2001 Volkswagen Golf GL review from North America

ABS brakes have failed on my repeatedly under certain conditions, such as approaching a left turn and decelerating upon making the turn AND on unevenly paved surfaces. This happens almost every time. Mechanic had car a week. Completely disassembled the brakes; could find no physical defect. Ended up replacing the rear brake pads (at 40K miles). Time without car: 1 week. Cost: ~$400.00. Not under warranty.

Engine light came on at around 39K miles. Had a reputable mechanic reset the light several times until I had them do more extensive testing. It turned out that one of the strobe sensors had gone bad and all had to be replaced because no one of them could be pinpointed as the problem. Cost: $450.00. Not under warranty. Time without car: 4 days to wait for on order part.

Car begins to rough idle and lights begin to flicker at about 44K miles. Cause: had to have the alternator replaced. Was without car 6 days. Cost: $900.00. Mechanic told me that the problem was very difficult to pinpoint.

All of these repairs happened within a 2 month period, recently.

I fell in love with the Golf when I test drove it. However, at 2 years old, it has been nothing but worry and high expense.

The car was (and is) very peppy especially when you consider that it is a diesel. But not like any diesel you'd ever drive.

I love the way it handles. As powerful and as responsive as any American 6 Cyl. I've driven.

Incredible mileage: nearly 50 MPG on highway, and mid 40's in the city. Nothing even come close given the power you also get. Diesel is most def. the way to go. And almost no exhaust issues of old.

Interior: pretty bland. Stereo system (not monsoon) is pretty average. Car is pretty roomy for the driver, as long as there is no one behind you.

The anti-lock brakes have gone out on me several times, under similar conditions. The dealership has refused to do anything about it. My mechanic tells me that there is nothing physically wrong. His opinion that this is a manufacturer's defect, but to try to prove so would be very difficult.

I have enjoyed the driving experience until it's 40,000th mile. Since then, the car has been almost scary to drive given the ABS failing. After reading many of the postings on this website, I'm convinced that Volkswagens are at best barely average cars, and at worst dangerous.

From what I've read about the Golf, it seems that the diesel experience has been mostly positive, and I would agree that this is probably their best type of vehicle.

Many congratulations on the engines. But shame on Volkswagen for all the other problems they won't engineer out of the vehicle.