Overview & Reviews
For the 2002 model year, the GLS and GLX trim levels are dropped. Instead, choose from the juiced-up 180-horsepower turbocharged inline four (that can be mated to a five-speed manual or a five-speed automatic transmission with Tiptronic) or the VR6 engine. The current 174-horsepower, 12-valve VR6 will be replaced with a 24-valve unit good for producing 200 horsepower in the spring of 2002. Later on, a special-edition model called the GTI 337 will arrive with a six-speed manual hooked up to the 180-horse 1.8T, as well as 18-inch wheels, 225/45VR18 performance rubber, a ground effects kit, genuine Recaro seats and red accents inside and out. All-new Volkswagen vehicles come standard with an improved four-year/50,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, up from two years/24,000 miles. In addition, Volkswagen offers a fully transferable limited powertrain warranty that covers five years or 60,000 miles.
- Fun to drive, reasonable price, lots of standard goodies, hatchback design offers excellent cargo utility, available six-speed manual.
- Some controls hard to decipher, handling could be crisper, dated styling.
User Reviews:
Showing 121 through 130 of 150.00-
Kick *ss FUN - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
By tyster - December 23 - 2:00 amI trully love my 337. Ive never had a car that was fun to drive; this one is. Very fun to pick up a friend and jump on the road. Curves are the best. Did have one problem; an ignition coil went out. The AAA roadside service towed it 15 miles to Pasadena and I got a loaner for the day. They fixed it at no expense, so I was happy. They did say that there was a bad batch of ignition coils, so it might happen again.
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Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
By Vance - October 12 - 2:00 amThe 1.8T is fun to drive and I havent done any modifications. My biggest gripe/problem is the car is seeing the dealership more than the road now! Check engine light has came on 3 times over the last 3 months...and its on again. This is my second VW and I dont think there will be a 3rd. They say they only get better and learn from the consumer...but i guess Im tired of being the test market on my account. Coil pack issue, plastic window clips, air bag sensor light...whats next?
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Great Car! - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
By Max_Quebec - September 22 - 2:00 amIm very satisfied about my GTI 1.8T 2002! Fun to drive, but too much rattle sound who comes from averywhere!.... I think volks should think to upgrade HP in his 1.8T to 225hp minimum! (in competition with subaru 2.5 RS)... The thing i more like in my GTI 1.8T is high torque when you push item over 5500 RPM!!! Whatta feeling!!
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Exceeded nearly all my expectations - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
By Joe Freeman - September 11 - 10:00 amThe Golf (including GTI) was the only car available in the US in early 2002 that was of interest to me. I chose the GTI mainly because of the 1.8T engine, since the Golfs 2.0 was mundane. I was very concerned about reliability and quality in general, as production of the Golf/GTI had just been moved to Brazil, but the GTI exceeded nearly all my expectations, including excellent build quality, fit and finish, and in 1.5 years and 18,000 miles, no significant defects had surfaced. The cars performance is excellent, as is comfort, but the 5-speed gearbox is rather crunchy and the cars handling is good though not quite what I had hoped for.
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Love the 337 - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
By the_original - September 8 - 10:26 amBought a slightly used 337 while I was looking for a 20th Anniv. model and have never regretted it. It replaced (directly) an 89 GTi 16V and I have to say the build quality of the newer car FAR exceeds the old. The North American 337s were built in Brazil, so they do not suffer many of the Mexican GTi problems (windows do not fall out, etc.). Handles incredibly well even in stock configuration. The Audi-sourced brakes and 6-speed make excellent additions.
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Turbo Love - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
By Biff Henderson - August 28 - 10:00 amIf you want to drive a stealthy car that blows the doors off of all civics, focuses, and celicas... this is the car for you! It has awesome utility + performance for a very reasonable price. I love this car!
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Love It!!! - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
By InigoCO - August 23 - 10:00 amThis is my second GTI in 2 years. I bought an 01 VR6 GTI and loved it, but I found a great deal on an 02 GTI 1.8T. This car gives up nothing in the way of performance to the VR6. I noticed the VR^ had more low-end grunt, but all it ever did for me was spin the tires. The 1.8T just goes. On the Highway at about 75-80 MPH, just hit the gas in 5th and off you go, no need to downshift. This thing just pulls all the way to nearly 140 MPH. I plan to do some mods int he future, but for now, Im happy with the power Ive got and so should everyone else who buys one.
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Great car, fun, and stylish - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
By AdamBlayton - August 23 - 10:00 amBought it after comparing with Mini Cooper, Ford Focus SVT, and Toyota Matrix. Wife wanted 4 door stylish car, (if there is such a thing) I wanted 2 door toy that she would drive when I wasnt. Very impressed with interior design, VW is great with that. Leather is definately a requirement, cloth felt like sitting on wool, very harsh. Sunroof quiet all the time, and definately need 17" - everyone says they never have seen the brakes on a car before they saw my 17"s 1.8T engine is a big sluggish off start, should get better with more miles. 5sp is a blast to drive, turbo engine puts you back in seat at about 1800rpm when accelerating, gotta get used to that..
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Fun to drive, defective parts - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
By gtidriver301 - July 4 - 2:00 amLove to drive this car. But has one recall for brake wires that catch on fire. Window motors are defective, but vw will not replace them till they dont work (hope it does not rain), and the ignition coils are defective.
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You get what you pay for. An Ok vehicle - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
By a701440 - June 29 - 2:00 amInitially I liked the vehicle a lot. However after a while it developped a number of problems and needed 3 visits to the dealership for variouse non maintenance warranty items in the first year of ownership ($200-$400 each if out of warranty). Rattles are everywhere. VW dealerships have a very bad reputation in general. 1 week to get an appointment is considered excellent. So far the wehicle barely meets my expectations. Based on the service, reliability and rattles I will not buy a VW again. And to top it off I did not even mentioned the ignition coils debacle going on.
