Second Golf!

My wife and I bought a 2001 Golf brand new in the fall of '01. It's a 2.0 GLS model. Heated seats, sunroof etc. Very nice car. What we had really wanted was a TDI however, but none were on the lot.

This '99 came up on the used car lot at the VW dealer, 1999 2 Door TDI w/ 33,000 miles on it. Sounded interesting to me. I decided the TDI would be nice to have for the fuel economy for my drive. I commute 90 miles one way four days/week. It has been! The car is great to drive, I recently put snow tires on it, that made a world of difference in the snow. The diesel has never been hard to start and is quiet. In fact I quite like the diesel sound it makes and the turbo whine.

About the diesel engine, it's not the beast that most people might think it is. It's quite peppy and surprises most people for only 90 hp. It's nearly as fast and feels faster than my wife's 2.0L gas engine. It does perhaps require more vigilance than a normal gas engine though. The intake does tend to clog over time due to a poorly designed EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) system coupled with a CCV (Crank Case Ventilation). There are ways to deal with this issue. The simplest is to install a CCV filter which filters out the oil fumes from the system so it never gets to the intake and cakes up with the soot from the EGR. Also use quality oil like Delvac1 that reduces the oily mist in the engine. For more information see Fred's TDI Club on the Web at http://www.tdiclub.com/ it's a wealth of information and a must read for any prospective or new TDI owner.

About the interior, it's a high quality classy but simple affair. The layout is extremely logical (at least to me). The materials used in the interior are top notch. The gauge lighting always draws comments with it's bright red needles on a violet blue backlit dash. The speedometer and tach are easy to confuse at first in the gas powered cars, in the TDI I doubt that would be the case with the low redline. I do wish that it had an oil pressure gauge, boost meter (why a turbo vehicle is sold without one of these is beyond me) and a voltmeter or ammeter to keep an eye on the electrical system. My base model Jeep had all these minus the boost gauge since it's not a turbo. The seats are firm and supportive but not uncomfortable on long trips. The seat back adjustment is a knob which draws criticism often but I find after using for a while pretty easy to use now. It's easier to get that "just right" position since it doesn't click into place like most seat backs. The seat also adjusts up and down and fore and aft for comfort. With the passenger side seat back you won't fit anyone in the back seat but there's a lot of room for an average adult in front seat! The cloth used on the GL is nicer than the velour in the GLS in my opinion. I don't get shocked every time I exit the car and it doesn't need cleaning with a lint roller every other day. The stereo is adequate for me, easy to use and sounds fine, not dazzling but after driving a Jeep for 5 years about any car stereo now sounds great.

Upgrades I've performed center around drive ability rather than speed or handling. I've replaced the low beams with Phillips All Weather bulbs, very helpful on foggy and rainy days, the summer tires are Dunlop SP Sport A2's which you can also read about here. Other than that my car is stock with the boring wheel covers. Works for me.

As far as reliability, I read all the reviews before we bought our first VW and I went into it with my eyes wide open. I've had less issues with the '01 and my used '99 than my '97 Wrangler I bought new in Dec. 96. Don't believe everything you read. Not EVERY VW is prone to failure! They're good cars, solidly built and are fun to drive.