Golf 4th Generation (1997 - 2003)

Style icon. Today, the Golf IV is regarded by design experts as a style icon and groundbreaking for the model series – no doubt also because it bridged the gap to the Golf I of 1974 with all its clarity and the C-pillar design that characterised the series. With the Golf IV, Volkswagen set a completely new quality standard in the segment. At the same time, with the debut of the ESP, the democratization of security continued to advance. A short time later, ESP became the first standard in Germany. This was followed in 2001 by the Golf GTI with 132 kW / 180 hp on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the GTI, followed in 2002 by the first Golf with petrol direct injection (FSI) and the debut of the standard head airbags. Also in 2002, Volkswagen also introduced the sportiest Golf to date: the 250 km/h R32, the original version of today's Golf R. In 2003, it was this Golf R32 that was available with a dual-clutch transmission (DSG) for the first time. In the same year, the Golf IV vacated the production lines for the Golf V after 4.9 million units.