.

This is the last of its kind. A limited-edition example of a genuine real-world classic. Exclusive enough that by the time you read this they’ll probably all be sold. And yet, at a price which matches the heritage. A real people’s exclusive.

No, I’m not being paid to write VW PR gumpf, but I’ve been driving the Mk1 all week now and it actually manages to live up to the hype. And it should make hardcore South African petrolheads sad to see it go.

The thing is, yes it has no ABS, airbags, ESP, power steering, or even aircon (really the biggest shame of the lot). Instead it cuts straight to the essence of the car. There are four attractive wheels, a tin box for sitting in, another wheel for steering the whole lot and then three pedals and a stick for deciding how fast you want it all to go.

And to this basic home recipe is added some deeply tantalising spice for the Mk1. Part-leather seats, complete with red stitching just like in an old CTI. There’s central locking, even if it is of the dinosaur variety, each door whirring loudly into its locked position a good four seconds after the original command  to do so is sent. A chunky three-spoke leather wheel with solitary airbag (take that safety moaners!). Even sporty aluminium pedals, and an aluminium-look bezel on the dials themselves.

My kids were probably most delighted, having never seen anything like them before, at the manual-winding windows, but there is still more quite exciting stuff to this limited edition. There’s a grumbly, rough, old-school 1.6-litre injected motor up front, propelling a chassis sitting 10mm lower than “regular” Citi models. A pair of fruity (if dainty) tailpipes which rasp aggressively at every opportunity. And then there’s the exterior.

It’s subtle to be sure. You’d never notice the ride-height drop without a very trained eye, but the blue-to-black paintjob and the distinctive chrome/silver flashes are unmistakable. That is if you haven’t already spotted the little silver Citi silhouette on the fenders and hatch lid itself.

Which, sadly, means you’re never going to have people sauntering up to you in parking lots and going “Hey, is that a Mk1 then?” Most are likely to think some youngster with a can of silver spraypaint but halfway decent taste has sorted it out on his own. Which is sad, because you’d really like to respond to these imaginary onlookers in-the-know “Yes, it is, and it really is that brilliant.”

Girls aren’t going to appreciate it too much either. The lack of power-steering, compared to the finger-twirling steering wheels of today’s city-car, makes for shockingly heavyweight parking manoeuvres for such a little car, while the absence of aircon in place of a basic fan/heater arrangement will likely make this dark tin box a pretty close environment in our SA summer. Then there are the brakes. About an inch and a half of completely dead travel at the top of the pedal action does not inspire confidence if yours in any way wavers.

No, this is a lads car. It stinks when you start it up in the morning, and the engine clatters noisily and unevenly when cold. The gearbox takes some warming of its oils before it gets exactly smooth either. Sadly, the brakes don’t ever “come to temperature”, so to speak. And then you need some beefy forearms to muscle it out onto the road so that you can set about working it all up to temp.

Once you have though, it is such a sweet little car. It hammers home the fact that beneath all of this, is the chassis which gave birth to the hot hatch genre. A design a few decades old perhaps, but an example which is brand-new and fighting fit. If this were thirty years ago, you’d have been the king of the road in one of these.

The four-pot motor is constantly gnashing its teeth, and offers up plenty of useable muscle all the way through its rev range. Yes, it sounds rather thrashed a lot of the time, but that’s part of the charm really. And the chassis isn’t in any way filtered, diluted, or restrained. Just the interface between the raw, primal forces being exerted on the vehicle by the drive, to the driver. A direct, hard line.

It is just a huge amount of fun. Yes, it absolutely feels the dinosaur it is, but it’s a lovable one. Like the ones from kid’s cartoons more than the one from Spielberg’s murdered movie series.

And the “new” looks even mean that you glance admiringly back over your shoulder when you do park and walk away, even if no-one else really does. It’s a special feeling which a numbered plaque on the dash reminds you of every moment you’re inside it. And there is quite literally no other car on the market for R120K that even comes close to giving you that. None.

That price allows the indomitable Citi to exit, stage left, as gracefully as it arrived. The Mk1 epitomises the entire model range, basic ingredients, huge heart, massive fun, for not a lot of money. VW could have gotten greedy with these last 1000 models, deigning them to be for collectors only, but instead have priced them to sell to the people who made this dinosaur so great for so long. It’s a triumph. And a tribute. On wheels.

We will also probably never see it’s like again. Cheap cars are now emaciated, jokey, Pikachu cars with sewing-machine engines and chassis’ of jelly. Neither heart, nor soul. Mere innocuous transport. Nowadays you’ve got to pay more handsomely for any fun or charm whatsoever.

But sadly, our loss doesn’t mean it isn’t time for the Citi to leave us. It is unquestionably a car of yesterday. But like say a Nissan 1400 bakkie, it’s a true people’s hero. Affordable, adorable, reliable, dependable, and utterly loveable to enthusiasts everywhere.

And the Mk1, the last of a great line, ends the production with a flourish.

Russell Bennett

Liked

Character. In spades.

Fruity exhaust note.

Subtle silver/chrome bling

Disliked

The end of an era

All the safety moaners who had a hand in killing it.

Drive Vitals : Citi Mk I

Engine Four-cylinder petrol

Induction Natural

Capacity 1595cc

Power 74 kW @ 5400rpm

Torque 140 Nm @ 4400rpm

Kerb weight 858 kg

Driven wheels Front

0-100km/h 9.7 Seconds

Price R113 500

[View with PicLens]

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The Golf VI is one of the most capable and well rounded platforms in existence today. The chassis is responsive, and in GTI trim, the drivetrain and brilliant X-Diff is an engineering triumph. VW even has all the bases covered with regards to powerplants, from the economical entry level options, to the award winning 1.4TSI twin charged motor and then on to the 155kW 2.0L turbo in the GTI. Of course the oh so close Golf R motor is a 2.0L as well, but pushing out another 40 odd kW. VW then, with this particular platform really have something on their hands, too bad they’re intent on ruining it all.

Fortunately, we have until 2013 until VW unleash their ‘zero emissions’ all electric Golf blue e-motion on the world, along with a similar Jetta blue-emotion round the same time. In VW’s defense, it does seem like there was pressure from the German government to go the all electric route, so maybe I can forgive them in time. VW are pushing hard into the alternative propulsion market it seems, a hybrid Touareg has already been revealed, 2012 will see a hybrid Jetta followed in 2013 by hybrid Golf’s and Passat’s.

On to the engineering of the Golf itself though, its electric motor will still be found in the engine bay like it should be. The motor is good for 85kW and an impressive 270Nm of torque, but then all electric motors perform admirably in the torque stakes. The juice for this motor is powered by ignorant Greenpeace’s favourite, a lithium-ion battery, so as far as powerplant goes there isn’t too much to really separate the Golf from the crowd. Then again, that’s sort of the point of a Golf, so not all that surprising. Top speed isn’t too bad, although only when comparing it to other all-electrics, not combustion engines, 140km is the top speed which is enough for most people anyway. The electric Golf is just over 200kg heavier than a diesel Golf anyway, and with so little power it is unsurprising that top speed is low. 0-100km/h takes 11.8s if you’re interested, not that this is exactly what you’d call a dragster.

The range is disappointing, at just 150km with absolutely optimum conditions, but VW did produce an intriguing and very German justification for the range limit. According to German Federal government statistics, 60% of German’s commute to work by car, and of those people roughly half commute less than 10km one way in to work. Only 16% commute further than 25Km, the rest traveling a variety of distances more than 10km and less than 25km. The point of these rather boring and for South Africans arbitrary statistic’s, is that for Germans at least, the measly range is sufficient for their work needs. Going anywhere else however could present a problem, which, you know, is sort of the idea of having your own car. The convenience and versatility not provided by public transport, even if you’re in the west. I must applaud them for at least attempting to work around one of all-electrics problems in a typically German way, for the German’s.

There are some systems in place which allows the driver to squeeze as much range as possible out the electric motor. The car can coast, or sail as VW puts it, when the driver releases the throttle the engine is disengaged from the drivetrain thus minimising drag. When this mode is engaged the batteries will be charged as well via everyone’s favourite party trick at the moment, regenerative batteries. Although this isn’t directly an F1 style KERS solution, the common DNA is there. And whilst F1 by no means pioneered regenerative batteries, it most certainly popularized it and got the concept out there to the public.

VW has upgraded the Scirocco with more power

The VW Scirocco has finally gotten the motor it should always have had to begin with, that is the 155kW 2.0L TSI. This uprated engine replaces the 147kW 2.0L TSI which had been nicked from the Golf V GTI, and should be the perfect stop gap until the sure to be brilliant Scirocco R arrives.

The new 155kW mill is according to VW similar to the engine in the Golf VI GTI, but what I think they mean by that is that it is exactly the same. The 2.0L TSI makes 280Nm of torque available between 1700rpm and 5200rpm, which is the same as the Golf VI GTI so I’m not sure why they won’t admit it is identical.

VW's 2.0L TSI 155kW motor from the GTI

The new engine will be offered in both manual and DSG configuration, both of which are six speed models. 0-100km/h will be dealt with in 6.9 seconds, and the Scirocco will top out at 240 km/h for the manual transmission and 238 km/h for the dual clutch gearbox. VW has also said that the fuel economy will remain impressive despite the boost in power, 7.4 litres per 100km for the manual transmission and 7.5 litre’s per 100km for the DSG. It must be said though that as with many turbo motors that GTI engine is hugely efficient when you’re off the boost but then swings round with ridiculous fuel guzzling properties when you push it. So don’t hold out for actually achieving that 7.5 regularly. Prices for the updated Scirocco are R325 200 for the manual and R339 700 for the DSG.

It must be said however that this improvement of the Scirocco could pose a problem for VW. The Golf VI GTI is technically superb but many do have an issue with it, in that it is at the end of the day ‘just a golf’. The Scirocco solved this problem but was slightly down on power obviously so as to not cut into GTI sales. Now however that isn’t the case, without the performance penalty you’d have to be out of your mind to get the GTI over the Scirocco, sure it’s not as practical and people struggle to fit in the back but just look at it, it’s beautiful. The point is that the Scirocco has until now been technically  inferior so as to not encroach on the GTI market, but now that isn’t the case. In reality the Scirocco probably won’t dent the GTI’s market share but it is still interesting that VW have allowed the Scirocco and GTI to compete on even terms.

VW's oh so sexy Scirocco's rear end

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The Last 1

In fact, the last models rolled off the line back in August already, but the company has waited until now to reveal this fact. I guess they wanted a suitable in-house mourning period or something.

Now no matter what you think of this little car, it is several things. An icon. A legend. An incredible, ongoing sales success. In July of this year, there were still over 1600 takers for this old-tech, safety-light Golf in the local market. More than half-a-million units have found happy homes in that looooooong manufacturing period, which incidentally is more than 200 000 more than the Beetle managed, with just three extra years of production over this rear-engined global benchmark.

I must say I always enjoyed the A1 Golf, from scorchers like the CTi to the humblest, most stripped-out and cheapest-price options. It’s a genuinely, properly sorted little chassis and you can always find some fun in it wherever you happen to be going. With the beefier motors it morphs into the definition of the Pocket Rocket. Interiors and dashboards have evolved a long way over the years as well from the upright, square, and supremely plasticky originals.

The MK I and it's forefathers

VW SA isn’t letting it pass with a whisper, either. Check out www.goodbyeciti.co.za to track the National Farewell Tour or add your own fond memories of this model to “The Cloud”. If you have to have the ultimate incarnation now before new models are gone forever, the company has also made a final special edition. Only 1000 City MK Is have been built, two are staying with VW in museums in Germany and here at home, and the third-last one off the line has been put up on auction at www.bidorbuy.co.za. The auction process still has a week to run so log-in and get bidding now.

It really does look quite special. Available only in dark shades and perfectly offset by chrome GT-stripes along the flanks, chunky 15″ alloys, a lowered ride height and a smattering of unique special-edition badges, the MK I looks set to become a real collector’s item, although it’s actually being sold at a reasonable price. There’s a 74kW 1.6-litre engine under the hood, and a classy part-leather interior with that updated dash I mentioned earlier lifting the ambience beautifully.

So why after all this time kill off your most budget-oriented model at a time when budget cars are the core of your sales efforts? VW SA claim poor economies of scale have finally done the A1 in – they can’t afford to continue a production line which produces only 25 000 units a year, and which shares no platform components with any other model line currently in production. Which is fair enough. I think they’re going to miss those sales though, when their stockpile does dry up early in 2010…

So from us here at Drive, farewell old friend. You always were and always will be a good little car – I’d still have one over competing cheapies from China, even over market-leaders Corsa and the like, if buying in that price range. The old warrior did astonishingly well all things consider, and can bow out with head held high and fond remembrances across our somehow less-colourful land.

Still great