Volkswagen · 1979–present

Volkswagen Golf: specs, motor tax and NCT in Ireland

We cover 40 versions of the Volkswagen Golf from 1979 to today, across 9 generations. Motor tax runs from €170 to €2,400 a year depending on engine and registration year, and the oldest qualify for €56 vintage tax.

Motor tax by year

Golf Mk1 Cabriolet 1979–1993

Version	Years	Fuel	cc	bhp	CO2 g/km	Motor tax/yr
GTI 1.8	1979–1993	Petrol	1781	112	—	€56 vintage

Golf Mk2 1983–1992

Version	Years	Fuel	cc	bhp	CO2 g/km	Motor tax/yr
1.3 C	1983–1992	Petrol	1272	55	—	€56 vintage
1.6 Driver	1983–1992	Petrol	1595	75	—	€56 vintage
1.6 Turbo Diesel	1984–1992	Diesel	1588	70	—	€56 vintage
GTI 8v 1.8	1984–1992	Petrol	1781	112	—	€56 vintage
GTI 16v	1986–1992	Petrol	1781	139	—	€56 vintage
Rallye G60	1989–1991	Petrol	1763	160	—	€56 vintage

Golf Mk3 1991–2002

Version	Years	Fuel	cc	bhp	CO2 g/km	Motor tax/yr
1.4 CL	1991–1998	Petrol	1391	60	—	€385 or €56 vintage
1.8 GL	1991–1998	Petrol	1781	90	—	€636 or €56 vintage
GTI 2.0 8v	1991–1998	Petrol	1984	115	—	€710 or €56 vintage
VR6	1992–1998	Petrol	2792	174	—	€1,391 or €56 vintage
1.9 TDI	1993–1998	Diesel	1896	90	—	€673 or €56 vintage
Cabriolet 2.0	1993–2002	Petrol	1984	115	194	€710 or €56 vintage
GTI 2.0 16v	1993–1997	Petrol	1984	150	—	€710 or €56 vintage

Golf Mk4 1997–2004

Version	Years	Fuel	cc	bhp	CO2 g/km	Motor tax/yr
1.4 16v	1997–2004	Petrol	1390	75	163	€385
1.6 SE	1997–2004	Petrol	1595	100	170	€514
V5 2.3	1997–2004	Petrol	2324	150	226	€1,034
GTI 1.8T 20v	1998–2004	Petrol	1781	150	192	€636
V6 4Motion	1999–2004	Petrol	2792	204	264	€1,391
1.9 TDI PD 130	2000–2004	Diesel	1896	130	146	€673
GTI 25th Anniversary	2001–2002	Petrol	1781	180	—	€636
R32	2002–2004	Petrol	3189	241	276	€1,809

Golf Mk5 2003–2009

Version	Years	Fuel	cc	bhp	CO2 g/km	Motor tax/yr
1.6 FSI	2003–2009	Petrol	1598	115	159	€514–€600
1.9 TDI 105	2003–2009	Diesel	1896	105	137	€270–€673
GTI 2.0 TFSI	2004–2009	Petrol	1984	200	189	€710–€790
R32	2005–2009	Petrol	3189	250	231	€1,809–€2,400
GTI Edition 30	2006–2007	Petrol	1984	230	194	€710

Golf Mk6 2008–2013

Version	Years	Fuel	cc	bhp	CO2 g/km	Motor tax/yr
1.4 TSI 122	2008–2013	Petrol	1390	122	146	€385–€400
1.6 TDI 105	2008–2013	Diesel	1598	105	117	€190–€514
GTI	2009–2013	Petrol	1984	210	170	€600
R	2010–2013	Petrol	1984	270	199	€1,250

Golf Mk6 Cabriolet 2011–2016

Version	Years	Fuel	cc	bhp	CO2 g/km	Motor tax/yr
1.4 TSI 160	2011–2016	Petrol	1390	160	145	€400

Golf Mk7 2012–2020

Version	Years	Fuel	cc	bhp	CO2 g/km	Motor tax/yr
2.0 TDI 150	2012–2020	Diesel	1968	150	111	€190–€200
GTI	2013–2020	Petrol	1984	220	148	€280–€790
R	2014–2020	Petrol	1984	300	164	€600–€790
1.5 TSI Evo 150	2017–2020	Petrol	1498	150	116	€200

Golf Mk8 2019–present

Version	Years	Fuel	cc	bhp	CO2 g/km	Motor tax/yr
1.5 TSI 130	2019–present	Petrol	1498	130	121	€270
GTE PHEV	2020–present	Plug-in hybrid	1395	245	27	€170
GTI	2020–present	Petrol	1984	245	165	€600
R	2020–present	Petrol	1984	320	180	€600–€790

Vintage tax

Cars built up to 1996 already qualify for vintage tax (€56 a year). Later ones qualify on their 30th anniversary, the last in 2056.

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Motor tax rates: Department of Transport schedule (unchanged in Budgets 2025 and 2026), checked 2026-09. CO2: official UK type-approval figures from the Vehicle Certification Agency; Irish-market versions can differ slightly. Your car's exact CO2 and band are on its registration certificate, and motortax.ie shows the rate for a given registration. Pre-July 2008 cars are taxed on engine size; July 2008–2020 on NEDC CO2; 2021 on, on WLTP CO2.