Hot take: basic vim (without plugins) is mostly what vi should have been in the first place, and much of the differences between vi and vim are improvements. Multi-level undo and redo in an obvious way? Windows for easier multi-file, cross-file operations? Yes please, sign me up.

Basic vi is a product of its time, namely the early 1980s, and the rather limited Unix machines of the time (yes a VAX 11/780 was limited).

(The touches of vim superintelligence, not so much, and I turn them off.)