Besides being a hot hatch, the VW Golf GTI belongs in the general category of "Nameplates whose reputations precede the cars themselves". If you assume that Wolfsburg's job is simple considering the car's illustrious history, you'd do well to think again. The stakes balloon with each new generation, as the car fights to defend its title while living up to the expectations of both ride-or-die and casual fans.

This is why we were so thrilled when we got into the sleeker-than-ever Mk8 Golf GTI, and confirmed it for ourselves: This remains the ultimate front-wheel drive hot hatch.

That's not a conclusion one can arrive at hastily. In fact, if one were to just look at numbers alone, as our deputy editor pointed out, the Mk8 experiences only slight power bumps over the Mk 7.5 model, now delivering 241bhp and 370Nm of torque from its turbocharged 2.0-litre engine (a 14bhp and 20Nm increase).

But then one has to put things into perspective and remember that this is probably about all we can quip about because the car has already nailed so many other qualities down perfectly over eight generations. The heart of all the action - VW's sweet, sweet EA888 engine - is a hands-down winner, only elevated to the heavens by the hatch's other excellent qualities: Its urgent power delivery, ample traction, sharp steering and responsive chassis.

Now, the Mk8 Golf GTI is also tinkering with goodies from the 21st century. It offers more incremental damper settings to play around with its updated Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC), and boasts a fierce, red GTI-specific Digital Cockpit Pro instrument cluster. All over the car, you're reminded of this badge over and over - GTI, GTI, GTI.

This quality, then, may just sum up the latest Golf GTI most fittingly: Confident of its own reputation, and wearing it proudly on its sleeve in a modern manner. Yes, we hear you - the CUPRA Leon is a fantastic machine hot on the Golf GTI's tail… But that can only mean the Golf GTI is still ahead.