and has the red-rimmed front grille and blacked-in rear window surround that mark it as a GTI, along with the black wheelarch lips. (Yes, the front GTI badge is in the wrong place – because it's covering a stone-hole in the grille.) It looks simultaneously tough and delicate.
Under the bonnet is a jumble of pipes, cables and wires, below which lurks a 1781cc, 112bhp version of the single-overhead-camshaft EA827 motor, up from the original MkI's 1588cc. Inside it feels airy despite the dark decor; ahead is a big, boxy binnacle of instruments and switchgear atop a sloping dashboard. When I depress the heavy, long-travel clutch, the steering column moves. This is normal in a MkI; it's a lightly-built car.
The gear knob is a golf ball, of course. The engine fires up with the GTI's usual deep burble, so I wrestle the heavy steering to exit the parking slot and accelerate. Now the steering is light and crisp, if a touch slow-witted, and the smallest GTI feels keen and light on its tyres. Doesn't feel very quick, though; I know from experience that it sho
