Golf Gti Mk1 - Family car?

Hi there,

My wife has a baby on the way and I'm looking to buy a new car.

Really fancy getting a Golf mk2 but I have noticed a Mk1 for sale close to where I live.

The only concern I have is if they can be used realisitcally as a family car.

Anyone on this forum use theirs as a daily driver and also to transport children around? Is it easy to fit baby seats in the back? Are they safe enough?

Many thanks.

They're not a bad choice. I guess not as safe as a modern car - no air bags etc - Mine used to be a daily driver with kids until I took it off the road although never fitted a baby seat in it.

To be honest, my MK1 still feels more solid than some modern small cars!

Cheers
Andy

a mk1 does hold up very well in a good crash. better steel, i believe. i'd have to say the mk2 is a more practical choice, purely on size. if the mk1 is big enough for you, then go for that. they're a pretty decent all round car.

i would disagree with the safety aspect of a mk1 i have a 3 year old little sister and i refuse to take her anywhere in my golf for fear of having a crash.

heres how a mk2 fairs up in a crash……. crash test volkswagen golf mk2 - YouTube    8O

couldn't find one for a mk1.

rustys_mk1 said

i would disagree with the safety aspect of a mk1 i have a 3 year old little sister and i refuse to take her anywhere in my golf for fear of having a crash. .

No such thing as a safe car, only a safe driver. Accidents between two cars usually happen when at least one, possibly two are taking a chance on the same piece of road. I take my kids in my car all the time but I don't take chances and drive according to the road and highway code. If you don't trust your car, your driving or you ability to judge other drivers and cars then you're probably doing the right thing but you might want to consider buying an XC90 tank instead.

Ultimately if I thought my car was that dangerous I wouldn't drive it even alone. No dad want's to leave an widow or children behind.

Finally it all comes down to your conscience and how you'd feel if something happened, might sound harsh but that's the way it is.

T :dontknow:

I use my mk1 gti as my daily with a baby seat in back, and now my daughters older, a childs seat.  Both fit very well, and as theres less plastic rubbish trim inside the car I find it more practical as its easier to get seats/kids in and out, and theres no 'faux leather' pattern to try get sick/chocolate etc off.

Also strangely theres loads more room in the back than my old alfa 156!

They were safe when they were built, so they will be safe
now if they are properly maintained.
I use my cabriolet at weekends etc.. and take my children out
in it, thats what they were built for.

Dibbler

Tian said

rustys_mk1 said

i would disagree with the safety aspect of a mk1 i have a 3 year old little sister and i refuse to take her anywhere in my golf for fear of having a crash. .

No such thing as a safe car, only a safe driver. Accidents between two cars usually happen when at least one, possibly two are taking a chance on the same piece of road. I take my kids in my car all the time but I don't take chances and drive according to the road and highway code. If you don't trust your car, your driving or you ability to judge other drivers and cars then you're probably doing the right thing but you might want to consider buying an XC90 tank instead.

Ultimately if I thought my car was that dangerous I wouldn't drive it even alone. No dad want's to leave an widow or children behind.

Finally it all comes down to your conscience and how you'd feel if something happened, might sound harsh but that's the way it is.

T :dontknow:

there might not be such a thing as a safe car but there are definetly safer cars.
the reason i don't take my sister in mine isn't because i don't trust my own driving it's because anything could happen. you don't have to take a chance to have a crash anyone could pull out, someone could loose concentration and drift into your lane there are endless things that could happen.
In a bad crash in a mk1 i think an adult would struggle to walk away never mind a 3 year old.
At the end of the day i think we all take a risk by driving mk1s (its worth it though) wether that risk is with yourself or with your kids also is entirely upto you.  :dontknow:

dibbler said

They were safe when they were built, so they will be safe
now if they are properly maintained.
I use my cabriolet at weekends etc.. and take my children out
in it, thats what they were built for.

Dibbler

what makes you think they are safe there wasn't even ncap ratings back then?

Safe as in " it was a family car" millions were sold, I cant
remember any huge complaints about thier safety at
the time? . Its got brakes, seatbelts etc.. .

You cant compare them to a new car with safety
ratings, different animal altogether.

Mind you, you can be sat in the back of an XC90 and
get hit from behind by a 44ton truck, an air bag wont
save you……..

Everythings relative, only way to ensure complete  safety is
sit in the house wrapped up in cotton wool!

No offence meant :wink:

Dibbler

dibbler said

Safe as in " it was a family car" millions were sold, I cant
remember any huge complaints about thier safety at
the time? . Its got brakes, seatbelts etc.. .

You cant compare them to a new car with safety
ratings, different animal altogether.

it was a family car but that was in the 70s and 80s the original minis where made for families but they were death traps. my point about the ncap ratings is that they didn't exist back then and manufacturers had nothing to aim for so if it didn't fall apart it was ok for the road.and the reason no-one complained back then is because every other car was just as "safe".

my point is if you want a daily driver for ferrying your kids around you can't ignore the fact that these cars were made nearly 30 years ago when safety wasn't as important as it is now. if i where you i would get a modern dub for cheap and a mk1 as a project.

rustys_mk1 said

dibbler said

Safe as in " it was a family car" millions were sold, I cant
remember any huge complaints about thier safety at
the time? . Its got brakes, seatbelts etc.. .

You cant compare them to a new car with safety
ratings, different animal altogether.

it was a family car but that was in the 70s and 80s the original minis where made for families but they were death traps. my point about the ncap ratings is that they didn't exist back then and manufacturers had nothing to aim for so if it didn't fall apart it was ok for the road.and the reason no-one complained back then is because every other car was just as "safe".

my point is if you want a daily driver for ferrying your kids around you can't ignore the fact that these cars were made nearly 30 years ago when safety wasn't as important as it is now. if i where you i would get a modern dub for cheap and a mk1 as a project.

Yeah but safety was a factor in car design, and by 1974 many manufacturers had been through several iterations of designing a car, testing it themselves, it being widely available and some of them being crashed, many with extensive damage etc and they'd certainly be looking at how their cars fared in this, especially from a marketing/public perception viewpoint.

Some manufacturers (eg Mercedes) were innovative in safety and were considered (indeed still are, in a way) top of the tree when it came to safety stuff, for example they pioneered crumple zones, airbags, ABS, etc. In general though (at the time) German cars were considered above average in safety. So VW can be included in being above average there.

In terms of design, the Mini was designed in 1959 and was a very small car (not really properly beaten by a 4 seater since), part of this reason was the lack of a gap in between front panel and engine, and engine to passenger compartment. This is the reason the Mini today would fail badly in an NCAP style crash, but it was above average in active safety (ie being controllable enough to avoid a collision in the first place).

Government regulation has been responsible for the shift in focus from active to passive safety measures, notice how cars have become heavier and this is not really a desirable design feature.

i think my point is being missed. all i'm trying to say is if you want a mk1 as a daily driver and for ferrying the kids about you should consider the safety factor. its all well and good saying they were ahead in safety in the 70s but that was then. you made a point there paul that modern cars are heavier and there are more 4x4s on the road also, both of these would surely make a mk1 more dangerous to drive on the road?

Weight alone doesn't make a car safe by default - especially when you factor in active safety. There are some modern small cars which score very well in safety tests, and some large (4x4) cars which score very poorly…..

Certainly some safety features (airbags, side impact protection bars) make a modern car safer but you could argue that others (ABS, traction control, thicker A pillars, more sound insulation) create a moot point…..

i meant the weight of a modern car hitting a mk1 would cause more damage than a light one. how is abs and traction control a bad thing?

rustys_mk1 said

i meant the weight of a modern car hitting a mk1 would cause more damage than a light one. how is abs and traction control a bad thing?

Some family cars have their ABS and traction control set to intervene quite early on, ie they never really let you get into a skid situation and will keep you safe, but also create a lack of enthusiasm of driving the car and dull its responses from you. Its notable that many proper sports cars which have ABS and traction control, have them set up much better. So you get into a kind of psychological trap where you convince yourself that the car won't let you get into an accident situation and, over time, your driving becomes more and more sloppy.

The argument for weight goes both ways. The laws of physics say that a heavier car will not be as quick to respond/change direction etc. So I could say that the accident a heavier car is involved in, could have been avoided by the smaller car driving round it or stopping quicker.

fair point paul but i still don't get how people think a golf is just as safe to be driving now as a modern car  :dontknow:

rustys_mk1 said

fair point paul but i still don't get how people think a golf is just as safe to be driving now as a modern car  :dontknow:

Its not (IMHO), but its not that far off…..

anyone spoke to deejay since his crash he'll be able to tell you how safe they are?

don't know the speeds involved in this crash but it don't look healthy quite a bit of penetration into the cabin…..

mk1 crash 2 - YouTube