1986 Volkswagen Golf GL review from UK and Ireland

Passenger side window winders on both front and rear door broke.

Rev. Counter cable failed.

Dual horn system failed.

Heated rear window failed.

Rear wiper motor failed as did rear wash wipe system.

Drivers side dipped beam faulty.

Persistent oil leakage.

I bought this car in September 2002 as my first car after passing my driving test, it was a bargain and came with Volkswagen's age old reputation as a manufacturer who builds solid and reliable cars that stand the test of time and any abuse you can give them.

It is a 5 door GL model with a 1.8 litre petrol engine and manual gearbox.

Downsides to this car are that it has quite heavy steering and is rather angular on the inside, at night the cabin is gloomy with very few dashboard illuminations. When cornering on some roads there is a degree of understeer which I have not experienced on many of the other cars I have driven although this is easy to get used to and with experience becomes part of the car's character, nothing more.

However, the 1.8 litre engine is seriously quick and extremely responsive at all speeds and as long as the brakes are in good condition and have been serviced, they are very good also (front disc/rear drum brake set up)

It is extremely solid and steady on the road, the top speed I have taken this car to is 109mph and even at this speed this car made me feel safe and in control.

I found that when buying this car there were many problems with this, although the mechanics of it were actually all in reasonable order for a car of its age.

The main problems with it were cosmetic and electrical, although the elctrical problems I put down to the previous owner's apparent lack of any skill or remote knowledge about how to do the wiring tasks in this car, as he had made a complete mess of the entire circuit, having wired the radio to the headlamps and rear window heater and with half meter lengths of wire connected together haphazardly.

The rear 3 quarter split bench seat in this car is extremely comfortable on long journeys and front seats are much firmer, but also extremely comfortable, although the seat fabric patterns are rather uninteresting.

Another downside is that the interior fascia panel occasionally rattles, which is a common problem I am told in these cars, plus the switches feel rather cheap and insubstantial, although I am yet to break one.

The mechanics of the car are extremely simple and the parts are generally easy to self-service with the right workshop manual. These cars were at one time very common indeed, so nearly all good breakers yards will have one (If not many) of them lying around so 2nd-hand parts are easy to locate and are generally very reasonably priced.

The large engine in this car is thought to be extremely uneconomical, although I find a full tank lasts me nearly 400 miles.