Today I impulse-bought a 2001 Jetta 2.0/5spd for barely more than free. It runs but probably needs a ton of work to be roadworthy. I had this fleeting thought that maybe it could become an entertaining daily appliance for not much money. Is that a delusional thought or an idea worth exploring? My last Jetta was a 1991 that I positively loved. Can this overweight and underpowered namesake ever hope to recapture some of that A2 magic?
They're galvanized, which is nice for keeping them looking nice, and the 2.0 is the least problematic Mk4 engine by a wide margin. They are good enough appliances, but I wouldn't expect it to be much else unless you want to start dumping money into it to fix the inherently flawed suspension design; and you will never get that money back because the stance-bro types that love Mk4s hate the "2.slow".
We had an 01 Jetta 2.0. It was a decent car to drive, dynamically speaking. Engine was ok, transmission was ok, handling was reasonably sharp.
Other than that, it sucked. Electrical stuff constantly broke (multiple window motors, for example) and other stupid little things that shouldn't break on a modern car. Even with warranty fixing everything, we ended up getting rid of it after less than 2 years. Too much of a hassle for a car with no real upside otherwise. Traded in for a 2004 Mazda3 which was superior in every aspect.
In reply to M030:
A friend has the same combo, owned it for 7? Years and hes had some random electrical problems but he loves it for some reason. I had one but with a 1.8t and sold it before it gave me too many problems so you might get lucky. I actually kinda like the 2.0, has good torque, ive spent a lot of time with one my grandfather had in a cabrio. Maybe there are some gli takeoff bits you can put on to make it more entertaining to drive? Do they sell the "cup kits" suspesions for the jettas like the do golfs too? Might be good bet if you want new instead of used suspension. A lot of the coilovers are too "look how low it can go" rather than handle properly
Oh, does it smell like crayons?
In reply to chiodos:
The Mk4 suspension geometry is royally boned from the factory and the front actually needs to be RAISED to improve handling. Unfortunately, neither "cup kits" nor VW's factory sport suspension options take this into account. You either have to run Shine springs and drive around looking goofy as hell, or convert to Audi TT control arms/knuckles/sway bar to fix it.
100% with you on the crayon smell though...never been in one that didn't have it.
USRT has a super sweet cost effective 2.0L turbo kit in the final testing stages. Hit up Scott and the gang for some surprisingly fun results.
I wouldn't be opposed to fitting Audi TT knuckles, control arms and sway bar. Maybe those plus a Shine Racing "real street" suspension kit and some VR6 brakes would make it fun(?)
In reply to M030:
You don't really want to do the TT suspension AND the Shine springs; it's one or the other. The Shine setup is a band-aid for original Mk4 geometry, whereas the TT parts fix the geometry itself and work best with OE TT springs or high-end coilovers. Also, VR6 and 1.8T brakes are the same; you'll already have everything you need to bolt them on if you do the full TT conversion, but your stock brakes should be more than adequate for anything short of track use.
More info on the TT conversion here:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=416152 (why you want to do it)
http://www.myturbodiesel.com/wiki/audi-tt-vw-golf-r32-spindle-and-lower-control-arm-conversion-mk4/ (how to do it)
IMO it's a lot of time, money and effort to put into the least desirable Mk4 just to drive around on the street, though...
No.
Seems like they all drop windows. Some fault in the window regulator results in the side windows just spontaneously falling to the bottom of the door. Just last weekend, I was talking to my sister, who owned one from new, and who told me they finally issued a recall.
I'd find out if that was addressed, and if not, get it addressed.
The switchblade keys fail. You can get the plastic shells of eBay.
And yeah, they all smell like crayons.
And there is a kit:
I love my 03 Golf 2.0L/5 spd.
The best ones are the ones with the fewest options.
The window issue is easily fixed with metal clips instead of the original plastic ones.
No, the only way i would ever buy another Mk4 is if it was almost free and ran decent. Then I would throw it away when it died.
I bought a new 1999.5 MkIV Golf when they first came out. I hunted one down with manual windows so I never had the window regulator problem 
The only option it had was A/C. The glovebox door broke every winter on the first cold day.
I put some springs, shocks and sways on it along with some sticky tires. It never really handled, it just stuck. It was not a thrilling drive. I never had a lot of complaints about the engine.
I can say that if you wear a set of red/blue 3D glasses, the gauges are really, really trippy at night.
It will never be a fun car to drive and NEVER hold a candle to the MKII chassis. That being said, it could be made in to an appliance just fine. The junkyard should be full of replacement parts too.
In reply to Mike:
Beat me to it by a mile.
Keith Tanner wrote: I can say that if you wear a set of red/blue 3D glasses, the gauges are really, really trippy at night.
Brilliant!
captdownshift wrote: USRT has a super sweet cost effective 2.0L turbo kit in the final testing stages. Hit up Scott and the gang for some surprisingly fun results. Link to manifold uses readily available k04 turbo
In reply to captdownshift:
That makes me want to build it! VW/Audi products with bad 20V/1.8t engines are cheap and plentiful (especially Passats), and I love the idea of adapting that turbo to my otherwise lame 2.0. Seems like the USRT turbo manifold, a used TT front suspension, VR6 or TT brakes and a big Shine Racing rear sway bar can be combined to create an entertaining appliance that can be used for the occasional autocross (whenever the Boxster is torn apart for upgrades), so I'm going to try to do it on a challenge budget
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