But its composure didn't stop everyone from enjoying it - the word "fun" appeared more times in the GTI's logbook than in any other Four Seasons log in recent memory. Copy editor Rusty Blackwell went so far as to say that the GTI was "the kind of rare car that can cheer you up from a bad mood." Production manager Al Luckwald wrote, "Other than a Lotus Elise, I've not driven a car that's more fun."
You'd have a hard time matching the GTI's combination of useful packaging, cheerful personality, and outright speed at any price - and especially for less than $27,000. Many of us agree with Noordeloos when he said, "I would own one of these cars if I were in the market." In fact, Luckwald wants to buy our GTI. You don't get praise much higher than that.
Genealogy:
Americans got their first taste of the go-fast VW with the 1983 GTI. The Mark 1 had only 90 hp, but it managed to keep up with serious sports cars of the era. Its superb handling and big fun factor gave it street cred that belied its pip-squeak mass.
The second-generation GTI arrived in 1985 but finally outshined the original in 1987, when the sixteen-valve model debuted. First a 1.8-liter with 123 hp and later a 2.0-liter with 134 hp, the Mark 2 kept all of the GTI's character but with more punch.
The Mark 3 GTI debuted in 1995 with a 172-hp VR6. It was brutally fast and sounded amazing, but the 2.8-liter's mass killed the GTI's handling balance. An uninspired 115-hp, 2.0-liter in-line four came later but couldn't come close to matching the personality of earlier GTIs.
The Mark 4 arrived in 1999 and eventually got two different 1.8-liter turbo engines (150 hp and 180 hp) and a 200-hp VR6, but it lost even more of the GTI's focus in favor of an almost Audi-esque level of luxury. The 2006 Mark 5 brought back the GTI's fun factor.
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