Overview & Reviews

All Golf models get clear side marker lights, trunk entrapment buttons, new cupholders and head protection airbags. Golf GL and GLS get higher-quality interior fabrics and the GTI benefits from a new 16-inch wheel design, optional 17-inch wheels, and multi-function steering wheel controls.

• Fun to drive, comfortable ride, high-quality interior materials, solid construction, lots of standard goodies, practical hatchback design.

• Some controls hard to decipher, handling could be crisper, CD player should be standard.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 58.00

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  Good car overall! - 2001 Volkswagen Golf
  By imafishinnut - August 29 - 2:00 am

  I love the car in general. It is really fun to drive and has great fuel economy (average 48 mpg city and 54 mpg highway). Excellent power for a four cylinder. Only have encountered on problem so far -- faulty window mechanism for power windows. Driver side window fell down into door and wouldnt come back up. Dealer fixed both windows simultaneously and indicated that it was a problem with the pulley design.

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  TDI Golf - 2001 Volkswagen Golf
  By XJScott - July 16 - 2:00 am

  Compared to other compact cars (Civic, Focus, Corolla) the Golf is much more fun to drive, albeit for a premium price. Im 62" yet fit very well due to highly adjustable seats, although sitting in the rear seats behind me would be impossible. Hatchback design provides extra flexibility when cargo hauling is required. Build-quality, although Brazilian, is solid and paint looks brand new after 2.5 years. Cloth seats are hair magnets, though, and I carry a lint roller in the car at all times. Id look at leather next time.

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  Not happy with unscheduled maintenance - 2001 Volkswagen Golf
  By Sam - March 13 - 10:40 pm

  Pros: 42 mpg mixed driving with automatic transmission. Good handling and ride for a small car. Roomy too, but backseat legroom is cramped. More cargo capacity than expected with the rear seats folded down. Good exterior finish. Cons: Unscheduled maintenance, all of which occured in the 3rd year of ownership, include: 3 glow plugs replaced, rear brakes (Rotors and pads), intake manifold clogged with diesel residue, intake manifold gasket replaced due to leak, said leak spraying diesal onto wiring harness which required replacement (These last three being caused by a "fuel quality issue" and not covered by the warranty, $1,200+ to fix.) and tires. Oil changes are expensive too.

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  Great car - 2001 Volkswagen Golf
  By H2oVento - December 19 - 12:13 pm

  The 4 door 1.8T Golf is a great sleeper. Its fun to drive and hauls a lot of stuff. Its one of the best cars I have owned. It has had no major problems in over 60,000 miles of service. If you can find one, buy it. The 4-door 1.8T was only made between late 2000 and early 2001.

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  VW Golf To Feel - 2001 Volkswagen Golf
  By nihan - August 14 - 4:56 am

  I think the VW Golf is the best compact model in its class. Maybe the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla are better than the Golf at a few points like fuel economy and build quality, but the Golf is much better in driving, gearing and performance.

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  Almost a great car... - 2001 Volkswagen Golf
  By lowman99 - October 14 - 2:00 am

  This has been a really good car, except for some occasional problems. Within the 3 years I have owned it, the air conditioning has failed (a few times), one of the CV boots cracked, and oil seal ruptured, and the driver side power window mechanism broke. All of these items were fixed under warranty (for free). Get the extended warranty if you buy this car!

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  Great mileage and fun - 2001 Volkswagen Golf
  By TomTDI - November 28 - 10:00 am

  The stock intecooler is a wee bit small and had saturated with heat, I live in Southern California, so I replaced it with an ABD aftermarket unit and have had great results. changed to a K & N filter and now the performance is better too. The automatic I have is good, but the stick version is really much more fun. Never has smoked and the other than the known recall issues the car has been very reliable overall but not as good as say a toyota. I will buy another one again, once they are available again in california in 2006.

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  110,000 Miles and still no issues - 2001 Volkswagen Golf
  By dmateja - November 11 - 12:53 am

  I bought this car new 7 years ago and racked up 110,000 miles. I had a couple minor sensor issues within the first year, and were all covered under the warrenty. Since that first year no major issues.

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  Massive Sensor Flaw - 2001 Volkswagen Golf
  By Jason Wallace - March 8 - 2:00 am

  Good car, fun to drive and great feul economy but the mass air flow sensor has broken four times in two years. This causes the car to lose about 75% of its power. Imagine going 70mph on the highway and suddenly dropping down to 30mph. Very annoying, potentially very dangerous, and $350.00 to fix. Im getting rid of the car because of this flaw.

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  Not Buying VW Again - 2001 Volkswagen Golf
  By orchid - November 5 - 12:46 am

  My experience with my VW Golf has been less than great. I received atrocious customer service at the dealership where I bought my car and only OK customer service at other dealers in San Diego. Anyway, as for the car itself, it handles well WHEN IT WORKS, but the faulty brake light switch would prevent me from buying another VW. Its failed ONCE PER YEAR for each year Ive owned the car, with a cost of $125 per repair. The brake light switch causes the car to get stuck in park. This is a known defect for Golfs manufactured around 2001! Why wont VW fix this problem? I have had other repairs, but this is the most irritating. I will buy a Toyota next time.