I’ve always been a fan of the VW Golf, or as the hipster in me still likes to refer to them as Rabbits. The boy racer that I once pretended like I was loved their versatility, tunability, the hatchback experience, and their general performance for a car that was the slightly more upscale alternative to the Honda fandom. The only thing that ever prevented me from ever owning my own was simply the fact that I just couldn’t ever afford to get a Volkswagen, because whenever I’d been in the market for a car, they were always at a price point that I didn’t feel comfortable committing to.
And then I read this story about a super-limited edition Golf going to be released, to where only 333 will be produced, a pithy number as if they thought they were Bugatti or Lamborghini or something, will be a sickly-looking greenish yellow and will cost roughly the equivalent of $80,000 USD, and I roll my eyes and come to the conclusion that I will probably never own a Golf in my life, and think about how the car and its branding have seemingly grown a little too big for its britches.
Much like the Honda Civic, the VW Golf has long since strayed from its general position in their respective automotive lineups. Originally the economical, entry-level compact options for their makers, both of them have grown up substantially with the generations and have turned into ridiculously expensive budget sport cars where honestly, their name is more valuable than the sum of the parts that they’re composed of.
But $80k is absurd. Asinine. Completely ridiculous and out of touch. I wasn’t a fan of Honda finally bringing the Civic Type-R to America, only to turbo charge it and slap a $45k price tag on it, but at least it’s not an $80,000 Golf.
$80K is like Supra territory. Numerous BMW and Mercedes options. The price point of importing a R32 Nissan Skyline and taking care of all associated costs and maintenance. Nearly double of what my car cost for 1/3 of the capacity and utility. Nearly double the cost of the Audi that I would much rather have. Hell, it’s nearly double the cost of the R32 Golf which was already the super version of the Golf, and for what? 19 extra horsepower, that most people wouldn’t be able to legally capitalize without breaking the law?
And all for a Volkswagen Golf. The econobox hatchback that was every person my age’s first car type of car. No fucking thanks, although I will be interested the kinds of schmucks out there who will inevitably hoover up these 333 krauts. I can only imagine the wildly varied types of bullshit they’ll tell themselves and others to justify dropping $80k on a gaudy fluffed out Golf.