Matchbox BMW I3 and 1990 Volkswagen Golf Country

A bit late to review these, but these are two excellent Matchbox castings released last year and provide a unique way to move these two-box cars, whether by electric or by sheer off-road capability.

BMW I3

I have reviewed this I3 casting along with the I8 before as the larger Kinsmart vehicles, but now Matchbox is finally making nicely done smaller versions with the I3 and later this year the I8. The I3 is part of BMW’s electric car lineup that is separate from the combustion-engine BMW line and so far has been a sales success and continues to pave the way for future BMW models. While the I8 is a performance coupe with a gas motor helping out the electric motors, the I3 is simply a city car that is pure electric unless you opt for the two-cylinder gas engine to extend the battery range. The look is unique and typical BMW with a slight Smart car look, though larger, and uses half-doors for easy access to the rear while still keeping the two-door profile. The front has smooth kidney grilles that are non-functional and uses pipe lighting front and rear. The interior has plenty of room for four with a vast cargo area, using a dashboard that has earth-friendly materials and a clean design with two screens for the gauges and infortainment system. The rear electric motor produces 170 horsepower and has a range of 110 to 180 miles depending on model.

Released in black the casting looks pretty sharp and at least hides the black trim details that would be surely missing on lighter colors. The front has detailed headlights with U-shaped running and signal lights, black kidney grilles with blue surrounds, and a lower bumper with detailed foglights. The sides show off the lower blue accent stripe, the lower kink of the rear half-door windows, the large sunroof, and exterior mirrors, while the multi-spoke wheels are a perfect match for this car. At the rear is U-shaped taillights in red, BMW badging, and reverse lamps on the rear bumper, while the base is plain and smooth typical for an electric car. The interior is even more amazing with seating for four and a detailed center console, but the most amazing part is the dashboard and despite some of Mattel’s cost-cutting ways nothing was spared to make the dashboard accurate as it has the two floating screens, the two-piece passenger-side dashboard (where optional texture trim could be added), and the steering wheel with paddle shifters float from the steering column. Very nicely done and just one of the many features that surprised collectors on a casting we thought would become dull over time when it was first announced.

1990 Volkswagen Golf Country 4x4

On the other side of the spectrum is a rather odd feature that would be right at home in today’s SUV crazed society. Today SUVs come in all shapes and sizes, nor do they have to go off-road to be called an SUV, and then there are those who take a car and lift it to create an alternative to an SUV (like Subaru’s Outback wagon). Even before Subaru there were a few pioneers like the AMC eagle or this Golf Country, sold in certain countries that have bad roads and not sold in the U.S. Based on a second-generation Golf platform this five-door hatch is lifted by about 21 centimeters over a stock Golf, uses the Synchro all-wheel drive system lifted from the Transporter van, skid plates, front and rear bull bars, and a swing-away rear spare tire ahead of the rear hatch. This allowed the Golf Country to go almost anywhere, though it was short of a full rock crawling 4x4, and also suffered from inadequate power as it has a 1.8L I-4 that produced 98 horsepower through a 5-speed manual transmission. While not as popular since it was a limited production run it proved popular for Alpine regions in Europe where the Synchro system came in handy.

For starters Matchbox did not research the color properly on this car as the first release is in dark green to reflect the Montana Green, but in fact the actual color is more teal green so later releases sported the proper color and blacked-out 5-spoke wheels over the multi-spoke units. The front has a large brush guard ahead of a stock Golf grille with round headlights, driving lights on the grille next to the VW logo, and signal lights and stock foglights located just below the bull bar. The sides have the standard Golf 5-door profile enhanced with black fender flares and lower rocker trim, Country badges along the doors, and a lifted stance even on the stock wheels with plenty of ground clearance, while the rear has tri-taillights and rear wiper of the Golf with the added rear bumper bar and spare tire. It sure does look ready for the rough stuff! The base shows off the all-wheel drive axles with skid plates to protect them, while inside the interior has seating for five, uh well four thanks to the rear rivet post going through the middle section of the rear seat, with bolstered front seats, floor shifter, and the typical Golf dashboard layout with all controls mounted higher than the steering wheel for easy reach of the driver. The Golf does handle like a typical Golf but with more body roll thanks to the lifted height, but on the other hand it can go anywhere not even most SUV’s can go today on the beaten path, and being a unique Golf replica out there only adds to the interest in this brief run of Golf Country 4x4’s.