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 141 through 150 of 150.00

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  Who could ask for anything more? - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By GTI in VA - December 16 - 10:00 am

  German engineering. Luxurious interior, especially with leather trim. Controlled ride and comfortable seats make long-distance driving a pleasure. Ample power for even the most performance-oriented driver. Incredible gains possible with relatively inexpensive mods. Distinctive styling. Beautiful indigo instrument illumination. Availability of Tiptronic automatic for those who dont like stick. Many safety features.

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  Quality a problem - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By belliott77 - October 10 - 2:00 am

  I purchased my GTI new just over a year ago and was extremely happy with it for about 3 months and then I started getting rattles in the dash that the dealer has been unable to get fix, their attitude is, what did you expect... and now I am getting more rattles in the door panels. The quality just isnt what it should be. This is my 5th VW, but unfortunately it will be my last.

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  Awesome Car - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By Partyin247 - August 26 - 8:46 pm

  Best features for price.

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  Quirky but a blast to drive - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By morndew - August 25 - 12:43 am

  This car is VERY fun to drive. There are a couple spots in the power curve in which it accelerates like it has a nitrous tank. Floor it while doing 20 mph or 60 mph and youll feel the giddyup. I have had to take the car back to the dealership twice, once to replace the window lifts, which left the window open on a cold November night miles from home. Not fun! There was also a recall on the ignition coil. On cold wet mornings I occasionally experience a reluctance from the motor to get going. This may be more ignition coil problems or something else, I dont know. But when you can drive twisty roads like youre in a go-kart, its easy to forget the periodic trips to the shop.

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  02 GTI 1.8T - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By billybob - June 21 - 10:00 am

  The GTI comes standard with everything you need, although I got mine with the optional leather package and 17 in. wheels. I love the interior, especially the blue/red instrumentation. The GTI is also a bit of a sleeper, which I like. It seems that most drivers dont know about the GTI, and dont expect it to be as fast as it is. I must say that I love the whistling/whooshing sound of the turbo. The 1.8T is a great engine.

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  Becareful - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By Liquidsoul - June 9 - 2:00 am

  This car has great performance right out of the box. The torque right off the line is amazing. But VW should raise the reliability and stiffer suspension. The car has too much body roll. And with in the first year, my auto shift knob has jammed as well as both of my windows fell off track with in 2 days of each other. The service is always horrible, i have to wait a week and a half to 2 weeks to bring my car in.

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  The Coil Pack Story - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By popecomazombie - June 3 - 2:00 am

  If youre looking to buy a Gti, or any VW or Audi with the 1.8t or VR6 motor, then read on. Perhaps by now youve heard about VWs little problem with their ignition coilpacks. Long story short, they used a third party manufacturer and got burned. Inferior parts, a HOWLING VW customer base, and not enough of them to fix the cars that are already out there. Beware, 9k on mine, in the shop 3x now, once for brake recall, once for alarm going off mysteriously at 3:00 am, and now once for 1 of 4 coilpacks. I wonder when the three other little ticking time bombs are going to go off ? For more info, go to the forums at www.vwvortex.com

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  Great Car with some minor problems - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By Pulsar - April 27 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car after considering the Vibe, Matrix, and protege-5. They all cost about the same if you add the options needed to bring them up to the GTI standard equipment. This car replaced a 95 Subaru Impreza 2.2 wagon. The interior of the GTI is great, I wanted leather but the local dealers didnt have it with the luxury package so I went with the moon roof and monsoon instead. Ive had one big problem that seems like a common one for the GTI/Golf/Jetta/Beetle family...The passenger window supports broke and the window fell into the door frame. It took the dealer 3 days to fix this since they didnt have the parts.

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  Excellent design; OK execution - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By BradyCLT - March 22 - 10:00 am

  Love the driving dynamics of the car; all aspects of its design related to the driving experience are excellent (powertrain, suspension, brakes, etc). However, after owning a long series of Japanese cars Im disappointed in the interior build quality. At only 5K miles I have multiple squeaks/rattles in the dash and center console and a rarely used leather seat with a seam coming undone. Really tarnishes the ownership experience of an otherwise excellent car.

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  Im a believer.... - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By mtoddc - February 14 - 10:00 am

  Only considered the GTI 1.8T and RSX Type-S for my work car, LOVE both, but it came down to the VW having more equipment for $2K+ less. More airbags, bigger tires/rims, longer warranty, better sounding stereo (so sorry Bose), arm rest, cheaper to insure, more hatch/trunk space, etc. Wanted silver 5-speed with leather, but all have been sold in this region, had to settle for cloth and AT, but not disappointed, Tiptronic is a great compromise. I think the RSX is quicker off the line, but the 1.8T really pins you to your seat once it fires up. I think the GTI feels quicker than any of the Type-Ss I drove. Both sweet cars, but VW is better for the $$$.