Avaliação Volkswagen Gol 1000 - O carro mais amado do Brasil na sua versão mais simples

This is a 1995 Volkswagen Gol 1000, one of the simplest and most charming versions of the Gol Quadrado (square model) in Brazil. And one of the slowest too. Then comes the question: is it worth buying a car like this nowadays? To answer that question, let's talk about the pros and cons and show many interesting facts about this car, which is one of the most beloved in Brazil. This Gol belongs to my friend @luiz_garage HISTORY Well, let's start with the history of the Gol Quadrado. It was launched in 1980 in Brazil with an important mission: to be the most important car for Volkswagen in Brazil. But unfortunately, it wasn't an immediate success. And one of the reasons for that was its air-cooled engine. Despite being very robust, the air-cooled engine was quite noisy, old, and already past its prime in the 80s. It was only after gaining 1.6 and 1.8 water-cooled engines that the Gol became the best-selling car in Brazil. In addition, sporty versions like the GT, GTS, and GTI were launched, which changed the Gol's image in the Brazilian market. It's worth mentioning that in all versions, the Gol was praised for its good handling and for being a very durable car. From the basic CL to the GTi with a 2.0 engine. But in 1990, a new enemy emerged, called the Fiat Uno Mille, with a 1.0 engine. Just to contextualize, in 1990, a new popular car program emerged. And every car with an engine up to 1000 cc had its IPI (Industrialized Products Tax) reduced from 37% to 20%. And that made a huge difference in the final price of the car. That's why every automaker wanted a 1.0 car to call their own. And the first one to succeed was Fiat, with the Uno Mille. Soon after, Chevrolet launched the Chevette Junior, Ford the Escort Hobby, and Volkswagen launched the Gol 1000 in 1992. The Gol 1000 was a super simple car, both inside and out. For example, even the passenger-side rearview mirror was optional. But at least it was about 15% cheaper than the Gol CL, the cheapest version at the time. Price: Okay Rodrigo, but how much does a Gol 1000 like that cost? Well, according to the FIPE table, a 1995 Gol 1000 costs around 9,000 reais. However, it's already a 30-year-old car and could become a classic. The most pristine ones can cost much more than that. I've seen Gol 1000s being sold for 15, 20, even 30 thousand reais. Engine Under the hood we have a 1.0 four-cylinder engine that generates an incredible 50 horsepower and a gigantic 7.2 kgfm of torque. Here I would say it doesn't have horsepower, but ponies. If the numbers impress you for being quite weak, wait until you see its 0-100 km/h time. According to tests at the time, it did 0 to 100 km/h in 21.5 seconds and the top speed was 133 km/h. Even back then these numbers were quite bad. Nowadays they make a Renault Kwid look like a sports car. But what it lacks in power, it makes up for in history. For those who don't know, this engine is not of Volkswagen origin. It's a reduced-displacement version of the 1.6 CHT engine, used by Ford and which ended up in the Gol because of Autolatina, a partnership between Ford and Volkswagen at the time. But the CHT originated from a Renault project from the 1960s. In other words, the Gol 1000 had an engine with French roots, developed over the years by Ford and installed in a Volkswagen. That's crazy, isn't it? A curious fact is that the Gol uses a longitudinal engine, which is not common for a front-wheel-drive car. Even so, it used this front-wheel-drive and longitudinal engine scheme until the Gol G4 went out of production in 2013.