Volkswagen Citi Golf
| Volkswagen Citi Golf | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Volkswagen |
| Production | 1984–August 2009 |
| Assembly | Uitenhage, South Africa |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Small family car |
| Body style | 5-door sedan (Fox) 5-door hatchback (Citi Golf) 2-door coupé utility (Caddy) |
| Layout | Front-engine, front-wheel-drive |
| Related | Volkswagen Golf Mk1 |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Volkswagen Beetle |
| Successor | Volkswagen Polo Vivo |
The Volkswagen Citi Golf was a car produced by Volkswagen in South Africa from 1984 until 21 August 2009. It was a face-lifted version of the original Volkswagen Golf Mk1 hatchback, which ceased production in Germany in 1983. The car was produced only with right-hand drive.
When Volkswagen released the Golf Mk.1 in 1974, the car was an overnight success. It was easy and economical to drive with exceptionally good handling compared to other small hatchbacks of the time. It was also easy and inexpensive to maintain. Volkswagen South Africa started assembly of the Golf Mk.1 in 1978. When the Golf Mk.2 was launched in 1984, VW South Africa found themselves falling short of a demand for a small, affordable entry level car, as the Golf Mk.2 was bigger and somewhat more expensive than its predecessor. The best viable option for VW South Africa, was to continue producing some variant of the Mk.1 to fill the gap in the market, as they already had all the tooling in place at the VW assembly plant in Uitenhage, Eastern Cape. Additional tooling was imported from the VW assembly plant in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, USA in 1988, when production of the Mk.1 ceased there. VW South Africa decided to use only the 5-door body shell as a platform for the Citi Golf, as the tooling for the 3-door body style would take up floor space that could rather be utilised for the production of the Golf Mk.2.
The first concept for the "new" Golf Mk.1 was a basic, stripped-down version of the pre-1984 Mk.1, which would be called the "EconoGolf". This concept was soon scrapped because it became apparent that the result too closely resembled the Mk.1's of the 1970s, an appearance that would soon go out of fashion. After extensive market research, it was decided that the Mk.1 would be "re-branded", so as to breathe new life into the Mk.1 design. The first 3 prototypes were painted bright red, yellow and blue, with white wheels, bumpers, and decals on the doors, the latter bearing the "CITI" insignia on the lower rear doors. Decals were added to the tailgate as well, also bearing the "CITIGOLF" branding. A slightly more powerful, South African modified version of the standard 1.3-litre engine was fitted.
The original Citi Golf was only available in 3 colours (a fact highlighted in the contemporary advertising campaign which used a tagline "Red, Yellow, Blue... Not Green!"). (The colour themes for the advertising campaigns of the first few years of production, were partially inspired by the works of Dutch artist Piet Mondrian). In mid 1985, a new, high performance Citi Golf variation was launched as a 1.6-litre carburettor-engined Sport (with advertising tagline "New Citigolf Sport, drive it home, Sport, drive it home."). The 1.6-litre engine of the Citi Golf Sport was later replaced by a higher output 1.8-litre carburettor engine. Upon the launch of the Citi Golf Sport, a new colour, specially reserved for the Sport model, was also introduced. The red, yellow and blue paintwork was now also complemented by a black-with-white-decals colour scheme.
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