1999 Volkswagen Golf Standard review from South Africa

Driver's door did not seal tight on delivery. Had to be adjusted by a panel beater.

I bought my South African built Golf 1.6 A4 Standard new in May 1999, and drove it for two and a half years before selling it with about 42500 km on the clock.

In that time the car never let me down, and nothing whatsoever went wrong.

The only thing wrong with it when I took delivery, was that the driver's door didn't seal properly, and had to be adjusted by a panel beater. Except for that, the fit and finish were excellent, and remained that way until I sold the car.

Sometimes there was a faint rattle in some of the doors, but it went away of its own accord.

Road-holding and acceleration wasn't best in its class, but was quite adequate for everyday use. The ride was very comfortable. For general use it was a lovely car, especially on long highway journeys.

I also liked touches like a foot rest for both the driver's feet and the small sun-blind behind the rear-view mirror, which showed that a lot of thought went into the design.

It also took dirt roads in its stride, except for rocky parts, where the relatively low ground clearance put parts like the oil sump in danger.

I was really sorry to see the car go when I had to sell it.