Sorry guys i have been in amsterdam for a little break!
If you plan on modding get the Golf. I spent thousands on my ctr for 220bhp and 170lb/ft! It was very quick, i came across a few so called 220bhp mk4 gti's (i dont dislike the mk4 gti at all, i dont agree with some of the power claims from dodgy RR's) and i never had a single problem. Thats not to say it destroyed it, i pulled 1 cars lenght at the most (could well be i was a better driver; too many variables to consider on the road though!) The ctr will also leave a gti on corners. It isnt worth the amount you have to spend to be car length ahead though! My MK5 R32 is probly slower than my modded ctr was from rolling, i much prefer to go slower and sound better though
It is hard to compare the two, the ctr is great fun and makes popping to the shops a complete joy! It does wear thin though, mine would hit 8600rpm and had vtec come in at 4.5k rpm. This made it very quick and smoothed out the power band which removes the vtec kick (vtec kick is over rated and annoying!) so the car become more powerful and requires less down changes. I loved mine but after driving my mums MK5 GTI i new i had become tired of revving it so much. The thing that makes you fall in love is usually the thing that makes you fall out of love with it.
For me a car needs to be good out the box, then if i want i can mod it. The ctr ticked this box as its great standard, i made no changes for a year! After modding it and not getting far i needed something better out the box; the R32. The ED30 is better to mod (although FWD) but this wasnt the point for me!
The CTR's trump card is reliability, the leon is very poorly built which put me off. The CTR will rattle but bits will not fall off! The S3 is a good choice to consider but for me it was small and i wasnt a fan of the engine (in mk1 or mk2 form) The GTI mk4 is a very nice car, well built and comfy. A few hundred will see it as quick as a standard ctr but it will never be as fun on a back road or as exhilarating to drive.
Ignore the pathetic chav comments, the mk4 gti is one of the most common cars i see with rude boys driving it with audi A8 alloys, lexus lights and banging sound sytems! Clearly many of you have not been to london! I see as many, if not more chavved up mk4's; they are a few grand cheaper after all! If a cars image puts you of though you would have to be a sad person!
Test both, see if you can have a go in modded versions of each as well if you plan to mod.
Here was mine
Heres a quick vid, it had been pissing it down so 1st is half throttle amd i change 2krpm early, i also let off at 90 (as the private runway was nearly over)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em6ffFsWti4Sounded ok to (that blip is launch control set at 4krpm so couldn't rev it any louder)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_HwuOGl6I8Hope thats a bit of help mate, if a little long winded!