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 21 through 30 of 150.00

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  Well See - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By Jae - December 5 - 10:00 am

  2002 GTI fully loaded. Problems from the day one. The "Brake" light blinks with warning sound randomly. I first took it to Gilboy VW in Allentown didnt do anything and when I told them problem didnt go away they didnt even asked me to bring the car back. They really sucked in service. They even messed up my radio treble knob. it was keep coming off I told them to fix and all they did was glue them back together and not alighned. I took it to Lehigh Valley VW twice and first they topped off brake fluid. problem still persist.. Second time they adjusted parking brake switch. no Its been almost a week.. Ill have to see if the problme ever come back.

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  Fun to drive, but a few problems - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By wiggum21 - September 24 - 10:00 am

  I fully enjoy my GTI when it doesnt have its problems. All of the recall problems have occured.... window regs and ignition coils. I also had a faulty battery as well and currently dealing with a possible bearing probelm. I know cars have their problems, but when you pay the $$ you do not expect to have so many in under a years time. Overall, the car is a blast, but I do not feel it has been very reliable to date. Hopefully the problems disappear and I can continue to blast around.

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  Purchase with EXTREME caution - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By shannostein - March 18 - 7:37 am

  I bought my 2002 GTI back in 2006 with 39k miles on it. I decided, despite the car having a MIL light on (check engine light) that it would be worth the purchase because of its factory warranty.. This car has been an absolute nightmare starting within the first 2 weeks of ownership. List of things I have replaced over the years: MAF sensor, clutch (at 40k), 3 (YES THREE) throttle bodies of the course of 6 years, Coolant temp. sensor, hazard switch, ignition switch, two sets of coil packs, large engine cooling fan, upper and lower control arm bushings, struts are bad (at 130k miles..) the list goes on!! Know what youre getting into with this model year! I still have this car though.

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  Pure FUN - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By supadupagti - November 4 - 10:00 am

  Just an amazing car to drive!!!

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  GTI GLS - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By Sudz - June 28 - 10:00 am

  For drivin fast, you cant beat it, but sluggish in the corners and too many squeeks and rattles. Lots of goodies, very comfortable ride. Easy to customize and bump up the power - large aftermarket following for bolt on performance.

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  The original pocket rocket! - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By drblptq - February 26 - 2:08 pm

  I bought this car new in late 2001 as a 2002 model. This was my second GTI, the first a 1985 built in Westmoreland PA. I bought it to rekindle some memories of my youth I suppose, and was a wonderful toy! It was black, tan leather, 5 speed stick, sunroof, monsoon sound system, 17 alloys! I babied this car and only drove it on the weekends, and it was a blast. There were some recalls, the coils and the power window lifters, but all handled under warranty.

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  Kick *ss FUN - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By tyster - December 23 - 2:00 am

  I 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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  Exceeded nearly all my expectations - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By Joe Freeman - September 11 - 10:00 am

  The 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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  Great car, fun, and stylish - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By AdamBlayton - August 23 - 10:00 am

  Bought 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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  You get what you pay for. An Ok vehicle - 2002 Volkswagen GTI
  By a701440 - June 29 - 2:00 am

  Initially 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.