First. Car. LIVE! #1: [VW Golf 4 VR5 4Motion] Share your thoughts and rate it in the comments below.

Intro: I’ve decided to start a new series (which will probably end up like the other two) about affordable cheap cars and what mods you can do to them to make them more fun.
Since stock cars are like a replay, same thing you see everyday, i want to make them LIVE! and break the monotony with some mods.

Specs

First things first, what is a car without it’s heart?
The Golf 4 VR5 4Motion is powered by a 2.3L VR5 engine with the codes AGZ and AQN, where AQN is the most powerful model of the two.
Something not all people know is that the 5 from the VR5 is silver on AGZ and red on AQN.
It has either 150HP and 205NM or 170HP and 220NM.

Description

It was launched back in 1997, produced until 2010 and was a huge success, being the most sold car in Europe in 2001.
While being a market hit, the underground racing scene picked up on its popularity and so it became one of the flagships in the tuning scene, appearing also in numerous games.
Although it didn’t get the same limited edition attention from VW as the Golf 3, it still had a few of them with their respectige designs not following a pattern.
It was going through an identitiy crisis, being the only GTI without a red stripe or a GTI specific bodykit (excluding the limited 20/25th anniversary edition). The only ones that got special body treatment were the VR6, R32 and Cabrio.
Being this succesful, the resale price dropped significantly, making it one of the cheapest reliable first cars you can buy, ranging from 700€ for a beat up one, all the way to 2000€ for a mint condition one.

Mods

This being a post about cheap first cars and cheap mods, the first thing i should to would be to chiptune it. The magic fingers of the software tuners will do their spell and boost the power of this car a tiny bit.
But, instead of doing that, i wanna work on the hardware first and harmonize it later with the said tune. Like any instrument, after being built, it needs to be fine tuned to reach its final state.
So, first thing would be to port the valves and make the exhaust valves slightly larger. Do the cams too while i’m at it.
Next stop is the exhaust manifold. I don’t really like how the stock one looks, so i’d personally chop up and adapt the one from the Audi TT RS made by APR since it has ports for dual exhausts. It has a very smart design and i think it would improve the performance quite a bit.
After that, i would install a short ram air intake coupled with a nice hood scoop or a cold air intake with the entry point in the right fender like on the T4 Transporter.
Finally i’d get, or rather make, a new dual exhaust system with free flow cats with HKS exhaust tips, all of it finished with a nice and optimized chiptune.
As for the body, i’d probably get the Cabrio’s side skirts and two rear bumpers and some lowering springs, since air suspensions are quite expensive. Why two bumpers? Because i’ll need to cut the exhaust hole from one and attach it to the other one. Maybe some BBS rims too.
The interior mods would consist of a nice audio system and an Android based head unit.
And bonus, since this is the 4Motion model, a Haldex Controller, so i could have symmetrical AWD whenever i want.

Budget

This would be the crazy part of this post. I think i could do everything i mentioned for around 3000-4000€ if i’d buy the cheapest VR5 i could find.
If i’m lucky, i could find a coupe model with a sunroof for a good price.

Conclusion

If i were to buy this, i’d choose the AQN model because it’s more powerful and has the same taxes.
Hopefully from 170HP it will go up to around 250HP, so, making it, not only a good first car, but a fun one with a pocket rocket character.
Imo, the Golf 4 is one of the best hot hatches ever made and it would be seriously fun to have and tune one.

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Comments

Hmm nice. You have a better far knowledge about mods than me.

05/18/2019 - 20:30 |
1 | 0
Myrmeko (#CTSquad)

It was quite some time since the last time i put so much effort into a post.

It surely looks nice.

05/18/2019 - 20:18 |
2 | 0

Sorry for the accidental dislike on this comment

05/18/2019 - 20:29 |
1 | 0
3 Wheels Is Enough (MadJoeMak)(ReliantRobin)(e46)

Nice post! It’s rare to see so much effort put into car throttle posts these days

05/18/2019 - 20:57 |
1 | 0

Thanks. :)
It’s also rare that i have time for such a post.

What would you rate it X/10?

05/18/2019 - 21:31 |
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Itsuki

Lol, my first car was a mk4 golf, only, the only one that I could slightly afford was the base 1.4 with 70hp :) great post though, and golf’s are great first cars really. Reliable, spacious, rugged enough to take a few bumps

05/18/2019 - 21:18 |
1 | 0
Myrmeko (#CTSquad)

In reply to by Itsuki

Cool. :)
It’s a really good car.

What would you rate it tho 1-10?

05/18/2019 - 21:35 |
1 | 0
RWB Dude

I like this series

05/19/2019 - 15:12 |
1 | 0
Myrmeko (#CTSquad)

In reply to by RWB Dude

Thanks. What would you rate it from 1 to 10?

05/19/2019 - 15:21 |
1 | 0
Peanut_guy

Great begining for this series ! I like your style. Continue like this :)

05/19/2019 - 17:48 |
1 | 0

Thanks. :)
And what would you rate this one?

05/19/2019 - 19:55 |
1 | 0
Erich Mohrmann

Golf 4 Cabrio was actually based on the Golf 3 tho and what do you mean by coupe? There’s no Golf Coupe… As far as I’m aware there’s the Golf 4 Wagon and 3/5 door hatchback… Golf 4 is a great car tho, even with the base 1.4l

05/20/2019 - 11:06 |
1 | 0

Coupe as in 2 door.
Srsly now, you don’t sit in the trunk.
And i know the Golf 4 Cabrio is based on the 3 Cabrio.

What would you rate it x/10?

05/20/2019 - 12:50 |
1 | 0
Rotary Fanboy

Finally someone acknowlegdes this car, the v5 sounds like a mini v10, I would try to get individual throttle bodies for it (if anyone makes them).

05/20/2019 - 12:04 |
1 | 0

Individual throttle bodies for each piston or what?

Btw, what would you rate it out of ten?

05/20/2019 - 12:51 |
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BoostAddict 1

oooh VR5
We didn’t get the VR5 here, and I don’t think we got any MK4s with 4motion other than the R32. I’d love to have something like this. MK4s are great cars, and they handle surprisingly well. You’ll enjoy it.

05/23/2019 - 16:37 |
1 | 0

Oh wait you don’t own it lol. Either way MK4s are great.

05/23/2019 - 16:39 |
1 | 0