2001 Volkswagen Golf 2.0 GTi review from UK and Ireland

The car was consuming vast quantities of expensive VW spec oil (Approx 1 litre per 750 to 1250 miles). The car has full VW history and isn't thrashed, no leaks are evident)

Engine management light came on with 20 miles of buying the car. This resulted in 5 visits to the VW dealer to sort the problem out. 1st visit the Lambda sensor was changed, then the throttle housing was cleaned on 2nd visit, 3rd visit resulted in a ecu reset, 4th visit VW changed the Lambda sensor again (apparently the Golf has 2 Lambda sensors??) then on the final visit the Mass Airflow Meter (MAF) was changed and rectifed problem.

Electric window regulator failed at 50000 miles causing the window to fall into the door in the middle of winter. Fixed 1st attemp by VW.

Car developed a sevre misfire at 52000 miles - independant mechanic fixed it 1st time, faulty distributor module to blame this time.

Broken Exhaust bracket at 53000 miles resulted in new middle section for the exhaust costing £200!! from VW. Car returned with a very slight misfire / slighty rough idle (only noticed by me and very few passengers). many trips to VW later I was told this is normal dispite a technician telling me spark plugs or HT leads needed replacing.

This had the potential to be a superb car, but poor dealer service and minor faults spoil the whole car. Most of the problems I had are common with many Golfs, some the model range, some only to the 2.0 petrol.

Overall the car had bags of torque and was a very relaxing to drive on any roads. The engine was very smooth in all cases and gearbox felt very solid if a little clunky. Interior was very well though out, was comfy and seemed durable. The car also had a solid feel to it, probably will do a very high mileage (will comsume a silly amount of oil in the process!!).

I would happly buy another IF VW can sort out servicing and quality control.