1990 Volkswagen Golf GTi 16v review from UK and Ireland

Heater fan failed on 1 & 2 settings.

Head gasket blew at 145,000 miles.

PAS and Alternator tensioner.

Headlamp glass fell off.

Speedo cable needs replacing.

Driver's window needs re-seating (rattles due to seating rubber working loose)

Passenger window refuses to wind down further than half way.

Gearbox worn so crunches into second occasionally.

Having owned 2 Peugeots prior to this Golf I must say I'm highly impressed with the quality of the cabin. The seats are very comfortable and are made exactly as sports seats should be made, the dashboard; all be it dated; is very easy to read and operate with switches in logical places and there is loads of space for both front and rear passengers.

Performance wise I must echo what has been said in previous reviews, to get the best performance you are required to rev the car a lot higher than you would an 8v. Low down in the rev range it is quite a tame car which could easily be put to shame by smaller engined cars if you change gears below 2000rpm. Leaving the car in gear to just before the red line makes you realise what everyone has been talking about. In first gear it will easily reach 30-35mph before needing changing to second. Throughout the range you will feel it pulling and pulling even more before you are thrust back into the seat for the final time before changing gear. So long as it is kept above 4500rpm this car will obliterate most things in its path (although you still need to be realistic here).

Maintenance is again another joy with this car; I had never attempted anything mechanical wise prior to owning my Golf as they all seemed so complicated and easy to screw up. Due to the wealth of knowledge available on the net about the Golf I decided to have a bash, starting simply by completing an oil change. This took me around 2 hours from start to finish, every minute I loved knowing I had the satisfaction of doing it myself. A good note about oil changes here, I was recommended to always use a genuine VW oil filter as it contains a pressure valve necessary when the engine is warming up or something. I can't remember the full reasoning for this, but everyone on the Club GTI website said this and they all have cars running high into the 100,000s of miles.

Repairing the broken fan was a doddle also; this required the resistor attached to the fan being replaced. I bought a new unit from GSF Car Parts for £15 but I have since been told you can buy the resistor from an electrical store and solder it in place for a few quid.

The head gasket went on my car a few weeks ago which was very costly indeed. Because of the oil pressure being released through the water ways it forced the top hose off the radiator in turn breaking the lip. This required a new radiator to be fitted so it came to a grand total of £680 including a few other things which needed replacing such as the cam belt change.

Overall I would highly recommend this car, its pricey to run in comparison to my 1.4 106 but it is well worth it for the smiles per mile it gives you.