Raf!A few weeks ago, I was at the Vancoufur car meet and slightly shy because my car, which is not anything sporty or flashy or classic or anything like that, felt a little out of place with all the cool cars around it.
I like it, a lot, but I feel like it doesn't fully align with the kind of stuff you see at car shows. It's not a "cool car", even in general "we like the weird lil cars" circles.
I said that to a friend and, much to my surprise, seconds later I was approached by this British gentleman who started asking me questions about it because this particular model is not sold in Europe and is not a popular or famous part of overseas VW culture.
That made my day, as I went on to explain what this car is and how it got here. Glad this British friend also learned something new!
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For those not in the know, this car is a "Golf City", basically a mk4 Golf with new bumpers and lights to give it a more modern, but controversial, look. In Canada, it was sold as an entry model alongside the mk5.
Other than the lights and bumpers, the car is essentially a Mk4 through and through, interior and all. It comes with the 2.0 8v engine that makes 116hp.
Golf Cities were manufactured in Brazil, and over there they had not only this base model but also a GTI version and some other special trims - the car was manufactured and sold in Brazil all the way into 2014! (Brazilians didnt get the mk5 and mk6 Golfs).
Like me, this car was made in Brazil and sent to Canada. It's not fast for Canadian road standards, but it's still fun to drive, practical and I like how it looks. I gave it coilovers and a new set of wheels and stickier tires <3
Hope you enjoyed this little piece of trivia! My favourite cars are cars that real people drive. I'll listen to you talking about your Camry for hours, while having little to no patience to hear someone bragging about their cool af sports car that costs gajillions.
Steve Fenton ➜
"Musty Bits" McGee
Brett Mason
Cycling Stu
