I speak as a lifelong VW fan who has owned half a dozen Golf GTi ' s, and also reviewed and praised the MKIII Golf GTi in other sections of this website, when I say that Volkswagen must have well and truly squashed their laurels when they produced the non turbo 1.8 20v or 2.0 8v engine MKIV golf GTI.
The standard MKIV GTi is not a bad car by any means, it still has the iconic Golf silhouette, the interior quality is excellent, and it has that certain something that other manufacturers regularly attempt to copy but rarely succeed at. The Golf represent s a strong 2nd hand buy and will hold its value well.
The non turbo GTi Golf ' s are good cruisers if that is what you want, but for those of us who cut our teeth on the entertaining MKI, MKII and also to a certain degree MKIII GTi models, the MKIV GTi in standard trim doesn ' t deliver to the expectations the GTi badge sets. By all means some owners a few years down the line from new have spent money modifying their cars to get a decent level of performance and handling, but why should anybody have to do that just to get the car to where it should have been from the factory? Especially when rival cars from other manufacturers or from the VAG group, were better to begin with.
In my view the MKIV GTi is the way it is for a few reasons:
1. The MKIV golf for the first time was to share its platform (i.e. chassis, suspension, gearboxes etc...) with many other models within the VAG group (Seat Leon and Toledo, VW Bora/Jetta, SKODA Octavia, Audi A3) which in my view compromised not only the Golf but the other VAG models that shared the platform. A common complaint is numbness to the steering and a soft chassis.
2. The GTi shamefully unlike previous generations had no factory improvements to the suspension compared to the non GTi versions of the car. So couple a heavier car with an underpowered engine to the same setup as the 1.6 shopping car version and it doesn ' t take a genius to realise that this combo is not going give a sporting setup.
3. In Germany the 1.8 or 2.0 non turbo Golf ' s were not badged as a GTi because it was not thought these cars were good enough to be GTi, but the UK importer insisted as the GTi badge would help sales in the UK. A 2.0 GL just doesn ' t sound as good does it? As a result the special GTi name was placed upon a car that didn ' t live up to the badge, I don ' t blame VW themselves for this, I point the finger at the UK importer.
4. The final insult was that the smooth and modern 1.8 20v engines fitted to the early MKIV GTi from 1998-1999 was dropped in favour of a less powerful, less economical and older design 1984cc 2.0 8v unit which underneath all the engine plastics was essentially a reworked MKIII GTi engine dating back to 1994. That engine struggled a little in the older model so why VW slotted it in to a heavier car with no improvement to the 115bhp power figure, and thought this would work is a mystery. This same engine with the same power output was also shared with the Passat and Bora\Jetta family saloon models, hardly a sporting pedigree. It is a sad but true fact, that a bog standard 1.6 Corolla of the same age will out accelerate a 2.0GTi! Oh dear.
So the negative stuff is over with, time for the good stuff. The MKIV GTi despite its dynamic shortcomings is still a pleasant car to own. It has an image and a heritage that other manufacturers would give their hind legs for. The Golf range as a whole has an eternal classless appeal equalled by nobody. The shape has gradually evolved over the years and is easy on the eye, and resale values remain high despite the MKV now into its 4th year of production and will remain so.
The interiors have a quality and ambience none of its hatchback rivals can match and the conservative design has aged very well. The interiors are hard wearing with only the interior door handles seeming to show wear and tear very easily.
The earliest of the MKIV GTi ' s will now be approaching 10 years old, so running costs can be kept under control by using independent specialists. However I would still recommend using genuine VAG parts for your servicing, as they are available for a reasonable cost over the counter from your local dealer, and based upon my personal experience often for less than pattern parts from Halfords and the like. A bonus if you like of the low power output of the standard GTi is low insurance groupings. Both the 1.8 20v and 2.0 8v versions only attract a group 10 rating and driven sensibly can achieve an MPG in the high 30 ' s.
So all in all a MKIV Golf GTi is a good sound purchase that should if looked after, not break the bank to run, and provide decent classy transport for not much outlay. Just don ' t expect in standard trim, the non turbo 1.8 20v or 2.0 8v GTi ' s to provide the speed or the handling, like the generations of old.