・Low mileage classic VW Golf

・Excellent service history

・Presents in great overall condition

The Volkswagen Golf – in all of its guises – has been a hugely successful machine and since its debut in 1974 over 35 million examples have been sold. It’s been a class-leading machine in every generation and is now revered as an iconic model in much the same way as its VW Beetle forefather is. Each and every generation of Volkswagen Golf has a loyal following and the earlier generations are now developing serious classic status.

The example we have here is a Mk4 Golf which replaced the Mk3 version in 1997. The Mk4 was a deliberate attempt by Volkswagen to take the Golf further upmarket with higher equipment levels, a better-quality interior and peerless build quality. It’s fast becoming recognised as one of the finest generations of Golf and will no doubt join its older siblings as a desirable classic in its own right. This 1.6 SE model dates from 2001 and despite being 20-years old it’s in wonderful condition and presents with a low mileage of just 65,486 miles.

First registered in September 2001 the first owner must have been delighted with their new Golf, finished in Astro Silver metallic paint and with a Charcoal interior. It came with air conditioning – which the seller states still blows nice and cold – along with an upgraded stereo system and front seat airbags.

It looks virtually as good today as the day it rolled off the forecourt for the first time. The seller tells us it’s been in the same ownership since 2016 and has obviously been cherished during that time as evidenced by recent invoices for items such as scheduled maintenance and new tyres.

There’s a book pack with the car which includes the original hand book and service book, the latter with 12 stamps. There’s a stamp for the Pre-delivery inspection and then services at the following mileages; 4,988, 9,844, 13,729, 17,407, 21,219, 24,739, 28,690, 31,256, 35,423, 59,398, 62,783 and 65,404.

Invoices that accompany the car include those for cambelt replacements (the last one at 50,000 miles) along with three new tyres in 2019. The Golf has an MoT test until 24th May 2022 – which it passed with no advisories and its on-line MoT history confirms the car’s low mileage.  

Volkswagen’s engineers put a huge amount of effort into making this generation of Golf a real step up from the previous generations and it really shows in the interior of this car – it’s still in excellent condition with few clues that this example is now approaching its 20th birthday.

The charcoal grey seats present in excellent order – both front and back – with no apparent rips or tears to them and they appear to be free of any staining, too. The bolsters are free of wear too – another benefit of this car having such a low mileage. The carpets and floor mats are also in good condition, as is the car’s headlining which appears to be unmarked.

The interior door trim panels are in good order with their velour coverings in a decent condition, the only blemishes to them being some slight scuffing to the interior door handles. There is also some slight scuffing to the glovebox area and around the ashtray in front of the gear lever. These are very minor though and in no way detract from the excellent interior ambiance.

The boot area appears to be virtually unmarked and presents in excellent order – it’s almost as if the car never had to carry a significant amount of luggage during its life.

The Astro silver paintwork presents in very good order and the seller believes it to be the car’s original paint. The Golf’s shut lines and panel gaps are nice and tight and demonstrate VW’s attention to detail approach when this car was conceived. Overall the paintwork presents very well with a deep lustre and shine to it – there are a few blemishes in the form of a stone chip or two, but no dents or ripples to the panels – it really does look almost as if it rolled out of the showroom a few months ago, not 20 years ago.

The hidden areas that are often overlooked also look to be in great order – the door shuts are clean and blemish free and the paintwork under the bonnet is also spic and span. All the lamp lenses and light units appear to be in good order and are free from obvious faults and the vehicle’s glass would appear to be in similarly good order.

The black plastic bumper trims and door mouldings are in nice condition too – there is just one piece of trim missing on the roof above the offside rear C pillar but this should be a very cheap replacement. The rest of the black plastic trim around the screens and windows is in good condition. The classic five spoke alloy wheels are in a decent state with just a small amount of light kerb rash here and there as is to be expected on a car of this age. Four Firestone tyres are fitted and they have good tread depth.

As detailed in the paperwork section this Golf has been well looked after with scheduled servicing having been carried out as and when necessary, along with the vital cambelt replacements. And it shows when the engine is started, firing up first time and idling smoothly and sweetly.

The seller tells us that the Golf drives very well with a decent turn of speed and plenty of refinement from the 16-valve four-cylinder engine and that overall the car drives wonderfully well for a 20-year-old example. That VW build quality shows through again.

Given the way that earlier generations of VW Golf have attained classic status it’s only a matter of time that the Mk4 model joins its illustrious older brothers and sisters on the classic scene. It was a car that was thoroughly over-engineered by VW from the outset which is why 20-year-old examples like this can present in such a fine way today.

With just 65,000 miles from new and presenting in excellent all round condition with a good service history and reportedly driving very well this Mk4 Golf is a wonderful way into classic ownership. Old enough to be considered a classic but modern enough that it has plenty of creature comforts and is more than capable of keeping up with current traffic conditions. It exudes class and could be driven to any event and not feel out of place – it even passes London’s Ultra Low Emission Charge – what a brilliant usable classic it is. 

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