That may sound a bit harsh - after all, the Mk4 VW Golf GTI was a pretty good car ... The engine was derived from the old 2.8-litre VR6, with both cylinder banks sharing a head, but this time ...

VW cast a wide net and landed a bountiful consumer catch with the MK4 GTI. By 2001 ... accompanying 1.8-liter turbocharged inline-four and VR6 powerplants were a full-stop success.

Over time VW steadily improved the Mk4 GTI (though we had to wait for the Mk5 ... with a new version of VW’s VR6 engine (a 15-degree V6 in which both banks of cylinders share the same head).