The 197 is a sporty car, more comfortable and refined than the mk II's, but the comfort and safety gain comes at a price, you lose some (not all) of the mk II fun. It moves even further away from hot hatches of old and blurs class lines. Good or bad, you choose: There are plenty of 182's to buy, so it's up to you.
I personally won't be buying one any time soon, cup might be more interesting, but I doubt we'll be going for one of those, as the 250 Meggy will be around by then. This would only be if the other half's mk II Golf GTI gives up the ghost. If we both get a huge pay rise, we'd go for an RS4 of some nature (prolly a coupe, but the avant might be a giggle.)
You may have seen my full "review" on another thread. It's different, but not for me at the moment. If you're seriously looking at a 197, take a look at the 225, ST and VXR as well, mebbe the Golf if you have a couple more quid to spare.