SECOND COMING
Think classic Golf and the chances are it’s the angular, Giugiaro-penned original which springs to mind. Indeed, in GTI form the car was one of the first ’80s cars to be accepted by the traditional classics brigade and in some ways kicked off the whole modern classic scene.
As you will no doubt have realised though, the Mk1’s status as fully fledged classic has seen prices edge slowly but inexorably upwards to the point where the top examples are level-pegging with the fabled Peugeot 205 GTI at the £15,000 mark, while even ropey projects can command £5000.
Values of the second-generation car are inevitably being dragged upwards alongside the Mk1, but at the time of writing they’re still accessible and in many ways represent a clever way in to the retro VW scene. And what’s more, under the skin they’re very much the same car. Here’s what you need to know.
HISTORY
Launched in September 1983 in the German market and arriving in British showrooms in March 1984, the Mk2 Golf is often said to be a simple facelift of the original, but in reality the engineering changes were far reaching.
Although the basic platform was that of the Mk1 car, the Mk2 featured a 2-inch wider track and 3-inch
