ok, def going 4 a 16v, damnit why didnt VW make jst a 16v and didnt bother wiv the 8v it would hav made life so much easyer, looks like i'll b paying a bit more insurance then 
the 8v was largely historical. it'd been the stock engine carried forward from the mk1.
the problem was things like the RS Turbo. an 8v had no problems holding an xr3i at arms length but with things like the RS on the horizon VW had to raise their game, which they did quite nicely.
The original C plated RS was a very good car, but it suffered from an enormous problem that it was too hard core. The suspension resulted in a trip to casualty to have your spine xrayed, and lets face, if your gonna pull a bird its best not to include a trip A&E on your date.
hence the 16v walked away with the prize, and the E+ plated RS had its nuts chopped off.
tin