Motor Magazine....Did they get it WRONG???

[Treza360]

Back when the MK4 was first released, there were few direct competitors to the GTI. No ford XR4 or XR5, HSV astra, no sporty little BMW's. The only real options were WRX's and maybe a Renault Sport Clio or Mini Cooper S and they're different cars.
I think in that light, the GTI looks a little less stupid.

Well said.

The Clio didn't come out until 2001, the mini 2002. The only other hot European hatches around at that time that I can think of are the Peugeot 306 GTI and the 206 GTI that replaced it in 1999. Either that or you had to spend a lot more money on an S3.
Otherwise you had to look at a SSS Pulsar or VTI-R Civic and look at the condition they're in these days compared to a MkIV.

What needs to be remembered was that the popularity of the hot hatch had gone down, whether due to the fact that no one was making a good one anymore or just for the simple fact that people wanted other cars.

As has been seen anyway spending a few dollars provided much more fun anyway.

Cheers,
Trent