MK3 VW GOLF GTI - Why it's the RAREST GTI of all the 8 GENERATIONS  

Great video 👍😁 I have 6 mk3s and I love them, I have 3 ventos and 3 golfs 1 left hand drive lc9z black vr6 vento, manual, non sunroof option which is pretty rare, and low milage. 1right hand drive lp3g red vr6 vento, auto, sunroof option on 116k miles. 1 right hand drive dragon green vento, ABF 16v swap. 145k miles, engine milage unknown as swap was done prior to me becoming the owner. 1 lk7y storm grey 3dr golf, ABf 16v, manual, sunroof option on 197k miles and still going strong. 1 left hand drive dragon green 5dr GTi 8v on 47k miles And 1 left hand drive blue pink Floyd. I have never loved a design of a car like I do mk3s and I will own a few of them for as long as I can 👍😁

I feel like you have undersold these cars. No car I have driven has offered as much fun at licence retaining speeds as the mk3 gti. It’s the perfect balance between fun with its handling and thrill, and an everyday driver car (unlike the mk1 and mk2). Superb car the mk3 and hugely underrated.

Fun fact, I believe VW had to down tune the 16v as they ended up producing something like 171bhp which was too close to the VR6. I owned a P reg 16v 5 door in Mystic Blue which died from rust and I couldn't afford to fix it so broke it at 108k miles :(. Then I bought a VR6 that had been resprayed in Inari silver kind of like a coke bottle green, head gasket slightly blew at 135mph. Again couldn't afford to fix it but guy I sold it to drove it 2hrs to Leeds with it smoking burning coolant and made it. Strong engines man. If you're going to buy one check it thoroughly for rust, sills, arches, everything...it kills them!

If I remember correctly, the vr6 got the second fastest handling score from Car Magazine, beaten by only the m3 of the time

I had the standard version with the 8V. With a set of Bilstein struts the handling is quite good. It is also far more comfortable than the Sentra and Civic of the same era. After about 4 hours the noise and the seats in the Civic wear on you.

After having an 8v, 16v and a couple of vr6 versions, I can honestly say that a few suspension mods make them a lot better - geometry was set up more for safety than fun from the factory. The 8v isn’t quick but is fun enough in a ‘drive a slow car fast’ way, the 16v can be tuned really rather easily to be a screamer and the vr6 just has that sound! Better than they r given credit for and I’m a mk2 fan!

I’m havin’ a mk3 16V since 2011(it’s my first car) , it is delivered as a full Option car, with clima, sunroof, Leather heated Seats, foglights, rear headrests, just everything. It had been parked in garage for 2 years, took it out since last week and as you say; it drives as a modern car. I did a rollertest a few years back, and it pushed out 180 hp 👌🏻

" Now they just steal the whole car " Classic...lol

In Australia we didn't get the Mk3 GTI, but we did get the VR6 '94-'98. All Wolfsberg built. The only colourconcepts were 100 VR6 5 doors.... I still have mine :-)

Collecting a Dragon Green 16v with just 153000km by the end of the month. So stocked! The MK3 was the first car I ever drove, specifically a GT TDi. It has a soft spot in my heart. Can't wait to drive the GTI!

I absolutely love the mk3 body, there was a mk3 Golf in our family from almost new to the point of having over 550 000 km on it. Wasn't a GTI, but I still have a soft-spot for mk3's and seeing one today makes me happy in a special way.

The off-road suspension ride height, when I took delivery of my '95 VR6 GTI, was... how shall I put it, amusing. Out went the stock suspension and in went the H&R coilovers, front 25mm and rear 28mm Neuspeed anti-roll bars, 16"x7" wheels and 205-45-ZR16 tyres. The car then handled like a go-kart on rails for a hot hatch at that time.

Great video Andrew. I had a 16v on a 1994 M plate with Monte Carlo alloys. No 16v badges on those early cars, just the GTI badges like the 8v. 170bhp with AMD remap and Koni top adjustable suspension. The standard fit self-arming alarm was so infuriating. Decent car but not a patch on a Mk 2 GTI. Looking forward to your coverage of that car.

Put some coil overs, wider wheels, and strut bars/sway bars, and mk3's are one of the best handling and most fun to drive cars ever made. Absolute go carts!!

Mk3 was a decent car apart from the way they rotted! I had a Highline VR6 in purple violet metallic pearl (often wrongly called mulberry), it was a nice enough car, but they lacked the character of the Mk1 and 2

Had a mk3 16v as a company car in 1995 to replace my previous company car, a mk2 16v. It was utterly disappointing and not a patch on the previous car. The aircon was the only redeeming feature. In every other way it was a far worse GTI than the mk2.

Great video Andrew. The Mk3 GTI is much derided, but this is primarily due to lazy journalism.... Thank you for putting the record straight. Back in 1999 I bought a brand new Mk4 1.8 20v GTi, and whilst it was a good car, it was a poor GTi. A few years later I bought a very low mileage mystic blue pearl '98 8v GTi as a second car, and it was far more lively and entertaining to drive than it's younger sibling. I acknowledge the MK 3 GTI wasn't as entertaining as the Mk 1 or Mk2 GTi's, but it was still a good car in its day. The early to mid 90's was a poor time for hot hatches, the Mk5 Escort XR3i was a shadow of its predecessors, and most other hot hatches were killed off. One of the only interesting mid to late 90's hot hatches was the Peugeot 306 S16/GTI-6.

Never was the biggest fan of these unless it came with a vr6 who doesn't love that sound

Victim of a changing car industry and transition in the brand. Mark IV helped to forget that.

Thanks for the review. Very cool little car, a client of mine had a new MK3 VR6 back in 1994(no mk3 GTI in Australia then) and she said if I worked hard I to could have one too one day :) well perhaps no mk3 GTI showed up , however I did end up with a mk5,mk6,mk7 and Mk2 GTI and loved them all. Having a break for now and enjoying an VW Arteon this time round. Cheers from Brisbane

I don't mind the Mk3, a bit biased as I had a M reg VR6, with aircon and very huggy Recaros, which was a lovely wafty powerful hatch, but no GTI. I think the Mk4 was the low point of GTIs.

Only the MK1 ever moved me - mark 2 only ok and 3 and 4 were not sporty imho. I preferred the flimsy 5gt turbo, Uno turbo, 205gti tbh...before going to A610 Alpine, Porsche 968 club sport and the like in early 90s !

I had one for 17 years..... Dragon Green 8v (unfortunately)..... But still a work horse.... I loved it but inside rust and a need to obtain a mk 5 gti tfsi I said bye.... I found it for sale as parts on FB marketplace..... Broke my heart

The only Golf generation that I've never even looked at when drunk on Autotrader late at night

My first car was a 1992 Golf GTI Mk3. I remember being 20 years old and being amazed at how underpowered and slow it was.

The main reason why the Mark 3 Golf lasted so much worse than the Mk2, is called "Lopez Effect": VW had hired José Ignacio Lopez away from Opel & GM. He was in charge of purchasing, and renowned for his ability to squeeze the prices of suppliers. After the Mark 2 had over-achieved in terms of rust prevention to get rid of the Mk1's bad reputation in that regard, VW meant to do the same with the Mk3, except here, it was the other way around: they had built such a good reputation for quality, that they wanted to make more money out of their cars (who wouldn't?). So the quality took a massive dive for several years because all the suppliers were squeezed to the brink of existence, so that cutting corners became their only way of meeting the low prices demanded - and also survive. VW's own rustproofing also was significantly decreased when compared to the Mk2. The facelift in 7/95 saw a significant improvement, but VW basically waited for the Mk4 to really "turn a new leaf" in terms of quality... Lopez was also responsible for the same effect for the Opel Astra (=Vauxhall Astra Mk 3). The Golf was the N°1 in sales in Germany, and the Astra was the clear cut N°2 at that time, hence why the expression "Lopez-Effekt" became such a big thing in german automotive magazines at the time...

I had a Mk3 VR6, quite well built cars. I liked how the VR6 looked and sounded but it wasn't that fast.

Loving looking back at the older Golfs ,that Sony beep beep beep took me back to being 18 again!!! Brilliant content Andrew many thanks :)

I could have bought a mk3 cabrio two years ago for $1200.00, with 20k original miles, and from the original owner. But stupidly I passed on it UGH, oh well, you live and learn. Great video, love the car. Thanks again, RickGTI…..🇺🇸🌴

I had a mk3 tdi, sold it with 115,000 miles on the clock. Bought a Skoda Fabia Vrs to replace it, two great cars.

I have a mk 3,1999- 1.9d golf self aspirated estate. 180000 miles on the clock.According to records it was one of the last off the production line from Wolfsberg.With it being Red in colour,the laquer coat is flaking

Like you it is a personal connection to the mk3 that stops me from disliking it. My Mum had a mk3 Golf GL in Steel Blue during my time at primary school. It was crashed and bumped but remained a strong and very likeable honest car (well called it ‘Blu-car’ - creative) until the scrappage scheme of 2009 got the better of it; I actually remember crying when it went because I felt sorry for it. Mk3 GTI specs are my GTI nerd achilles heel and I was surprised to see just how normal the GTI was in comparison to the normal Garden-Golfs. Steering wheels, seat trims, headlining, gear-knobs, wheels, grilles and bumpers all sub-par. That’s without the engine and chassis. I can only imagine how disappointing it must have felt after the yuppie-cool mk2 GTI. I’ve always liked the mk3’s cheeky face though, and it is worth remembering that without the need for the mk3’s sensible transition, I’d doubt the Golf would have existed much beyond 2000. In many ways it took one for the team, and long may it be applauded for doing so.

Only ever owned VR6 mk3s; a vento and 97 R plate i still have. Prefer my 8v & 16v mk2s, but have a lot of love for the VR. Dont think i'd feel that way about any other mk3 🙂👍

Same nasty plastic gear stick as the 1.4L and gaiter, so strange on a GTi. The MK3 was well made, but felt very heavy. The 8v GTi was slow, you could outrun them in a Rover 214 16v!

Had two 16v mk3’s after owning 3 16v mk2s - firstly coz you could pick em up for less than 500 quid - handling was boaty, but predictable. I also found that they could easily keep pace with contemporary unmapped mk4 1.8t. Miss that 16v redline neck wringing experience

If you are looking for mk3 gti's there are plenty in South Africa 🇿🇦. The golf mk3 vr6 is a much more of a better car and more sought after

Was underpowered. The 16v ABF variant was much better. The 2.8 VR6 being the daddy.

My son has a Golf III GTI 16v, almost 30 years later he continues to make it skid on mountain roads.

Andrew if you could choose, 16V or VR6?

Great video and car. You may not remember Andrew but I contacted you last year for some advice on buying one and a year later it is such fun to drive. Got a Dragon Green 16v with only 35k on the clock. Puts a smile on my face whenever I get in it. Hoping to keep it for a few years. Wonder if it will be the next classic Golf GTi?

I seem to remember quite a few reviewers rating the 16V over the VR6 at the time. The idea of a 2.8 litre 6 cylinder engine in a Golf was so appealing at the time though, and it did sound good. I had a 16V and had the suspension upgraded as I recall to Koni adjustable dampers, Eibach springs and anti-roll bar, and it made quite a big difference to the handling without really affecting the ride. I'm sure it wouldn't be a patch on a Mk5, 6, 7 or 8 now though. I enjoy seeing these Mk3s now though as they've become so rare. Very enjoyable video, thank you.

I had a Mk3 Golf VR6. Fabulous creamy V6, but simply awful squidgy suspension and soggy handling. Only car to make the kids sick in the back. Sold it for an E36 BMW 325i, which was fabulous. A few years later, I eventually got hold of one of my favourite cars I've ever owned - a wonderful Mk2 Golf GTi 16V. Absolutely loved that car but it suffered from a misfire that I couldn't fix, despite having it totally rewired and checked out by a VW specialist. Sad to see it go. My last Golf was a Mk4 GT TDI which was ok but not exciting and I've not had a VW since 2002. I'd had several diesels which were fab but all were BMWs. The modern Golfs just don't do it for me - but I must say, I've recently been very tempted by the UP GTi. Sadly, I hear they've stopped making the 5 door version. I couldn't configure one on VW UK. Shame.

i got myself a 1.4 CL and a 1.6 GT, lovely little cars honestly, someday i'll get to experience the power of a 16v!

Where’s the review of my favourite Golf generation, the Mk2? You’re reviewing Golf history and you jumped from Mk1 to Mk3? At the time, if you couldn’t afford something like a Supra or a Porsche, then the Mk2 GTI was the performance car to have.

The mk3 was and still is only good for one thing.....engine swap to mk1 & mk2. Everybody just pulls out the engines from them and puts in in another golf. 16v vr6 1.9tdi etc. I did this also..and must do it again lol. I will then have 2 mk1 with abf.

Oh my goodness wot a zzzzzzzzz snore car and no wonder it’s the GTi time forgot 😎

I had vento 1.8 slow my arse it was little rocket most fun i had out of any car i owned .it never let me down very underated car i would have one again if could

The MK2 was difficult to beat. I think VW tried to upscale to a more refined and comfortable ride but ended up with a bland dog. The MK3 was more luxurious and fine to travel around with the family but the upscaling strategy, safety regs, and environmental regs doomed the MK3. Ironically, VW wholesale ignored environmental regs and that probably doomed the entire company for the billions in fines and public anger.

Very informative video Andrew! I'm 23 so I just about remember these being driven around in the mid to late naughties as a kid. Considering the gear knob and steering wheel are two of the areas you have contact with the most when driving, I'm not sure how much of an effort was made in the design, they're pretty nasty! Early airbag technology probably didn't help the wheel.

VW were in the wilderness with the Mk3 and the Mk4. I had owned a number of higher powered dubs before I spotted a mint very low mileage Mk4 2.0 GTI. It had no power and handled like jelly. No way it should have been marketed and sold as a GTI. The Mk4 4 motion I bought that followed it was better but still didn’t have that certain something of the Mk1 and Mk2

Let's be honest, out of all 8 generations of vw golf GTI, the mk 3 golf GTI is probably the worst of them all, maybe you could argue the mk4 instead. And I do rate all the generations golf Gti, just my opinion if I have to rank mk3 would prob be at the bottom. Also the vr6 came out in the mk3, If you did buy GTI back then you'd always be wishing you got the VR6. ( That probably has something to do with the fact the mark 3 gti didn't sell so well)

The design still looks fresh today! Lovely car

I had a mk3 VR6 for quite a while..really sweet engine ..traded it in for a new mk5 GTI when it came out and everyone was raving about it...the VW dealer told me that my VR6 was originally sold from that exact dealer when it was new and had now come full circle back to them and they were pretty chuffed !

My one is still on the road and used daily, It's just hit 90,000 Miles. Bought it for £50 14 years ago!!

I currently own a 20 anniversary 8v, in restoration process.

I personally love the MK3's, back in 2008 I had a 1.8 GL 8 valve and enjoyed every mile I drove in it.

Have a 1997 Gti 16v with the recaro seats as my daily. Has 220km on the clock. Still going strong!

Had one of these. Not a particularly memorable machine, other than the Mystic Blue paint, probably my favourite ever colour..... Come to think of it Andrew, how's the Corrado VR6 coming along?

This was my first car, had all extras, sun roof, abs, air con, in all black!

The ones sold in South Africa were well spec’d. air con, leather steering wheel and gear knob. Nicer fabric and all round head restraints. Even some lower models had more than this poor thing

I had an 1993 L984NFC that I bought when I was 21. It was 5 years old when I bought it and it sat in my dad's garage for a whole year while I was still driving my Peugeot 205 gti 1.6 that I was trying to sell. Had the Golf for 10 years and only let me down once. 👍

Nice video, amazing that 16v with only 997 miles on it 😍 the mk3 GTI, 16v & VR6 grills are two slat and 3 peace Vs non GTI's grills that are 3 slat and 2 peace grills.

Wow 19 years of Volkswizard great to see the journey alongside the cars development - that vw heritage example is fabulous with 1k miles not even run in - a lot of progress under the skin in mk3 in terms of technology filtering down like ABS and upgraded engine management - 85kw 2 litre GL was very popular in Australia as 8v engine reliable with loads of torque to cope with AC drain and in this class - looking forward to mk4 review as I still have a soft spot for a v5 Bora :)

Proud owner of a 97 Drivers Edition GTI in blue USDM

I'm 18 and daily a mk3 gti 5 door good car never let me down always puts a smile on ya face better then driving a corsa like my mates 😂

rare for a reason

When I had my Mk3 Golf VR6 I put Eibach springs and anti roll bars and made a lot of difference. Rest in pieces N111 VRG.

Great Engine,runs forever. The rust is the main problem. Cheers Dan

Love the informative nature of these vids keep it up mate

Great video Andrew. I did not know there was a mk3 anniversary. I was talking to a work colleague who has a mk2 GTi in oak green - that is a garage queen. He had two mk3 anniversary; a black one and a dark blue one, which he showed me the picture of it. They look soo good and muscular. The black one got written off and he sold the blue one.

Lots of grandmothers and aunties driving around MK3 GTIs.

When I was about 20, my neighbour had a mk3 VR6 for a weekend test drive. She let me have it for a few hours, I came across my best mates dad on the motorway who was driving his new 740i. The Golf killed it, that really was a quick N/A car. I don't know anyone who bothered with the 8v GTI, I don't even think it was called a GTI in most European countries. Most folk saved cash and bought the 1.8i Driver/GL and Cabrio. Sure they were still suffering from insurance problems then and just not interesting enough to make the grade. VW didn't get the GTI sorted until the Mk5. Edit- the Mk4 GTD was very good, although not a GTI.

Great video 👌 just wished you would have dressed up as in the 90s with your long hair and big collars whilst doing this video 👍🚗🏁

Once I made a trip like co-pilot in a Vw Golf mk3 Gti 8v and I think it's a good car, with ABS and air conditioning but, it hasn't the personality of my ex- Vw mk2 Golf Gti 8v. I think the Vw Golf Gti spirit returned with the 5th generation... Very good content!!!!

Golf mk6 edition 35 is the rare gti . These are only rare because they all rotted away

I am glad that I'm owning anniversary 16v... I got it in 2008...

These rusted out like mad, that is why you don’t see them

Another great video - I guess the Mk3 was the start of the "modern" Golf era, with things such as power steering, ABS, etc. I can remember reading an article in the early 90s about the VR6 version, which was "wow"!

It's safe to say Andrew that this is the GTI that even today VW is still a little embarrassed about.

I used to own a a P Reg VR6 with the optional Recaro front seats, the only modification I did to the car was fit Eibach sportline (red springs) springs and shocks, handled so well after that, the thing that shocked me the most about the car was the fuel economy, I could easily get 35 MPG on a run.....

I bought one in the summer of 1997. British racing green(or whatever the proper vw colour was). I remember the sales advert in the newspaper. Cost...£14250. Couldn't get it insured until i had a Thatcham Cat 1 alarm fitted. I didn't keep it for long.....

Love the bit at 10 mins. Back in the day they would steal the stereos and now they just steal the cars 😂😂. We didn’t know we were born!

My first buyed car is a black 5 five door 93 versión and i think its great

i loved my reflex silver 3 door vr6...koni dampers, decat and schrick cams helped!

rarest of them cus.. scrapped for money. and parts and mostly its engine for T3 van conversions and alike. or just poor maintance lol especially after 2007

Please please please sort out your camera setup.... all your videos when there's sun it blurrs/glares the camera lense... need some sort of visor/cap to block out/shade the sun. Great videos as always though.

Mk3, when the Golf GTI became a shadow of its self. That interior looks awful, from the seat pattern to the none descript gear leaver.

Nice video. Have this engine set up in my mk2

I had a 96 p reg 8 valve dragon green 3 door bought a 95 n plate 5 door 16v to run about in whilst I was doing some work on the 3 door they weren't quick cars but a good safe feeling car after the suspension had been sorted with bilstein conversion i put 17" momo arrow wheels and the cloth recaro wrap round seats in it

I had 2 as company cars. The 16v was great

In Portugal it's not rare!

Man, this video to me back in time as well.. thanks for filming. I owned a Mk3 GTI Edition (Germany) back in the 90s. Swift but not fast with its 115 horses... The VR6 was my dream car in those days but not affordable at that time.

Went to the local dealer launch of the mk3 Golf, takes me back thought they were amazing at the time.

Owned a 95 GTI VR6. The sound of that engine with an intake upgrade was awesome!

Had one of these in the ealier 2000s, keep it for 5 years, (5 door Maroon 8v) only thing that went wrong was electrics, (dash, lots of warning lights) bought it with 56k and sold it with about 160k on the clock, engine was great, back then I spent most of my life on the motorway so this the car was ideal,

I had one for a while. Recaro seats, dragon green, mint. Thought it probably drove better than any other vw I had. Maybe my corrado before I modded it 😂 I had most of the usual 80’s models!

I had one, wasn’t a Gti Tbf

02A shifter linkage is the worse..... common people these days swap over the 02J linkage of Mk4's witha Polo 6N2 shifter box for the interiour side. seeing that is plug n play! . also adjusting and maintance to a 02J setup is wonderfull! funny to see mk2 thru mk5. share somany bits and pieces you can use as a "upgrade" on the previous generation

I had a late 90's Seat Ibiza with the same VW 2.0 16V engine, even in a lighter car it needed a bit of work to get a move on and really needed super unleaded to get the best out of it. Must have been a bit underwhelming in the heavier Golf.

I had two, a red colour concept and a silver one..both rusted from the inside out..probably why they're rare as hen's teeth as most are just piles of rust sat in a scrap yard at best