We used to think years ago that the Mk 1, from any manufacturer, was the best. "By the time they got around to the Mk 3, it had become fat, flabby, sluggish and decadent." Old boys, particularly, were most dismissive of 'improvements,' and frequently muttered about falling standards.
For me, the best things are still the originals, and seem to begin with the letter, 'B.' Bach, Beetles, Beer, Bollinger, Beef (from Herefordshire) and Sidney Blewitt from Walmington-on-Sea all fall into the category of the 'originals.'
Still not sure that the Mk 1s have been improved, have they?