ĭuring the life of the Golf MK2, there were a number of external style revisions. However, the Golf was overshadowed in the 1984 European Car of the Year contest, finishing third but being heavily outscored by the victorious Fiat Uno and runner-up Peugeot 205, which were similar in size to Volkswagen's smaller Polo. It sold well in Britain, peaking at more than 50,000 sales a year by the end of the decade. In 1985, British motoring magazine What Car? awarded the Golf Mk2 1985 " Car of the Year", even though it had actually been launched on the UK market early in the previous year. The hatchback bodystyle had also become popular on cars produced outside Europe, particularly on Japanese models. However, the likes of Fiat, Renault and Volvo had all entered the small family hatchback market by the end of the 1970s. Peugeot would not launch its first Golf-sized hatchback (the 309) until late 1985, but it had taken ownership of Chrysler's European division (which it renamed Talbot) in 1978, just after the launch of the Chrysler/ Simca Horizon hatchback. Austin Rover (formerly British Leyland) did not enter the small family hatchback market until the launch of its Maestro at the beginning of 1983, although it had launched its larger Maxi hatchback as long ago as 1969 and in 1976 had taken the then unusual step of launching a hatchback bodystyle on a luxury car (the Rover SD1). Ford had switched to front-wheel drive hatchback format for its MK3 Escort in 1980, soon after General Motors had adapted that concept for its latest Opel Kadett ( Vauxhall Astra in Britain). The original Golf had been one of the few front-wheel drive hatchbacks on sale when launched in 1974, but within a decade almost all mainstream manufacturers had launched a Golf-like family hatchback. This model was intended to be sold in the United States as well (badged as "Rallye GTI"), and prototypes were made, but it did not come to be. It featured a larger bodyshell, and a wider range of engine options, including a GTD turbodiesel (in Euro markets, later using the 1.6 "umwelt" (ECO) diesel engine), a DOHC 1781 cc (1.8) 16-valve version of the straight-four GTI (as well as the tried and tested 1781cc (1.8) 8v GTI), the supercharged 8v " G60" with front- and four-wheel drive options, and a racing homologated variant of this, the "Rallye Golf". It debuted in March 1984 on the right-hand drive British market, and it was introduced as a 1985 model in the United States. The second-generation Volkswagen Golf (also known as the Typ 19E until the 1991 model year, and Typ 1G thereafter) was launched in Europe at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1983, with sales beginning in its homeland and most other left-hand drive markets soon after.
All told, about 6.3 million second-generation Golfs were built. Exterior design, developed in-house by VW design director Schäfer, kept the general lines of its Giugiaro-designed predecessor, but was slightly more rounded.
Weight was up accordingly by about 120 kg (260 lb). The Mk2 was larger than the Mk1 its wheelbase grew slightly (+ 75 mm (3.0 in)), as did exterior dimensions (length + 180 mm (7.1 in), width + 55 mm (2.2 in), height + 5 mm (0.2 in)). It was Volkswagen's highest volume seller from 1983 and ended in (German) production in late 1992, to be replaced by the Volkswagen Golf Mk3.
The Volkswagen Golf Mk2 is a hatchback, the second generation of the Volkswagen Golf and the successor to the Volkswagen Golf Mk1.
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