Conclusion
The old advice – buy the best you can afford. In MK1 terms that means relatively rust free or has had all the main corrosion areas treated, welded and resprayed neatly. The mechanicals are nowhere near as problematic or expensive. Buying a nice MK1 and you can’t go wrong, they make amazingly reliable, practical and dynamic modern classics. As a package it’s a superb driver’s car that’s reasonably simple to maintain, affordable and much easier to live with than most cars of its era when looking at the context of ownership today. Plus plenty of parts availability, genuine and aftermarket to get them running very quickly.
While the 1.8/2.0 petrol and automatic models can be regarded as thirsty for regular use, every model and variation gives more smiles per miles than any car its age and certainly verses modern cars today. The key to every MK1 is how they handle, that’s what makes them famous so don’t get too focused on the biggest engine with the biggest power delivery (unless that’s what you really want).
Ultimately, power is not what they are about!