Damn, the MK2 Golf GTI 16v still looks great even in 2020, the sign of a classic design.

Wanted a GTI for decades but life always got in the way. Finally got a brand new one a few weeks ago and it’s as fun as everyone says. I absolutely love it.

My 16v was a 91 and I brought it in 96 for £4000, it was last edition big bumber model in Helios Blue with BBS wheels. That car never broke down used next to no oil and at GTi day at Santa Pod ran 16 sec at 88mph with 166000 on the clock and still returned 37mpg on the motorway with a light foot and 27mpg round town... It had a clutch at 105000 but other than that no other problems, one of the best cars I've owned.

That oak green big bumper model that guy had at the end are worth top money now.

My dad had a 1989 F Reg Volkswagen Golf GTI. The Insurance was astronomical and some Bastard was always trying to pinch it!

This was when Volkswagens really were better built and engineered than the competition. They've been living off that reputation for years now.

classic age of cars.. lightweight, simple, and reliable. love it. (i have a 2012...great car but a completely different car)

i want a gti for 4 grand...

Great to see Brian Ricketts, the engineering brain of GTi Engineering, run by Richard Lloyd at Silverstone. My Golf is a Jade Green Type 19 Mk2 16v with the RE2000....2 litres bored and stroked, engine conversion....170bhp @ 6,000 revs, 158 lbs/ft @ 4,600 revs, 94,000 miles young, and goes like the clappers. Totally original car, I'm the 2nd owner. Love her to bits.

that guy is like stewie griffin when hes older

I can assure you that once they hit space ship miles - 150k plus, they go even faster still!

back when top gear was actually informative

You didn't break the engine in properly till about 80,000 miles on these 16v Golfs, mental! One of the best hot hatches EVER!! 💥💥💥👍👍👍

I had the 8 valve MK2 GTI, in jade green. Sounded great and was ace to drive. Also felt very solid. No recycled materials and thin plastics. Built to last

That's an incredibly informative video.

I had a 1989 16v that I bought in 1997 with 100k on the clock. It was fabulous and went like a train and kept up with my mates Corrado VR6 up to 70mph. Recently been hankering for a another one and was fortunate enough to be allowed to drive an original unmolested G plate 16v small bumper last year with 76k on the clock. I loved it, but sadly it wasn’t what I remembered, it went well enough but just felt old & slow even though it was a good one. Still have very fond memories of my 89 16v but according to MOT records records F465TNP hasn’t had one since 2008 and last recorded miles were 172k so unless it’s in a barn somewhere waiting to be brought back i life I’m guessing it is long gone. I do wish Top Gear was more like the old ones, I’m a young 52 year old petrol head and find new TG is just rubbish unless Chris Harris is driving or speaking.

I bought one about 6 years ago. Didn own it for long but I had an absolute blast driving it.

God, I bought an '88 Monza ? Blue 16v for £400 back in yr 2000. You couldn't give em away back then.

How I remember an loved Top Gear. Actual useful car reviews to help inform us. Not the useless rubbish it became of late.

Back when VW Golf was great car. Mk2 Golf GTI looks cool!

Still better than new Top Gear.

If only it was that easy to find one in decent shape in the us

I've had my golf mark 2, 1.8, 8v for twelve years. Tornado red, big bumper 3 door. It's not in mint condition but it's nice for a 1990 H reg & I still love it. I get quite a lot of (nice car) comments from young & older people. Male & female.

Still have a mk2 golf gti with 800k on the chassis. My father bought it original in 88 with the first engine lasting 350k miles the new motor is an ABA single came with the original ported and polished cylinder head with a 272 cam, ported intake manifold, lightened flywheel, all fitted to fully adjustable coilover suspension. The only problem I have is with early electronic fuel injection, digifant. Car runs like a champ and is more reliable than my 98 glx vr6.

Had 90 plate 16v for my 1st car will never forget it and yes I was lucky as hell to have one as a new driver.

I love these old clips. Looking forward to more, if possible. :]

Blimey I remember this episode first time round!

my dad had one in 1991, a 1988 GTI 16V, it was a great car, especially for me 20 years old then ....

Thanks for posting. This is great

Great car. Want one.

I used to love that extended bumper version.

This guy knew his stuff

Had an oak green metallic 3 draw 16v back in 91' , lovely.

I had a 89' Golf. What they are showing in this video is actually what this car was about. They put emphasize the high-speed handling which was in a class above the competition...FARFHENUGIN!!!

That's a magnificent jumper.

Cars have come along way since them days. 150bhp was seen as a lot of power back then

good to see you back :) thank you for the vid

Old Top Gear wouldn't be the same without Quentin.:)

I had a few of these. Loved my 8v but my oak green 16v was nice too. Good times

These GTI's are great older cars. I have an 07 with 250,000km on it and it drives beautifully. The turbo engine does like to drink oil. Just keep an eye on that.

Our old gti 16v was one of the best cars we ever had. Never broke down in our decade of ownership and we sold it for decent money with over 100k on the clock. It was fast, fun to drive and even sounded pretty good with a milltek exhaust on it. You cant ask for much more than that from a car.

The presenter of this is Quentin Willson, not William Woolard...

Ahhhh to go back to these times😢

Had one of these , H reg, loved it, miss it

I have had an '87 GTI 8v sitting in my garage for a while now, the camshaft and valves were damaged a long time ago by a VW dealership when the car had about 30000 miles, and the car has been sitting since then. I didn't know that these were so popular, now I think I should repair it after so long.

I want a 92 GTI! That last owners in green is perfect 👌

I had a d reg 3dr gti 16valve easily my most missed car.. Ah happy days...

The car culture of britain is very cool. The GTI 16V with 175Hp had to of been a rocket ship with a 3rd door. Look fun to drive. Hatchbacks hopefully live on forever

Quentin was only 35 when this was filmed!

Better than 2020 Top Gear.

Old Top Gear: Real Top Gear.

Makes me miss my perfect 1-owner '91 GTI 8V so much! Should never have sold it. I love my 1-owner '12 Golf R 2-door Rising Blue APR stage 2 (hyper rare in the USA) and loved my 1-owner '00 GTI VR6 for 12 1/2 years but my Mk2 GTI was just plain a total blast to drive for the 7 1/2 years I owned her. With strut trusses and sway bars at all 4 corners it rode on rails and I could dive into a corner with confidence and never lift, a requirement in a momentum car like the GTI. She gave the long-gone GTI "salute" - inside wheel hiked high. Maybe I'll get lucky and find the old girl again........

This is properly good consumer advice!

I've never had any troubles with my type 155 only the top replacement, cv axles, front wheel bearings,tires, brakes coolant,wiper blades, fluids ignition tune-up easy stuff very reliable.

I loved my mk2 gti 8v big bumper as in my profile picture.

Good video

1:13 that was close to the parked up cars in the green.

I'm about to finish my little mk2 16v project, but the motor of choice is 2.0 16v;)

I’ve got R Line Golf 21 plate such lovely car to drive no handbrake n the deck lights n cars n everything engine is great

I would have one of these now to be honest, in Oak green with the big bumpers and BBS wheels and leather interior.. 🤔

That`s not William Woolard ;) It`s Quentin Wilson

2:48 If an engine uses no oil, it means the cylinder wall cross-hatched honing pattern is gone, the pistons are not carrying oil and the engine will wear out rapidly. An engine in good condition is supposed to use oil.

3:51 Back when you had the option of kamei , orciari bodykits good luck trying to find a grill like that one let alone a bodykit .

Knew I should have started hoarding VW GTI's back in 92 😫

Beautiful Car

My 1985 8v GTI mkII had 190K miles on it and didn't use a drop of oil between changes. I had no provenance with it but I suspect it had been re-bored at some point. P-alloys and a leaky sunroof that dropped a load of water in your crotch when you braked hard after rain, a the heater matrix acted like a sauna. Great car.

A post 1990 big bumper Golf GTI is a fine thing.

I didn't see any Mk1 cars... but these things are brilliant. Even the rather gutless 8v cars...

why why why why did i sell my golf gti

my favorite car of all time

Even today MK2's GTI are pretty expensive, but trust me these cars are worth the money. I've been owner of Golf CL 1990, 1.3L engine with fuel injection. Yes It was slow even with 5 speed gearbox but I had no problem at all with it for 6 years!! Oh yeah, the cam belt once broke down but I've paid for new one 8 quid so it's not big deal at all.

Second hand cars ordinary people could buy on Top Gear. Now there’s a novelty!

The handling is great on the Gti, I agree. They are extremely popular in the UK - what country are you from?

the 16v was quicker than 125mph, my 8 did that!

I was lucky enough to have a brother who had a 1987 GTI 8V, followed by a 1990 16V, both of which he let me drive, even though I was a silly novice and probably shouldn't have been at the wheel of a 16V. Both were such great cars ... even though the 8V was never quite fast enough to deserve that GTI-badge. Over here in Germany, insurance was getting rather ridiculous for them, too. Perhaps not as ridiculous as they would get a little later for Mk III VR6s, but still quite silly. I distinctly remember that at one point, the 16V was getting pretty close to what you would've paid to insure a Porsche 911.

I'm actually surprised that insurance was £470 fir a 30 year old in 1992. Makes today's prices seem not quite as bad as I thought. Still, it would be better if all these "no win, no fee" scammers were made illegal.

did someone noticed when he said somethng about 'jigging' or whatever it is, something about that if the body isn't repaired properly it won't handle as it should? what is it all about

I wanted a MK2 Golf when I learnt to drive but couldn't insure anything with any of the following combination of letters after the name, gt sr xr rs followed by an i or e or turbo ;) I managed to insure a xs.

What a time to be alive its 2020 and i bought my 1990 mk2 2 foor golf for 895 usd 90k miles and im deabting keeping it original or engine swap

E30 M3 would have be a great deal when they were 10k range

I roll around in a 3 door red E plate 87.. 4 speed 1.3... not a GTi but I love it...

Remember mine ! Black new 1990 and 2 years later, BBS RS, Bilstein/Eibach susp and latter Oettinger 163 hp prep by VW... Sold it to a young guy that crushed it 3 month after he bought ! Sad

Golf mkII gti 1.8, ah own one and is awesome car, even being 21 years old car!

I love that intro tune, where is it from?

I never thought I would say this ever: you don't see them on the streets anymore.

HI What about the golf mk2 G60!! TOP GEAR HASE,NT AS YET SAID ANYTHING ??? MIKE.

Holy crap. Those prices are enough to make you weep

the rakishly angled roof ariel haha

This man speaks like a noble from the Witcher 3 lol. Proper.

You would be surprised, modern suspension systems and ESP make modern cars very quick round bends too!

Low mileage, totally original, right hand drive, big bumper Mk2 Golf GTi 16v, immaculate condition. Show me one anywhere in the world. There must be ONE that is concourse left on the planet. 🙏

90s Good old days

Boy I bet the guy with the Oak green big bumper 16v wishes he still had it in 2022 💰

Interesting as at 7/2/21 the white J registration car was registered January 1992 & is showing untaxed as at August 1993. Probably written off in its first year.

Am I the only one that actually remembers this episode being aired?🤦🏻‍♂️

He may not know at the time that they were Pirelli wheels ;-)

The 16v models were more spritely and more spirited with a better turn of speed than the standard 8v models.

Когда то у меня был такой,классная машина!

I completely agree

180 wheel horse in a mk2 GTI, that should boogie along pretty good.