Generation

Volkswagen Golf Mk1

Volkswagen Golf Mk1 (Typ 17), 1974-1993

Produced: 1974–1993
Code: Typ 17
Designer: Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign

Red Volkswagen Golf Mk1 photographed head-on, showing the square headlamps, black grille and upright glasshouse

Body style

Powertrain

Drivetrain

Front-wheel drive

Era

Test Drive this car

Giugiaro’s two-box shape, in production from May 1974, and still being built as a Cabriolet in 1993, nine years after the hatchback it came from was replaced.^[1] That is why this entry’s production years run to 1993 and why it appears under the 1990s as well as the 1970s.

The Golf GTI is the reason most people remember the car, and it is also this batch’s best illustration of a sourcing problem. Its torque, acceleration and top speed are all published twice in the same Wikipedia article, with different figures each time: the prose cites Volkswagen’s own 40-years brochure, the model-range table gives something slightly different. Those three values are marked as having conflicting sources, and both figures are stated on each. Nothing here silently picks a winner.

Only the Cabriolet carries a drag coefficient, because only the Cabriolet has one published.^[2] That is also the trim the Test Drive page models, since it is the one with a complete set of physical inputs.

Overview

Manufacturer: Volkswagen
Produced: 1974–1993
Model code: Typ 17
Designer: Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign
Segment: C-segment (Europe) / Compact (US)
Positioning: Mainstream
Assembly: Wolfsburg, Germany
Brussels, Belgium
New Stanton, Pennsylvania, United States (Westmoreland Assembly)
Uitenhage, South Africa
Puebla, Mexico
Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (TAS)
Clayton, Victoria, Australia

Dimensions

Length

3,705 mm

Cars built to August 1978. Later hatchbacks measured 3,815 mm on deeper bumpers, and the US-market Rabbit was published as 155.3 in.

[1]

Width

1,610 mm

Later cars measured 1,630 mm.

[1]

Height

1,395 mm

Hatchback. The Cabriolet stood 1,412 mm and the Caddy pickup 1,490 mm.

[1]

Wheelbase

2,400 mm

Hatchback and Cabriolet. The Caddy pickup used a 2,625 mm wheelbase.

[1]

Kerb weight

790 kg

Lightest published figure. The generation spans 790-930 kg for the hatchback and 905-970 kg for the Cabriolet, so a single scalar cannot describe it; the per-trim figures below are the real data.

[1]

1.1

Trim · 1974–1983 · FA/GG/HB

Power

37 kW

50 PS at 6,000 rpm, converted at 1 PS = 0.73549875 kW.

[1]

Torque

77 N⋅m

Published as 7.9 kg-m at 3,000 rpm, converted at 9.80665 N-m per kg-m.

[1]

Kerb weight

Not yet available

0–100 km/h

17.0 s

[1]

Top speed

138 km/h

Published as a 138-140 km/h band; the lower bound is recorded. The Cabriolet on this engine managed 133 km/h.

[1]

Fuel economy

9.0 L/100 km

From the article model-range table, which does not name a test cycle. Predates the modern European cycles.

[1]

CO₂

Not yet available

Drag coefficient

Not yet available

Frontal area

Not yet available

Displacement

1,093 cc

[1]

Boot volume

Not yet available

Seats

Engine

inline-4 · FA/GG/HB

Drivetrain

Front-wheel drive

1.6 Diesel

Trim · 1980–1983 · CR/JK

Power

40 kW

54 PS at 4,800 rpm, converted at 1 PS = 0.73549875 kW.

[1]

Torque

98 N⋅m

98 N-m at 2,300 rpm.

[1]

Kerb weight

Not yet available

0–100 km/h

17.5 s

Published as a 17.5-21.5 s band across markets and gearing; the quickest figure is recorded.

[1]

Top speed

138 km/h

Published as a 138-142 km/h band; the lower bound is recorded.

[1]

Fuel economy

6.5 L/100 km

From the article model-range table, which does not name a test cycle.

[1]

CO₂

Not yet available

Drag coefficient

Not yet available

Frontal area

Not yet available

Displacement

1,588 cc

[1]

Boot volume

Not yet available

Seats

Engine

inline-4 · CR/JK

Drivetrain

Front-wheel drive

US market

Sold as Volkswagen Rabbit Diesel

GTI

Trim · 1976–1982 · EG

Power

81 kW

110 PS at 6,100 rpm, converted at 1 PS = 0.73549875 kW.

[1]

Torque

140 N⋅mSources disagree

The article prose gives 140 N-m at 5,000 rpm, citing Volkswagen’s own 40-years brochure; the model-range table in the same article gives 137 N-m at the same speed. The manufacturer-attributed figure is recorded.

[1]

Kerb weight

810 kg

Kerb weight as published in the article prose, citing Volkswagen’s 40-years brochure.

[1]

0–100 km/h

9.2 sSources disagree

The article prose gives 9.2 s, citing Volkswagen’s 40-years brochure; the model-range table in the same article gives 10 s. The manufacturer-attributed figure is recorded.

[1]

Top speed

182 km/hSources disagree

The article prose gives 182 km/h, citing Volkswagen’s 40-years brochure; the model-range table gives 183 km/h. A 1 km/h difference, recorded rather than quietly reconciled.

[1]

Fuel economy

10.5 L/100 km

From the article model-range table, which does not name a test cycle.

[1]

CO₂

Not yet available

Drag coefficient

Not yet available

Frontal area

Not yet available

Displacement

1,588 cc

79.5 x 80 mm bore and stroke, 9.5:1 compression.

[1]

Boot volume

Not yet available

Seats

Engine

inline-4 · EG

Drivetrain

Front-wheel drive

GLI Cabriolet

Trim · 1982–1993 · DX

Power

82 kW

112 PS at 5,800 rpm, converted at 1 PS = 0.73549875 kW.

[1]

Torque

150 N⋅m

150 N-m at 3,500 rpm.

[1]

Kerb weight

905 kg

Lightest published Cabriolet kerb weight; the body spans 905-970 kg.

[1]

0–100 km/h

10.5 s

Cabriolet figure. The equivalent hatchback managed 9 s.

[1]

Top speed

180 km/h

Cabriolet figure. The equivalent hatchback reached 187 km/h.

[1]

Fuel economy

11.0 L/100 km

Cabriolet figure from the article model-range table, which does not name a test cycle.

[1]

CO₂

Not yet available

Drag coefficient

0.48

Listed as the Volkswagen Cabriolet (Rabbit Convertible), 1979-1993. No drag coefficient is published for the Mk1 hatchback, which is why only this trim carries one.

[2]

Frontal area

Not yet available

Displacement

1,781 cc

[1]

Boot volume

Not yet available

Seats

Engine

inline-4 · DX

Drivetrain

Front-wheel drive

Gallery

Select a photograph to open it full screen. Each one carries its own credit and licence.

Sources & confidence

Every figure above carries a status. Nothing on this page is estimated without saying so, and nothing missing has been filled in with a guess.

Last verified: 2026-08-18
Review status: Spot-checked by hand

Photography on this page is credited on each image. Tap theion a photograph for its author, licence and source.

References

Every sourced figure and every cited claim on this page, numbered. Wikipedia articles record the revision they were read at, because the article will have changed by the time you check it.

[1]
Volkswagen Golf Mk1. Wikipedia · revision 1368565284 · read 2026-08-18
WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0
This article disagrees with itself on the GTI: the prose cites Volkswagen’s own 40-years brochure for 140 N⋅m, 9.2 s and 182 km/h, while the model-range table gives 137 N⋅m, 10 s and 183 km/h. Both figures are recorded on the affected values with status ‘conflicting-sources’.
[2]
List of automobile drag coefficients. Wikipedia · revision 1360737555 · read 2026-08-17
WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0
The aerodynamic source named in several hundred production and concept vehicles, 1921 to 2024.
[3]
1984 Volkswagen Rabbit 1.6 diesel, 5-speed manual — EPA fuel economy record (vehicle 26787). US EPA / US Department of Energy · read 2026-08-18
DatasetPublic domain (US Government work)Cited by the specifications
The US-market Mk1 Golf was sold as the Rabbit. 1984 is the first model year EPA publishes and the last of Rabbit production, so this record covers the very end of the run.