So for the past few weeks I've been driving both the Mk2 Valver and the Mk3 Valver, so I thought I'd offer my view of the two cars.
Even though neither car is in mint condition, it's interesting to compare the two cars.
My two candidates (photo's in the sig and gallery) are:
G reg, Mk2 GTI 16v 3dr 155k and
L reg, Mk3 GTI 16v 5dr 114k.
Firstly the facilities.
I do admit that the Mk3 trim levels are good, a modern look, good seats, nice to have the safety features like ABS and traction control, although I've not really felt their effect on my driving. The power steering is useful for manouvering, although not the most precise in normal driving situations. Quite comfortable for long journeys.
This particular Mk2 doesn't have power steering, so it's heavy for parking. The seats aren't quite so firm, but after 15 years use they're not doing badly. There's no fancy safety features like ABS or traction control, but they're not missed. One thing I do miss from the Mk3 was the variable wiper speed setting. The Mk3 also has a few more heater control options and the heated mirrors (which didn't really make a great difference).
The speaker mounting positions in the Mk3 are slightly better with tweeters in the dash and mid/bass units in the doors, but then my Mk2 doesn't have door pods for the speakers, although with the Pioneer 6x9s in the Mk2's shelf, the stereo sounds better than it did in the Mk3.
Now for the drive.
The Mk2 is a much more raw drive than the Mk3 Valver. It feels a bit like if you gave it a poke it would bite your hand off. The Mk3 on the otherhand has a bit more genteel delivery of power, but still has the grunt when you need to accelerate round trucks on motorways.
Handling wise, the Mk2 16v has stiffer suspension (mine is standard, not modded) and feels better, more composed round the country lanes, where as the Mk3 does tend to wallow round corners more, more relaxed, not as tight, but again this is un-modded suspension.
Starting from zero, both cars accelerate well, but the Mk2 has that inkling of being more wild, a bit lairy while the Mk3 is a touch more tame.
Trying to shift gears while accelerating, I prefer the Mk2 because it's a shorter, more accurate movement. That said the gear lever is slightly further away from my driving position in the Mk2 than it is in the Mk3.
Overall:
I'm definately a Mk2 fan. The car feels more nimble (ie it's slightly smaller and lighter), has that slightly wild edge, the purer, un-refined version of the GTI. It's a no-nonsence car; has a good engine, brakes to stop it, suspension to get it round the corners properly, shape that looks good despite the age of the design (the Mk3 will never really be a classic), no fancy electronics or smoothed out lines to get in the way of sheer enjoyment.
Note:
I haven't driven any Mk1, Mk2 or Mk3 8v GTIs, or anything like G60s, VR6s or 1.8T, so if anyone wants to compare an 8v Mk2 vs 8v Mk3, go ahead.
Co-incidentally, my Mk3 is now for sale on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2476401880