Volkswagen Golf Rim

The third-generation Volkswagen Golf Mk3 was launched in Europe in November 1991, although it did not appear in North America until the spring of 1993. The delay in North America was due to Volkswagen's decision to supply U.S. and Canadian dealerships with Mk3 Golfs (and Mk3 Jettas) from the VW plant in Puebla, Mexico. Quality control problems led Volkswagen of America to reject Golfs and Jettas from Mexico; shortly thereafter, labor unrest at the plant delayed production there even further. The third-generation Golf and Jetta finally made it to North America, first as 1993 models in the San Diego, California area and in Canada, then in the autumn in the rest of North America as 1994 models.

Naming

The 1993 through 1995 Golfs were called "Golf III" in the United States to make it clear that they were different from the previous generation. The second-generation Golfs had increased insurance premiums, due in part to stereo systems that could easily be stolen, and the third-generation models were meant to correct that situation. Once the badge distinction was no longer necessary for insurance purposes, the Mk3 Golf lost its Roman numerals suffix for 1996.

Models

Three-door Golfs of this generation were mostly only available in North America in GTI form. For the first time, a station wagon derivative was produced, bringing it into line with key competitors like the Ford Escort and Vauxhall/Opel Astra which had long been available as estates. The GTI variants (especially with the straight-four 4 cylinder engine) are considered to be the poorest of the performance Golfs, with significantly increased weight, but with minimal power increases. A "best of breed" VR6 variant exists which was available in a well regarded "Highline" trim; this 2.8 L VR6 engine gave a significant boost in power to 174 PS (128 kW/172 hp) for the Mk3, a car weighing only about 1285 kg (2836 lb). Compare that to the Mk2 GTI that weighed 285 kg (629 lb) less but had only 139 PS (102 kW/137 hp) and a much smaller engine to tune (1.8 L). A convertible version of the Golf Mark 3 was launched as the Cabrio ( Typ 1E ). The VR6 offered a top speed of 138 mph (222 km/h) — almost unbeatable on any hatchback of this size available in the early 1990s, outperforming even the Ford Escort RS2000, Rover 220 GTi and Vauxhall Astra GSi.

Features

A 16-valve version of the third-generation Golf GTI was introduced in 1993. The engine was enlarged to 2.0 L, with power now reaching 150 PS (110 kW/148 hp). While underpowered compared to the VR6, it was still relatively popular with driving enthusiasts in Europe (North America didn't get the proper GTI version, but had the name applied to the VR6 engine). Once again the Golf Driver version took its place as the official GTI-look-alike but with a more humble single-point injected 1.8 L engine.

The Golf Mk3 was also the predecessor of the "diesel craze" that swept through Europe in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when Volkswagen introduced the direct-injection system with the 90 PS (66 kW; 89 hp) Golf TDI in 1993. The 1996 TDI, at 110 PS (81 kW/108 hp) for a 1.9 L engine, was not the first diesel engine installed in a road car to achieve over 50 hp (37 kW)/L, but it showed the public that diesel engines could be powered without losing their fuel efficiency, while also retaining massive amounts of low-end torque, in the TDI's case, 235 N·m (173 lbf·ft) at 1900 rpm.

Also offered was a naturally aspirated (i.e., not turbocharged) version of the 1.9 L diesel engine, the SDI, offering 47 kW (64 PS; 63 hp). This variant is considered to be particularly durable.

The Golf Mk3 was also available in "Ecomatic" Form. It was powered with a diesel engine and a clutchless manual transmission. The vehicle would freewheel by opening of the clutch as soon as the accelerator is released, and the engine was switched off after a further 1.5 seconds of inactivity, whether by stopping or coasting. Re-starting the engine simply required depressing the accelerator pedal. VW had previously pioneered similar technology in the VW Polo "Formel E" in the 1980s.

There was also a limited production run of around 250 "CityStromer" vehicles, mainly sold to the German market, which were fully electric vehicles, incorporating 6 batteries in the engine bay, and a further 10 underneath the luggage area. It had a range of approximately 50 km. The vehicle could be filled with a small amount of diesel to provide heat for the cabin.

As had happened with the Mk1 and Mk2, the Mk3 remained available in US for a year after it was discontinued in Europe (1998). The Mk3 continued to be produced for the 1999 model year where it was sold in Canada and South America. These 1999 Mk3 cars were the last produced in the world and sold alongside the Mk4 in showrooms.

• 1997 Which? Magazine best buys: best family car
• European Car of the Year: 1992

Mk3 Special Edtions

20th Anniversary GTI

Volkswagen produced a limited quantity of 1000 special-edition 3,5-door GTI Anniversary model, celebrating 20 years of the GTI model. This had the usual GTI specification but came equipped with special chequered Recaro front sport seats and matching rear seats bearing the GTI logo, red seat belts front and rear, half-chromed and leather golf ball gear knob, red stitched leather steering wheel and handbrake gaiter. The release knob on the hand brake was also red and silver instrument dials. Floor mats also had red piping along their edges. The red theme continued externally with a red striping on the bumpers and red brake calipers. The wheels were 16" x 7.5" split rim BBS RX II alloys, visually similar to the 15" that were found on VR6 model. Brush stainless steel rear twin tailpipes on the exhaust and smoked front fog and indicator lamps to match the rear lamps. 3 optional extras were made available; electric sunroof, air conditioning and metallic black paintwork. Insurance was based on the standard GTI which made this version a very desirable model. The edition was sold in only 6 colour schemes and the 1000 number figures that were produced was as follows; 600 8 valve models, 150 16 valve models and 250 TDI models. The diesel model was only produced for the European market and wasn't sold in the UK. Unfortunately many of the models fell into the UK company car and lease market prior to the second-hand market and its believed only a few hundred still survive.

Harlequin Edition

Volkswagen originally created the Design series to tour at International Auto shows. Due to the huge public response of the original four Design series, 60 more were produced. Eventually, 275 were produced. Harlequins were produced by building four Golfs of different colors and swapping

European Tour Editions

During the 1990s, Volkswagen sponsored three high-profile rock bands' European tours, and issued a special-edition Golf, with distinctive exterior markings, for each: the Golf Pink Floyd Edition (1994), the Golf Rolling Stones Edition (1995), and the Golf Bon Jovi Edition (1996).

Engine choices

See also

• Volkswagen A platform
• Volkswagen Golf
• VDub
• list of discontinued Volkswagen Group petrol engines
• list of discontinued Volkswagen Group diesel engines
• Hot hatch
• Small family car

References

1. ^ Auto Motor und Sport Heft 18 Seite 24 . Stuttgart. 2008.  
2. ^ "The Golf Ecomatic Page". Deylan.co.uk . http://deylan.co.uk/golf/ecomatic/index.htm . Retrieved 2009-07-25 .  
3. ^ "Per Magnar Skånøy's 1995 Volkswagen Golf Citystro". Evalbum.com. 2008-07-22 . http://www.evalbum.com/800 . Retrieved 2009-07-25 .  

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