1987 Volkswagen Golf Reviews, Pricing & Specs
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With stylistic similarities to the Rabbit, but a size more in keeping with the Jetta, the Volkswagen Golf is a pretty roomy hatchback geared towards budget-conscious drivers or first-time buyers looking for a car that will get them around reliably without costing time or money.
In the 1987 Volkswagen Golf, four trims were offered in two types of hatchback, either a 2 and 4-door Golf GT or a 2 and 4-door Golf GL. The 1.8-liter, 4-cylinder engine in the 1987 Golf hits 90-hp and does not need much coaxing to get up to ticket-worthy speeds. The GT trims get the old GTI engine (as it got an upgrade this year) which is tuned to reach 102-hp. A 5-speed manual transmission is standard, with an option for a 3-speed automatic. A 1.6-liter diesel is also available, rated at 52-hp, though in 1987, the turbo version of this was discontinued.
What accounts for the popularity of this plain-looking wallflower? It's affordable and great on gas. Add to this its nimble handling and surprisingly perky engine that handles city and highway driving easily, if not always the best on hills. Owners say it's pretty easy to work on for the average person, and usually needs few major repairs. What's even more incredible about the Golf is how long it lasts without showing the effects of too much wear and tear. Some minor annoyances are a tendency towards body roll and the scarcity of VW parts on the market.
Published Aug 9, 2022 by CarGurus Editorial Team
User reviews for 1987 Volkswagen Golf
Write a reviewUser rating:
by James M
May 08, 2010
acceleration kicks in around 4000 rpm when the 16 valves kick in the car throws
you back in your seat. completely stripped and slammed on coil overs making it
faster and handle better. two bucket seats with 4 point harnesses hold you in
place and a roll cage for extra safety. strut braced front and back :)
super funMay 08, 2010
by Stephen B
Apr 19, 2010
It was my only car to burn up in s litteral since. Other than that I thought it drove well, and did donuts very well. E-braking it was a blast and it was small but fit everybody in it with no problem.Apr 19, 2010
by Gary H
Apr 02, 2010
My car was the GT trim which included the five speed manual
transmission. It was my all time favorite car. Great on gas (32 mpg
regardless if I drove like an old lady or like a race car driver). Cheap to
insure and license. The rear seats folded down to create enormous
cargo space (I actually got a 7' Christmas tree in there once with all
windows and doors shut).
The car is also ergonomically brilliant. Everything is right where you
need it and it's comfortable on long road trips. My only gripe in
interior layout was no place to put my beverage.
What I didn't like was how often the car got broken into. Thieves
busted windows and broke door handles to get in. I eventually
resorted to never locking the car and keeping nothing of value in it,
not even change.
The car succumbed to rust along the bottoms of the doors and under
the fender flares. Underbody components rusted to the point of
making any service involving the underbody an interesting experience.
This car was a blast to drive and while it wasn't the quickest or most
nimble car out there, it was better than average and enough to always
keep a smile on my face.Apr 02, 2010
User rating:
by James M
May 08, 2010
acceleration kicks in around 4000 rpm when the 16 valves kick in the car throws
you back in your seat. completely stripped and slammed on coil overs making it
faster and handle better. two bucket seats with 4 point harnesses hold you in
place and a roll cage for extra safety. strut braced front and back :)
super funMay 08, 2010
by Stephen B
Apr 19, 2010
It was my only car to burn up in s litteral since. Other than that I thought it drove well, and did donuts very well. E-braking it was a blast and it was small but fit everybody in it with no problem.Apr 19, 2010
by Gary H
Apr 02, 2010
My car was the GT trim which included the five speed manual
transmission. It was my all time favorite car. Great on gas (32 mpg
regardless if I drove like an old lady or like a race car driver). Cheap to
insure and license. The rear seats folded down to create enormous
cargo space (I actually got a 7' Christmas tree in there once with all
windows and doors shut).
The car is also ergonomically brilliant. Everything is right where you
need it and it's comfortable on long road trips. My only gripe in
interior layout was no place to put my beverage.
What I didn't like was how often the car got broken into. Thieves
busted windows and broke door handles to get in. I eventually
resorted to never locking the car and keeping nothing of value in it,
not even change.
The car succumbed to rust along the bottoms of the doors and under
the fender flares. Underbody components rusted to the point of
making any service involving the underbody an interesting experience.
This car was a blast to drive and while it wasn't the quickest or most
nimble car out there, it was better than average and enough to always
keep a smile on my face.Apr 02, 2010
by Jere R
Mar 03, 2010
Its going to make some noice with new audio system. And I like it. No space at the boot because there is my subwoofer and amplifiers and stuff like that... I just love volkswagens and older is better. Forever oldschool!Mar 03, 2010
by Ramòn C
Nov 22, 2009
Nada, de hecho extraño mucho mi súper Caribe PRO 1987, me llevo a muchos lugares y claro a la Universidad todos los días
Excelente motor 1800
Barras estabilizadoras
Rines de 15 pulgadas
Sonido Alpine, equalizador Alpine gráfico con 3 colores de iluminaciónNov 22, 2009
by Carl S
Nov 05, 2009
It's fun to drive, not very heavy so it handles and accelerates well for 80-90hp, for $800 and $200-300 to fix it up it's a great commuter car. Cheap to maintain, CIS injectin setup is bullet proof and a mechanical wonderNov 05, 2009
by Søren S
Oct 19, 2009
Fin bil, Men meget dyr at holde kørende. havde 4 motorer i den. Men den gav meget opmærksomhed. og havde 131.6 hk, der var andre vippe arme, skarb knast, poleret topstykke, kn filter og remus udstødning og ellers meget sjov bil. Oct 19, 2009
by Anonymous
Aug 19, 2009
Ide nizbrdo 260, uzbrdo oko 80, ima ASS-ako stane,
stane. Bar izgleda dobro, zabavan za vozit kad otkazu
kocnice. Trosi 6 litara dizela, i to eurodizela, samo naj
dolazi u obzir, Castrol ulje, OZ felge, Simoni volan i
tako dalje.Aug 19, 2009
by Janti H
Aug 14, 2009
Performance:
*0-60: 1.9sec
*Ma btingari6 mn i10 aw bny 2dmeen (zay ba3d al nas)
Build Quality:
*Handles like a lotus, drives like a F1 GTR.
*The engine bay is lined with gold foil to help with heat
insulation.
Appearance:
*Better than an 8C Competizione.
Cost of Ownership:
*Gets 250 MPG easy!
*All parts are custom-made (If you can't afford it, you
don't deserve it).
Fun Factor:
*You'll arrive to you destination doing donuts and
burnouts. You tell me!
So, to summarize:
Best car you'll ever lay your eyes on.Aug 14, 2009
by Bassem T
Aug 11, 2009
the handling is very good , braking is relatively accurate . acceleration 0 to 100 km 8.9 sec no repair needed cheap to run 240 km l 20 L OF PETROL , manually converting with no effort at all and its fun to drive .Aug 11, 2009
by Mike D
Jul 04, 2009
German cars from the 80's are full of character...u fall in love with their flaws...this car has plenty of character which can be costly, inconvenient and tiring at the rare times it actually decides to break down...but i wldn't want it any other way and would choose nothing over it...=] Pure old school drivers car...
fyi-it currently has 537987 miles on it and its still goin wit veeeery minor problems!! =]Jul 04, 2009
by Patricia H
Jan 02, 2009
This was the first car we had here (in 1994). It was 7 years old when we got it but it served us for 12 years. Great car - I kinda miss it. It was a standard, good on gas and reliable. Jan 02, 2009
by Kalle A
Nov 25, 2008
A fantastic car, that a bought from a friend for only 20€. It had some ignition problems, but after a few tricks and a set of sparkplugs it ran like a swiss clock. The greatest thing about this one is that you don't have to worry about anything, no oil changes, no brake repairs, nothing. Just drive as hard as you dare and see how long it lasts. At the moment the car consists of a cooler from a Fiat Ritmo, a heater blower from a Opel Ascona B and some Nissan rims. Soon it will be stripped naked and modified to icetrack use. Yeah I know it is a FRONT WHEEL DRIVE and yes it's lame, but at least its a car that runs and again it was cheap as hell.Nov 25, 2008
by Krystin V
Sep 07, 2008
i love my car becuase its not because of the looks of it becuase, of the fact my great grandmother gave it to me as a gift for my improvement and becuase of finishing school.. my car is a 87 vw golf and i tell ya no matter how old it is, its in mint condition, and it runs wonderful..$. and i know im gonna have a solid built car and thats not gonna just crumble if i got into an accidentSep 07, 2008
by Kohbie C
Aug 08, 2008
Nice hot hatch.... chicks dig it!! (especially when rolling on 24"s) lol....Wats amazing about this car is it's performance even though it's older than i am; can still keep up with more modern cars such as Subarus, HONDAs,still rides like a Bentley and when i bought only 70,000 on the speedo..... i love it!!Aug 08, 2008
by Markus T
Jul 22, 2008
Performance.. for the 1.6l TD this was quite good, got over 200km/h with it.. and then it was on fire :) brakes are quite standard, they do stop you, but they could have been better. Handling, well my golf had the suspension tweaked so it was quite good.
Build quality.. at the condition it came out from the factory it's good, the one i had was not so good. The former owner had done some "Tweaking" with it and it was allways at the heat limit, and that's what had it killed later on.
Appearance.. i adore mk2 golf so again in my opinion it's amazing. The on i had got the GTI bodykit, M3 style mirrors and AngelEye lights added to it.
Costs.. Driving a 1.6tdi is cheap. Maintenance... well don't really know, it burned before i got to there.
Fun.. Yep, Lots of it.Jul 22, 2008
by Lwazi V
Jul 09, 2008
they loved my car...it was a golf vw1 a classic, nice colour but they hated the prformance. the car was fun to drive coz it took me from point A to point B and the gaz didn't cost me much even a friend ended by a golf coz i had oneJul 09, 2008
by Muzhar H
Jul 06, 2008
i love my car!! 2.0 16v trottle bodies yeeeehaaa.......withowt L.S.D,launch control, n running on js race fuel i ran a 14.o sec at da legal dragz...btw i js received da car an hour before da dragz.....watch dis space!!! my car'z name iz little red riding unda da hood!!!!!!Jul 06, 2008
by Tadas V
Jun 03, 2008
It was the days when it was awesomeJun 03, 2008
by Dennis J
Apr 13, 2008
Den skal vist bare hugges opApr 13, 2008
by Lieven G
Jan 16, 2008
VW Golf 2 1400cc dieselJan 16, 2008
by Colin J
Jan 04, 2008
Bought it for next-to-nothing at Gran Canaria, just to have something to drive around the island in. Convertible top was leaking everywhere, and the engine was not much to shout for, but after a trip to a workshop, cost of 50 euros, it ran okay again.Jan 04, 2008
by George F
Dec 30, 2007
i jus love it
Dec 30, 2007
by Anonymous
Dec 26, 2007
thinking of buying oneDec 26, 2007
by Natasha W
Dec 24, 2007
I owned this car up until 2006. I'm surprised my little car lasted as long as it did.Dec 24, 2007
by Dean W
Nov 26, 2007
Mine was a Dodgy Shit boxNov 26, 2007
by Anonymous
Nov 01, 2007
Not a pic of mine but looks the sameNov 01, 2007
by Anonymous
Sep 21, 2007
I just bought this car for dirt cheap and it runs beautifully.Sep 21, 2007
by Anonymous
May 14, 2007
not sure about this one...have had a scirocco and currently have a jetta tdi...this golf appears to be an unmolested slightly rusty unit with 170k..cleaned up nice..interior is clean..drives/stops nice and straight...we'll have to see how it works out..oh i paid 895.00May 14, 2007
What users have asked
Is the radiator fan supposed to not run all the time?
So i just got my first car (Golf 2 CL 1987) and i just noticed that the radiator fan is not running even after i took at 10 min drive and the coolant hose/ radiator was pretty hot to tuch. Is that normal or is the fan broken?
856 views
36 views
Fule door
So I just got this car for 200 dollars and I can't figure out how to open the gas door any help please.
32 views
I am a pretty big guy -wiil I fit in a golf?
I have driven a saturn SL2 and a 93 dodge colt/mitsu. mirage-I am looking at a golf online that is too far away for me to easily test drive. I would like to get some idea before I waste a trip. Thank you for any help you can give. Chris
311 views
Top Comparisons
Have you driven a 1987 Volkswagen Golf?Compare this car
1987 Volkswagen Golf Pricing
Original MSRP
$8,710 to $10,505Price range
N/AAverage price on CG
N/AYoY price change
N/ATrims & specs
Audio System
AM/FM radio
Seats
Front seat type: bucket · Upholstery: cloth
Audio System
AM/FM radio
Seats
Front seat type: bucket · Upholstery: cloth
Audio System
AM/FM radio
Seats
Front seat type: bucket · Upholstery: cloth
Tires and Rims
Wheel type: aluminum alloy
Audio System
AM/FM radio
Seats
Front seat type: bucket · Upholstery: cloth
Tires and Rims
Wheel type: aluminum alloy