VW Golf GTI MkV

It’s the best GTI of the bunch // £4,000–£11,000 Er, not a lot. Ubiquity, maybe?

Like the Fiesta ST the MkV GTI followed a run of fops wearing the same badge. It also looked quite subtle, and the power was nothing to write home about, though you might have considered a strongly worded note to Wolfsburg asking why the latest hot Golf was outgunned by the likes of the Megane RenaultSport 225 and original Ford Focus RS.

And then we drove it, and it was roast hat for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a side of hat. Because, back at last, was the true spirit of the Golf GTI – pace, chuckability, urgency you could enjoy on a mini-roundabout, all wrapped up in the tastefully classless and solid package of the sensible Golf. Plus, retro touches like the grille lipstick, mottled gearlever (Volkswagen’s frst DSG automatic was an option) and iconic tartan seats (instead of pricier, saggier leather) gave the MkV the attention to detail

that’d been missing from GTIs for decades.

But for techier soft/medium/hard dampers and crisp touchscreens, today’s MkVII Golf GTI looks, feels and drives pretty much identically to the templatesetting MkV. VW knows it got this icon absolutely spot-on. The 2.0-litre turbo motor here may only develop a Fiesta ST-sized 197bhp, but it’s done so with a lag-free linearity that’s freakish for a product that predates the invention of Facebook and The X Factor. Ahh, simpler times.

You could be tempted by the R32 MkV, which crammed four-wheel drive and a 3.2-litre V6 into the Golf, but missing turbo torque and gaining great gobs of weight means it’s nowhere near as satisfying as (and barely any quicker than) the cheaper to buy and run GTI. This thing was a roaring success, so there are plenty around in good nick to choose from and ready to use every day – with modern classic status already assured.

One we found...

A red, 5dr manual with 18in alloys, 68,000 miles, and a full service history. A very tidy example for £7,000.