The Mk3 Volkswagen Golf GTI Deserves Another Chance

When the invitation to drive across to the newly launched GTI FanFest came through, you can imagine my excitement when it came with the bonus of driving across in Volkswagen's fleet of heritage ex-press car GTIs.

That included one of every generation, from its original Mk1 through to the spanking-new Mk8.5 GTI and quite literally everything in between. Oh, the possibilities – I could be driving in the very original, the highly rated Mk7 or my personal favourite thanks to Clarkson’s Heaven and Hell, the Mk5.

When the car plan for the trip came through, there was a rather large sigh in the vicinity of my desk when reading I’d be spending the first and largest chunk of the trip in the Mk3 (if Grant from VW is reading this, I’m sorry…).

It’s not like you’d call the Mk3 Golf GTI the ugly duckling of the lot – the honour goes to the Mk4. Arguably worse, it's the forgotten one. Like the one kid who was never picked for football at school playtime, that jar of pasta sauce at the back of the cupboard you bought three years ago, or Die Hard With A Vengeance.

With that in mind though, it paved the way for an investigation. The Mk3 GTI was panned by journalists on its launch back in 1992 for being too soft, not very fast and quite frankly boring.

A lot has changed in that time, though. Performance-focused cars have begun to get heavier, more digital, less petrol-powered and more about sheer speed above all else. The hot hatch found itself on the verge of extinction and anything remotely exciting has skyrocketed in value. Oh, and I’ve been born, grown up and ended up typing nonsense about cars instead of offering any real meaningful contribution to society.

Yet, during all that time, this particular Mk3 Golf GTI has remained a time capsule. It’s a late example of the hatch, being a 1998 car, and in the following 26 years had covered a mere 1,303 miles before our trip to Wolfsburg.

It’s remained in the care of Volkswagen UK that entire time too, and as a result it’s in absolutely pristine condition. There isn’t a crease in the leather, wear of the buttons or any loose trim. I’d go as far as to suggest this is almost certainly the best example of a Mk3 GTI still on the road.

That does mean it’s not completely representative of the ratty examples you’ll find in the classifieds, but it does offer a curious position. It’s a chance to look at the car as those journalists would have done while I was still shitting in nappies, yet with almost two decades worth of context to put it in.

Some of those complaints of it being a bit boring aren’t immediately debunked once I’m sat in it. There’s really nothing to distinguish this particular GTI from any regular Mk3 Golf inside. No badging on the steering wheel, no golf ball shifter and no tartan for the seats.
The driving position is lovely though and the sheer visibility is novel having spent so much time in modern cars that surround you with more metal and less glass, usually in a fair pursuit of safety.

That soft-edged feeling is immediately apparent when pulling away in the Mk3. The throw of the gear shift is a bit longer than I’d like from a hot hatch, the steering a little light set and it’s clear the suspension is more compliant than anything you’d drive with a GTI badge on today.

Yet, once you have the chance to open things up a little, it reveals that time has been kind to the GTI. Particularly so the 148bhp, 16v engine in this car rather than the weedy earlier 8v lump. There’s a novelty to revving it freely and while it’s far from rapid, it’s not sluggish, either.

Even the steering, once lauded as being not all that engaging, feels pretty responsive compared with more modern electrically-assisted racks to the point that if a Golf feeling exactly like this were to be put on sale today, it’d be lauded.

That soft-set suspension does continue to hamper the dynamics of the car, though, giving it more of a feel of a regular Golf with a big-ish engine than anything with a GTI badge. Slap a set of coilovers and good tyres on though, and that could be rectified.

At this point, I can appreciate the Mk3 GTI for what it is but it’s a later drive in the Mk1 that really puts things into context. Don’t get me wrong, the Mk1 Golf GTI is an utterly brilliant little thing and it deserves to be an icon, but it’s a laborious thing to drive.

There’s no power steering so anything below 10mph is a real workout, there’s really not a whole lot of space to stretch out and even a well-preserved example like Volkswagen UK’s 45,000-mile car feels ropey at driving at higher speeds. Oh, and during the trip, it broke down. Twice.

If you want a Mk1 of your own, it’s going to cost upwards of £20,000 for one that needs a bit of love and I dread to think what concourse-ready cars could go for.

Sure, the Mk3 GTI isn't as charming and nowhere near the icon status. But by virtue of its age, it’s hitting the sweet spot of becoming a bit cool while still being a usable car.

Plus, because nobody really wants a Mk3, they’re not all too expensive either. High-miler 8v cars can be had for less than £3,000, and 16vs (if you can find one) for not a great deal more. If you’re willing to put a bit of love into it, there’s a sweet car from the ‘90s for not a painful amount of cash to be unlocked here. And that’s something that’s only becoming harder to find.