I’ve been spending a wasteful amount of time looking for a vehicle to import from Europe. It’s partly for business purposes, but the allure of something not available in the USA is always strong. My criteria are many but include basics of being fun, affordable and potentially desirable if I want to sell. While my obsession with European ex-police cars is stronger than ever, one car I’m strongly considering is today’s Good Find Friday car: the Volkswagen Golf Country.

The story of this all-wheel drive, off-road second-generation Golf starts back in 1989 with the introduction of the “Montana” concept at the Geneva Motor Show. It’s nigh impossible to find photographic evidence of the original concept car, but press at the time refers to a lifted Mk2 Golf at the VW stand attracting a lot of attention. Apparently the car was mocked up simply as a fun design exercise, but show-goers loved the idea so much that Volkswagen put it into production.

I won’t go as far as Volkswagen to say that the Golf Country is the first CUV, partly because I hate crossovers, but I will definitely claim it’s the first factory “Safari” build of a passenger car available to the masses. Take that, Porsche Dakar.

The Golf Country is basically two cars: A Volkswagen Golf unibody and engine mated to a custom tubular subframe from Steyr-Daimler-Puch. If that name is familiar, then you know your G-wagen history. Steyr Puch is no stranger to off-road and all-wheel drive engineering and was the perfect choice as a partner to turn the Golf Syncro into the Golf Country.

The conversion increased the Golf’s height by 4.72 inches and the ground clearance by 7 inches, meaning it’s not exactly a rock-crawler.  Not that you could ever do serious off-roading in a Golf Country—the car uses the Golf Syncro’s standard viscous coupling system with no differential locks. It did, however, prove very popular in Alpine ski towns and resorts.

This 1990 Volkswagen Golf Country is on offer for €24,900 at the selling dealer in southern France. While it’s not the cheapest Golf Country available on the Continent, it’s a fair price for a car that nicely balances condition and mileage.

The exterior presents very nicely in photographs and appears to be painted in a standard color of Tornado red with the gray cloth interior common on all Golf Syncros. It’s a subtle but pleasing pattern, though you may see artificial leather on later builds. While red cars aren’t my typical choice, it’s nice to see a Golf Country in a color other than green, blue or black.

Exterior modifications were a focus of Steyr-Puch’s work and included front and rear bumper bars (with cool diamond-plated steps out back!), a swing-out rear-mounted spare tire carrier and four auxiliary lights up front. This particular car has a sunroof, but for my money I’d rather have a slick-top, which was also available.

The interior is standard Mk2 Golf, but appears to be in fantastic condition. Mk2 plastic pieces seem infinitely less brittle than on later Volkswagens, but there are common wear areas. The door panel tops typically warp, but appear to be in great shape on this car. The rear view mirror appears to be the roof-mounted type, which is a superior option. Golf Country ingress and egress typically leads to torn and worn driver’s seats, but this car’s seats appear pristine.

The standard engine on the Volkswagen Golf Country was a 1.8L transverse-mounted 4-cylinder with a stock horsepower rating of 97 mated to a 5-speed transmission. With all the added weight from the Syncro system, not to mention the add-ons, the car won’t be a speed demon. Owners report the performance to be adequate, as the gearing is slightly lower than a standard Golf. Apparently 50 or so GTI-spec Golf Country cars were built for VW executives, but I’ve never seen one.

While no underbody pics are shown, you can make out the front skidplate and some of the tubular underbody additions in photographs. The suspension received special attention from Steyr-Puch as well and all the CV axles and joints received special protective sleeves. If I were to purchase one, I’d probably look at some sport suspension options as these are apparently as tippy as a canoe in corners.

The Speedline SL 398 alloy wheels wheels on the VW Golf Country were specific to just that model, however, and are exceptionally light. It’s not possible to determine the tire size from the photos, but it is probably 195/60/15.

The trunk appears tidy, with no broken speaker shelves, no holes in the parcel shelf and also appears to include the factory first aid kit. Cool.

The factory only built 7,735 Volkswagen Golf Country variants from 1990-1992, so it’s a rare car for Europe and even harder to find in the United States. As they’re plenty old enough, folks have started importing them so it’s certainly possible to find one here. For a little more rarity, you could search for a “Chrome Edition” version, which was the final iteration of the Golf Country. Only 588 Chrome Edition cars were built.

Personally, I love the Golf Country. There are other European 4-wheeler options, like the much-loved Fiat Panda, but as a Volkswagen nut this car checks a lot of boxes. It’s rare, capable, practical, affordable and collectible. What more could you ask for? All I ask is that if you go for this one, negotiate to have the roof rack included. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisal and auction services for sellers and buyers of collector European cars. We also provide importation services. Give us a call or drop us a line!