2002 Volkswagen Golf GL review from North America

A chip in the transmission failed at 2,228 kilometres.

The lever that controls the front seat (makes it pop up so you can gain access to the rear) kept popping off in my hand.

That was it. I owned the car for 16 months and that was all that went wrong. Excellent reliability.

Unfortunately, the car is very uncomfortable for someone who has had back problems like myself. The cloth seats were very unsupportive and hard, it was like riding on cardboard.

There was a decent amount of kick out of the 2.0 litre powerplant, but it probably didn't compare to that of the GTI's base 1.8T.

Handling was terrific for a car in this price range.

The fuel economy was average, but not great, I usually got around 500 kilometres to a tank if I drove exclusively on the highway, and around 400 if I drove in the city.

The CD player (not standard on mine - $500 option!) provided decent sound.

My car came with A/C, power door locks, alloy wheels, and I added a CD player, and it came to about $23,200 in total.

It was a great car, but it was destroying my back, so I traded it in for a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am GT with the SC/T performance package, which thus far has been much better on my back.