Back in 1999, I had the great pleasure of being involved in launching the Mk 4 Golf to the UK VW Dealer Network.
We started at Donnington, where we had hired a bunch of proffessional racing drivers to take the dealer delegates around the track (in left-hooker cars) to demonstrate just how much better the Mk 4 was than the Mk 3.
I was then given one of the first RHD cars (a 1.6) to take round to every dealer in the North of England, so they could have a closer look.
Now, at the time, my regular company car was a Mk 3 VR6. The idea was that I would use the Mk 4 1.6 during the day, and then park it up and use the Mk 3 VR6 in the evening.
Gotta tell you that the Mk 4, even in 1.6 form, was SO much more fun to drive than the Mk 3, that the VR6 never turned a wheel for the next month until the Mk 4 went back to VAG.
Furthermore, back in the 70's, I worked as a VW salesman, and sold and drove 100's of earlier model Golfs, and went to Wolfsburg in 1974 to see them building the very first Mk 1's.
I also had one of the very first (LHD) Mk 1 GTi's imported into the UK as a demonstrator.
So THAT is why my car of choice is now a Mk 4. I could easily afford a Mk 5 or even a Mk 6, but the quality has never equalled the Mk 4. Even VW acknowledge that they lowered the quality in 2004. The cars got better and better up to the Mk 4, and got no better since.....(IMHO)...
But at the end of the day, each to his own
