Good ride with 17" wheels and tires
Great grip
Good chuckability
A good driver can slide the rear (kids, don't try this at home!)
Good gas mileage when you're not making a point to some interloper
Very well-done interior treatment
Styling looks very aggressive in black with 17" wheels and tires
Women think it's cute

Seems to run "lean" in second gear at low speed
Uhhhh...

This is an update to an earlier review of my Turbo. The car is all broken in now and I have put 17" wheels and tires on it. All of the qualities people look for in a GTI remain and have been enhanced by these wheels and tires. The speed I can maintain through corners is amazing. The power out of corners is excellent, if you stay in the right gear. You can even kick the tail out if you drop the throttle at the apex of a corner. My son loves it when I slide the car on a curvy on- or off-ramp, but I know one day I'll get caught. But it's worth it. Despite the misgivings of one of my neighbors ("I heard those VWs break on you," he said), the car has been rock solid and dead reliable. The dealer has been great too, fixing a problem I didn't even know existed (broken spring in the passenger seat folding mechanism). And I got 31 mpg on a long cruise, averaging about 70 mph, with some extended running at 90-100. The clincher for this experience has been that my wife doesn't complain when I go fast. Instead, she wonders now why the other traffic is moving so slowly. I love this little car.

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1986 VW GTI -- A bit more focused on the sporting side than my Turbo, but I kept that car for eight years and loved it too!

Engine, highway performance, around-town power

Build quality and finish: mexican-made model has lots of minor defects; replacement dealer parts are $$$$$$!

Great car for the money! Fast, fun, but economical. Mine is a Mexican-built model, so there are lots of rattles and squeeks: Dealer service has been horrible. Engine is sweet and smooth and runs reliably.

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1989 GTI: same complaints and strengths as above

Nice Peppy Engine. Fully Loaded. Lots of Utility Value.

2- year warranty

(1998 Model) - This is a very nice car to drive. The 5 speed is very responsive. It is nice to have 172 HP for a car of this size. You get a nice feel for the road when you drive. Accomodation -- Even though this car has only 2 doors it seats 4 very comfortably. Utility Value -- Excellent.. I was able to pack 6 30"" pullman suitcases with the seats folded down. Defects -- I have had one defect in the first 30 days.. And now I have 15k miles and no other problem.. The Car came fully loaded with leather, trip computer, 8 speaker stereo, Sunroof etc.. Drive -- In traffic this car moves like no other. The visibility is very good. I can change lanes with so minimum effort -- That is amazing..

Compact, Cargo space is excellent, Great interior design, Looks cool, The VR6 is very powerful and smooth specially for the weight of the car and not at all loud, Stock suspension is better than most and can be easily upgraded,

Stock rims are 15"", The tires tend to become very soft and squishy as they heat up, The headlight switch is not the Euro version but can be easily replaced, No rear dome light, driver and front pasenger cup holders are practically useless

The VR6 engine of VW is one of my top 3 engines made by car companies. In other words it hauls ass! The GTI to me is practical but yet a fun car to drive specially the VR6. Most of the options are standard on the car which is great because you dont have the dealer trying to get you to spend more money. All you have to decide is leather or the CD changer. If you're into modifications, there are tons of aftermarket companies that make stuff for VWs.

- Small car feel on the outside, big car feel on the inside
- Good useful power
- Good handling
- Very good trainy (after broken in)
- Creat sound from Monsoon, never heard a better stock system. Very nice little hole in the very low bass areas to fit in a simple clean sub for lung destoying bass.

- Springs on the 2000 were too soft, they were great for commute but let the car roll a lot in hard cornering.
- Throtle by Wire kinda sucks, it induces a lag on and off power. This was done by VW for some safty reason (can be somewhat fixed with chip)
- The window regulators always fail on VWs, in other words, the windows drop! This is because of a little part made of plastic made in france. VW will not repare this beyound you're 24000 miles because they say they have designed it correctly, and they did. Unfortunetly the french company who molds this part uses a more brittle plastic, therefore it doens't give like the engineers have designed it to. Therefor it fails, and it's not VWs fault. Kinda messed up, but I see the resoning. When taking it in to get fixed they will want to replace the entire regulator ($100+) instead of replacing the broken part($3), so bug them about it and ussally they will fix it for free!

This car is really great, I accually saw mine comming off the truck late at night, went back the next day and got it. It's a little expensive, kinda high demand,But overall it's worth it! Yes there have been problems with it, but nothing I wouldn't expect from a new car. Call it a shake down period. I put on 35,000 miles in it's first year with no real problem, now I take it to track days too.

The car is pretty fast stock, but if you're really intested in performance on local back roads you will really want to change a few things. First and Second Put in better springs and Tires. This will make you very happy, although you're passengers might not like it as much. The Eibach ProKit springs are designed for this car, matter of fact a slightly more docile version of these same springs are sold at the VW dealer. They not only get rid of a lot of roll, but also stiffen up the rear a little so to get rid of some push in the car. They lower the car about 1.5" which looks good but keeps the car funtional on the street, and if you lower more than 1.5" you need to put in special sway bars in. Don't fall into that coilover stuff, just get these for $250 and the shocks if you can afford it. There's nothing wrong with 16" wheels, you just need good rubber on them. I like Kuhmo tires, they're only $75 each and second to Yokohama $250 tires amung the street race crowd. Nice a quite too! This car has Trottle by wire which is anoying, but you get use to it. But to get things to respond quicker put in a chip, this advances the timing and quickens the trottle respnce a little. The GIAC chip is the most used in the market and accually will increse you're hp +7 and lb.+19. You can really feel the responce, but make sure you use 91+ octane! Fouth would be better brake pads. This car wears out rears faster than fronts, it's strange but this will make you want to put new pads on after a year. I use porterfields, but for more street kinds of activities put in EBC Green pads. They'll warm up faster off the freeway then mine, mine feel like truck brakes until up to temp!

So how is performace after fixing up the car a little bit? At a track day at Tunderhill I was faster than most the cars there including 911s, NSXs and Mustangs and all that V-tech crap. They pull this car on the straight, but this car is very good though the turns! I'm not kidding you!

In closing I just want to say that I really love this car, it's good all around;Steet, Track, Dirt ;-) and Snow! It's one of the few VW accually made in Germany, so quality is good. Things do cost more on this car, but if you're cool with that I highly recommend it!

Below is info on my car, its's hard to find this stuff so I'll share what i've learned. I like good smart performace upgrades that actually help me drive better. Looks always comes second, but fotunetly looks seam to come hand in hand with performance.

Stock: 2000 VW GTI GLX VR6, Silver, 205-55-16

Mods: Eibach Springs ($250less roll, less under steer, looks good), GIAC Chip ($300more HP & LB, better trottle responce), Porterfield R4-S brake pads ($250Better feel, longer lasting, no brake fade),Steel braded brake lines ($100Better feel)Last and not least Kuhmo 712 Tires ($75each Stif, sticky, Quite, look good)

Future Mods: Eibach Shocks and Struts ($600Better control of springs), Magnaflow cat back egsust system ($450More HP, sounds really good), ABD G-Flow Intake ($200More HP, sounds good) , NuSpeed Shortshift ($250 Reduces stick movment 35%)Eibach Sway kit ($300, better ballence).

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A whole lot of cars!

This car still gets around 30mpg! Its excelent transportation and i never want to sell it. My first son will get this car when he drives.

I think the car is a little small inside. Plus it has no power steering. But you really dont need it. No air conditioner either.

My dad bought this car new in 1984. He loved it. He also pampered the car cuz it was his first new car in a while. In 1998, he gave it to me as a present when i made my liscense. It had about 130,000 miles. But still looked new and had no problems. All he ever had to do was general maintance over the years he owned it. Now i have it and the original clutch just went out. Its got over 185,000 miles now and the clutch went after 174,000 miles! The transmission is still perfect. No slips. Its short and tight. Ive had a problem with the exaughst though. It fell off when i was doing abut 110 on the highway and messed things up. Out went the catalytic converter and all. The manifold got all messed up and it ended up costing me about 250 bucks to replace the broken parts. I put a header on it connected to a used converter from an old GTi and i put a cherry bomb on it. Even though this car is 16 years old, it flies. For being only a tiny little 1.8L. This car is unbeleivebly fast.

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None

Obviously the potent VR6. You need to experience this., all the little features that make the convenience package great (IE-radio controls on the wheel, sensor driven wipers, Monsoon sound, climate control, fog lamps etc.)

I am disappointed with the bass end of the Monsoon sound. It is no where near as deep as the Monson sound on the Jetta I just traded. I think this might just be glitch I am hoping will be worked out.

This car is a rocket ship!! I have never driven a car that is so smooth and then when you want it to, will enage in warp speed. I find myself looking for reasons to take it for drives. It is a less than common car. It is unassuming. People give it good looks, but it does not look like the kind of car that can blow by you on the freeway in an instant (which it could). I would only recommend this car for experienced 5-speed drivers. This car should not be driven by young drivers, who may under-estimate its power.

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This car compares to no other I have owned, which includes a 1995 Ford Taurus SHO and several Toyota Celica GT's. It is far superior to the middle grade 2000 VW Jetta GLS I just traded

Options, options, options!!!! VR6 engine, comfort, interior design and exterior design...basically everything. I am incredibly picky and meticulous...I can find nothing of consequence wrong with the car!

cupholder placement. It gets in the way of my Blaupunkt Hamburg. Get the armrest option. A little to much body roll for the power. Uhh..that is it!

I absolutely love this car!!! It is without question the best "bang for your buck"...and then some!!!! It is up to par with Audis, BMWs and Mercedes. You WILL NOT find more options and standard features on ANY other car even near it's class. The VR6 powerplant is amazing!!! Acceleration is smooth straight through the powerband. It keeps wanting to get out from under me. I am in the process of modifying the engine...the power keeps coming. 17 inch wheels are wonderful. Silver and black is the best color combo in my opinion. It is an incredibly sporty looking and beautiful car! No goofy hatchback looks. This car DOES bight back! I would recommend it to anyone who will drive it the way it needs to be driven! Way to go VW!!!

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1988 Fiero GT, 1981 DeLorean, 2001 Mercedes C-class, 1993 BMW 5-series. All pale in comparison!

Great power, handling, fit and finish both in and out. Lots of space to handle all the shopping and fun weekends that life brings.

No CD standard, no cup holders in the back.

I have found this car to be great. The interior finish is of much better quality than you would expect of a car in this price range. I can't really think of an options that are not in this car. The only thing missing the CD player.
The headroom and all around space is much bigger than you would think for a car of this size. The engine is very quick and smooth. I am having a great time driving it. My wife loves it and is now looking forward to driving, she didn't like to drive at all before.
Great car for every day life with a little fun on the side.
Highly recommended!

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Doesn't really compair to my Cavalier which I had before

Amazing power, Audi quality interior, Nice blue dash lights, Superb fit and finish.

As if this car doesn't come with a cd player.

This is my 3rd volkswagen that I have owned. I keep buying them because I love the way they look and drive. The VR6 is absolutely amazing. I haven't lost a race yet. Itegra gsr, mustang gt, neon rt, gti 1.8t, contour svt and a civic sir have all fallen to the mighty vr6. I can't wait for the 2002...200+ hp and 6 speed transmission...mmmmmmmm.

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96 gti 2.0 - no comparison...the 2.0 just can't compete with the VR6 engine