In traditionally distracting fashion, a recent meandering office chat turned to the thorny subject of the best-ever Volkswagen Golf.

A shortlist was duly assembled and it was understandably filled with performance versions spanning the generations: GTIs, Rs, R32s, 16vs, Clubsports et al. Heck, I think someone pushed for the W12-650.

It was a fine list and sparked plenty of debate, although clearly the correct answer is the Mk7.5 GTI. Thanks, no further questions.

But in celebrating the fastest, funnest Golf models to drive, I reckon something is lost. Because regardless of the generation, when it comes to value for money, all-round usability and general agreeability, in my mind the best Golf, the Golfiest Golf, is usually the bog-standard one.

An example might help. A few years back, I ran a pair of Golf Mk8s back to back on our long-term test fleet: an entry-level Life TSI followed by a GTI.

Undoubtedly, the GTI looked sharper outside, was plusher inside (you’ve got to love a bit of tartan) and, on the right road, was sharper and more entertaining. So, overall, which did I enjoy more? Of course it was the entry-level one.

For everyday driving, it was just easier to live with and more relaxing to drive and did pretty much everything you could reasonably want from it, without any real compromise.

The ride was soft enough to tackle any bumps, it was still plenty comfy inside, there was all the kit you needed, it was pleasantly fun to drive and cheaper to buy and run and I was less worried about dinging the alloys.