ON PAR

After the Mk1 Golf GTI kickstarted the 1980s hot hatchback craze and the Mk2 moved the game on just as the competition caught up, Volkswagen saw fit to refine the GTI for the ’90s. In 1991, the GTI variant of the Mk3 Golf steered the model from B-road-bashing tearaway to a more mature, grown-up performance car. The new-found refinement and space made the Mk3 GTI a better car than its predecessor in many ways, but some enthusiasts criticised it for not feeling as sharp or eager as the Mk2.

Despite this, general reception was strong, and Volkswagen stuck with the refined formula for the GTI from then on. The Mk4 of 1997 brought with it a new upmarket feel and comfort and refinement hitherto unknown to the hot hatch sector. However, with neither the Mk3 nor Mk4 particularly appealing