Volkswagen Gol
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| Volkswagen Gol | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Volkswagen |
| Also called | Volkswagen Pointer Volkswagen Fox |
| Production | 1980-present |
| Class | Subcompact car |
| First generation (Mk. I) | |
|---|---|
| Production | 1980-1987 |
| Body style | 3-door hatchback (Gol / Fox) 2-door sedan (Voyage / Gacel) 3-door station wagon (Parati / Fox Wagon) 2-door pickup truck (Saveiro) |
| Similar | Chevrolet Chevette Fiat Uno |
| First generation - Facelift (Mk. IF) | |
|---|---|
| Production | 1987-1997 |
| Body style | 3-door hatchback (Gol / Fox) 2-door sedan (Voyage / Gacel) 4-door sedan (Amazon / Senda) 3-door station wagon (Parati / Fox Wagon) 2-door pickup truck (Saveiro) |
| Similar | Chevrolet Chevette Fiat Uno |
| Second generation (Mk. II) | |
|---|---|
| Production | 1994-1999 |
| Body style | 3-door hatchback 5-door hatchback 3-door station wagon 5-door station wagon 2-door pickup truck |
| Similar | Chevrolet Corsa Fiat Uno Fiat Palio |
| Second generation First facelift (Mk. III) |
|
|---|---|
| Production | 1999-2005 |
| Body style | 3-door hatchback 5-door hatchback 5-door station wagon 2-door pickup truck |
| Similar | Chevrolet Celta Fiat Uno Fiat Palio |
| Second generation Second facelift (Mk. IV) |
|
|---|---|
| Production | 2005-present |
| Body style | 3-door hatchback 5-door hatchback 5-door station wagon 2-door pickup truck |
| Similar | Chevrolet Celta Fiat Uno Fiat Palio |
The Volkswagen Gol is a low cost subcompact car designed in Brazil and sold by the German automaker Volkswagen since 1980. It is Volkswagen's entry-level car in the South American market, beneath the other superminis, the Fox and Polo. It has uninterruptedly been the best-selling car in Brazil since 1987, and since 1998 in Argentina. Gol sales in South America are also high; over 4.5 million Gols have been produced since 1980.
The Gol, which takes its name from the Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish word for 'goal' (European Portuguese word is 'Golo') is not to be confused with the Volkswagen Golf.
Contents |
[edit] Derivative cars
As the Gol was created as a platform rather than just a car, some derivatives were produced soon after:
- A sedan derived from the Gol I. In Brazil the two-door sedan was called the Voyage, the Gacel in Argentina, and the Fox in the United States and Canada. Four-doors were sold in Brazil as the Voyage and in Argentina as the Senda.
- Parati, a station wagon. It has been built on all Gol generations. The Parati I was sold in North America as the Fox Wagon, while the 5-door Paratis are known as the Gol Country in Argentina.
- Saveiro, a lightweight pickup truck. All Gol generations have been sold with this body.
- Furgão, a lightweight panel van based on the Gol.
[edit] First generation Gol (1980-1997)
The Gol was released in 1980 to replace the Brasilia, which was in turn a replacement to the Beetle in the Brazilian market. With a design unique to Latin America, the Gol featured the air-cooled, Boxer engine from the Beetle, but front-mounted. In the mid 1980s, this engine was replaced by the water-cooled engine from the Passat. The first generation had two mild facelifts in 1987 and 1989. The 1988 Gol GTi was the first Brazilian car to use fuel injection.
[edit] North American Fox / Fox Wagon (1987-1993)
The sedan and station wagon versions were sold in North American as the Fox and Fox Wagon between 1987 and 1993 as an entry-level model. The styling changed slightly in 1991, with different grilles, headlights, turn signals etc. Badges also were changed slightly, and the interior was updated. Other differences included such things as two towing hooks instead of four, and a different style of hubcaps for the two of them.
Compared with the rest of the Volkswagen lineup of the time, the Fox was very similar and very different at the same time. Its suspension was indeed Fox-specific, but as noted before it shared a transmission with the Quantum, took its engine from the Golf/Jetta, and used the same generic wheels from other models in the lineup.
The only engine offered was a longitudinally-mounted straight-4 1.8 L gasoline engine. The same engine could have been found in the Jetta and Golf of the time, but the Fox variation was heavily restricted compared to the other models. The engine produced 81 hp @ 5500 rpm and 93 ft·lbf at @3250 rpm. In North America, three different variations of the engine were available. In Canada, the UM model came with CIS fuel injection, no catalytic converter, and no oxygen sensor. By comparison, the US version had CIS-E fuel injection along with the catalytic converter and oxygen sensor. The third variation was on the 1991-93 models, which had a Dignfant II system which stored error codes, and had a 6000 rpm limiter. However, all of the North American models did without a knock sensor.
The different versions were the Fox, Fox GL, Fox GTS, Fox GLS, Fox GL Sport, Fox Polo, and Fox Wolfsburg. Fox options in included air conditioning, GL trim (with special cloth seats, map light, glove compartment light, trunk light, tachometer, painted bumpers, etc.), five-speed manual transmission and metallic paint.
[edit] Special editions
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- GT 1.8 (1983-85)
The Gol GT 1.8 was produced with a straight-4 carburated gasoline engine. It was used for high performance tuning for the Brazilian Drag Championship.
- GTS 1.8 (1985-1988)
Successor of Gol GT, the GTS cames with a more powerful engine straight-4 OHC with 91 hp, and a fuel feeding with a eletronic carburator (later with an analogic fuel injection). The GTS was well accepted among Brazilian consummers for its low fuel consumption and high performance.[citation needed]
- GTI 2000 (1988-1994)
Successor of Gol GTS, thie GTI 2000 was design to continue the success of GTS. It came with a straight-4 2.0-litre gasoline engine with 99 hp (some say that the real maximum output of the car was 103 hp[citation needed]).
[edit] Second generation Gol (1994-present)
The second generation (or Generation 2), built since 1997, was completely different from the earlier model. This generation had a mild facelift in 1999 (known as Generation 3) and a second major facelift in 2005 (Generation 4).
The Gol 1.0 Turbo, launched in 2000 with a 100 hp 1.0-litre turbocharged gasoline engine, was the first one of its kind in South America, as it was the flexible fuel vehicle Gol Total Flex, available since 2003.
As a result of a joint-venture with Kerman Khodro, the Gol has been built in Iran since 2003. It is currently sold in Mexico and Russia as the Volkswagen Pointer, a name previously used in Latin America for a model based on the Ford Escort.
As of 2006, multiple generation overlapping (which occurred in previous years) has been dropped from production. Volkswagen currently sells four versions, "City", "Plus" "Special" and "Power", with increasing price and build quality. Still, it is placed as an entry-level below the other two Volkswagen superminis, the Fox and Polo.
[edit] Third generation Gol NF (2008-)
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This article contains information about a scheduled or anticipated future automobile. It may contain preliminary or speculative information, and may not reflect the final version of the vehicle. |
The Generation 4 is expected to last for one more year, as an all-new Gol is to be built in 2008. This model may be sold in Eastern Europe as a Škoda Auto to compete with the Dacia Logan and future low cost Chinese entries. Otto engines will be tetrafuel (they work with gasoline, ethanol, mixtures of them and natural gas), with 1.0-litre and 1.4-litre as probable displacements, while the 70 hp or 80 hp 1.4-litre TDI would be the only Diesel engine.
Besides three- and five-door hatchback and pickup versions, a sedan and a panel van would be added to the range to replace the outdated Polo Classic and Caddy. The Parati might not be built anymore, since current mini MPVs (like the VW SpaceFox/SpaceFox) have better building quality, and they are expected to outsale station wagons in the future.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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| Type | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Economy car | Gol / Parati (I) | Gol / Parati (IF) | Gol / Parati (II) | Gol / Parati / Gol Country (III) | Gol / Parati / Gol Country (IV) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Voyage / Gacel (I) | Amazon / Senda (IF) | Polo Classic (III) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Supermini | Fox / CrossFox | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SpaceFox / Suran | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Supermini | Polo (IV) | Polo (IVF) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Small family car | Pointer | Golf III | Golf IV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Apollo | Logus | Bora | Vento / Jetta | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Large family car | Passat I | Passat III | Passat IV | Passat VI | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Santana / Carat / Quantum | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Panel van | Caddy III | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pickup truck | Saveiro (I) | Saveiro (IF) | Saveiro (II) | Saveiro (III) | Saveiro (IV) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| <- Previous | Volkswagen car timeline, North American market, 1980s-present | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Subcompact car | Fox / Fox Wagon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Compact car | Rabbit I | Golf II | Golf III | Golf IV | Rabbit V | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jetta I | Jetta II | Jetta III | Jetta IV | Jetta V | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Mid-size car | Quantum | Passat III | Passat IV | Passat V | Passat VI | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full-size car | Phaeton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coupé | Scirocco I | Scirocco II | Corrado | Scirocco III | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Beetle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Convertible | Rabbit Convertible | Cabriolet | Cabrio | Eos | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Beetle Convertible | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Van | Vanagon (Type 2 - T3) | Eurovan | DCX | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pickup | Rabbit LX | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Compact SUV | Tiguan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Luxury SUV | Touareg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
