Good morning! We’re starting this week off with a couple of convertible Volkswagens. Why not? It’s the height of summer, so you still have plenty of time in the year for open-air adventures, and with their little four-cylinder engines and manual transmissions, these two won’t use too much gas getting you there.
On Friday, we looked at two clean survivors that would have been right at home at any car meet worth its salt. The teal Olds Cutlass got lots of love in the comments, but in the end, it lost by a narrow margin to the Audi 5000. From the sounds of it, the Audi’s manual transmission and better road manners gave it the edge, though several of you said it was a tough call.
The manual in the Audi is what puts it over the top for me. If I’m going to go through the hassle of insuring and maintaining another car, and shuffling around cars in my garage to fit it, it has to be something special to drive. And until I can’t push in a clutch anymore, that means a stickshift.
The VW Golf Cabriolet, or “Cabrio” for short, is a weird car. It’s a convertible based on a hatchback, retaining the hatchback’s basic profile and roofline, with a teeny-tiny trunk below the convertible top. It has full B-pillars and a roll bar connecting them, which, combined with its popularity among well-heeled young female drivers, gave it a rather uncharitable nickname I’m sure you all have heard. And although the Golf on which it is based is in its eighth generation, there have only ever been two generations of Golf Cabrio: the first, and the third. Today we’re going to look at one of each, similarly equipped, in similar condition, and with similarly surly sellers.
1985 Volkswagen Cabriolet – $3,400
Engine/drivetrain: 1.8-liter OHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: LaPorte, IN
Odometer reading: 140,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
In the beginning, the VW Golf (Rabbit here in the US) was only available as a hatchback, with two or four doors. But in 1979, a convertible version was introduced, designed and built by longtime VW collaborator Karmann. Originally known as the Rabbit Convertible, its name changed to the Cabriolet in 1985, when the Rabbit was replaced by the second-generation Golf here. The Cabriolet stayed in production all the way through 1993 with only minor changes, notably to the bumpers. That doesn’t matter in the case of this 1985 model – its bumpers are missing in action.
The Cabriolet’s drivetrain is the same as the Golf’s, VW’s sturdy EA827 four-cylinder and a good old-fashioned five-speed stick. It makes eighty-something horsepower, which is enough for a small and light car like this. The seller is tight-lipped about its condition, other than to say that it runs and drives well. They just say they’re “not looking to answer a bunch of questions.” Okay, but if you want thirty-four hundred bucks, you’re going to have to give us a little more information.
The early Scirocco steering wheel in this car is giving me all sorts of nostalgia. The steering wheel was the one part of my old Scirocco that I saved before it went to the junkyard, and I installed it on my ’85 Golf. It’s VW’s best steering wheel design, hands-down. Turning this one will take a little more muscle than you might be used to; like a lot of older VWs, this one doesn’t have power steering. The rest of the interior is a little ratty around the edges, but considering the car’s age, it’s not terrible.
Apart from the missing bumpers, there are a couple of minor concerns with the outside. The hood is primer gray, the front valance is bent at a funny angle, and there are a couple of rust spots here and there. The top is in good condition, though, and I like the white wheels on it.
2001 Volkswagen Cabrio GLX – $2,400
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter OHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Plainwell, MI
Odometer reading: 182,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
The Cabriolet, like genius and madness, skipped a generation. An all-new Cabriolet, with its name shortened to Cabrio, debuted for the 1995 model year, and remained in production until 2002. In 1999, it was facelifted to look more like the new fourth-generation Golf. You may remember the commercial for this car, featuring “Pink Moon” by Nick Drake. I always liked that commercial, and yeah, I think I’d rather keep driving on a night like that than go to some dumb house party too.
The third-generation Golf came with a few different engines depending on the trim level, but the US-market Cabrio was only available with one: the often-derided “two-point-slow” four-cylinder. It may be down on power from the VR6 engine in the GTI, but it’s a lot less complicated and lower maintenance. Besides, watch that commercial again. Fast isn’t the point of this car. The seller says this one is fun to drive regardless of power level, but like the other seller, they are “not going to answer a bunch of questions.” Is there something about these cars that makes people grumpy? Or is it just selling a car online in general that does that?
The Golf got fancier inside as time went on, but the third generation was before it really started putting on airs. This one has leather seats, but I think this is before the soft-touch plastics that disintegrate and get sticky came along. It’s missing a radio, but that’s easy enough to take care of. I like the wooden shift knob. Those always feel good in your hand.
The outside looks good, but the photos aren’t great. An in-person inspection would give you a lot better idea of its condition. Obviously it has been lowered, which may or may not be a problem. If it rides OK, then I guess it’s fine, but my guess is that it rides rougher than it should. Me, I’d probably raise it back up to stock height regardless.
VW stopped making convertible versions of the Golf after these two, focusing instead on the New Beetle drop-top. And even that is gone now. Every year, more fun cars disappear from the market, and that’s a real shame. Everything is so serious these days. But at least cars like these are still available, and not even expensive. Which one of these would you pick for a bit of fun?
The 2001 for me, if only b/c I know that gen so well – spent a decade wrenching on a girlfriend’s ’99, so I’m fairly familiar with them at this point. Still have my tattered Haynes manual and a quart of Pentosin coolant somewhere.
They’re slow, sure, but the handling and road feel makes up for it. Plus ABS, airbags, and a little bigger trunk make for a good daily.
I really like the 85 (and I agree those white wheels look great on it) but given the overall condition of it, I voted for the newer one.
I picked the blue one. “Some rust” on cars from the Rust Belt means they’re probably a railroad crossing away from a major suspension component failure.
So picked the cheaper one.
That ’85 is the catch of the day. The ’01 reaches hard for the jellybean anonymity I wrote about so long ago and if it weren’t for the droptop, it’d be there.
Two new seats which will about double the value of the car and the white Rabbit is the business. I don’t care for convertibles – I don’t like the sun in my eyes at all and have no hair to blow in the wind, so the top will come down one time to confirm it works, and then never again – but I love the car itself. That’s the pick for me.
Ill take the 1985 – it can be used for unobtanium parts for my 1986…
White 80s VW! I would so drive it in low speed chases quoting old movies like Remington Steele!!!
Three, I think. There was also the Golf Mk VI, but maybe you didn’t get that in the U.S. Anyway, I wouldn’t want either one, so I’ll vote Mk I just for the steering wheel.
Just looked it up. Nope, we never saw that one here in the US. I had no idea it existed. I guess we got the Eos with the retractable hardtop instead.
I hate both convertibles and VWs, so this is a tricky one for me.
The ‘85 car looks nicer with the soft top up, so that one, I guess.
Man, in the mid-80’s this was the official car of Mt. St. Mary’s School for Girls in my neck of the woods. I always felt the white ones were an aspirational choice their dads made when they bought them.
I couldn’t even tell what color that dark one was until I got to the voting box. I voted for the white one because it had nicer wheels.
The “Mk3.5” Cabrio should have the desirable dimple dash with the blue backlighting instead of the green from the Mk3. PLUS it’s much easier to shoehorn a VR6 (or a 2.5 I5) into these guys.
“Or is it just selling a car online in general that does that?” – YES
Tough choice, not really a ‘vertible fan. I’d prefer the hard top in either. I want to choose the older one but it seems a bit rough and more $$, so I’m going cheap today.
$2400 for a running car isn’t bad.