The reason the MkI was so good and stood head and shoulders above the rest was because there simply wasn't anything else like it on the roads when it was introduced. Where we are now is that all manufatcurers have built on those original 'hot hatches' and developed cars that are constantly improving. Look at the technology advances since the 70's though and you can see how we've got to where we are...fantastic! I've got a stock MkIII 8v GTI, and whilst I know it's not the best car in the world, and never will be, even if I were to spend thousands on it, I know that its cheap, relatively pain free motoring and for a 13 year old car with 130,000 miles on the clock, it can still put a big smile on my face when I have a blast in it. I'm happy to report that those points make me rather like it, though I won't be too sad if you lot **** it off [:^(] cos it's only a car at the end of the day, and there's lots more cheap/older fast bargains to choose from when I'm done with the MkIII! P.S Those nasty 17" wheels in my sig are no longer on the car, I've got the original 15" wheels back on...much tighter round corners...
Whatever - I like the mk2s, hell i've had my current one for nearly 7 years. However, I can see further than them and appreciate the modern stuff, I've driven a lot of different cars both new and old since I started driving in 1990 - a good car is still good, if it's new or old!