golf r everytime
+1 I never thought I'd say it but the R would now be my choice over the Ed35.
The Edition 30 I thought was gorgeous. The wheels suited the car and the styling (inside and out) was both subtle but very effective. The Edition 30 raised the profile of the already great Mk5 GTI and essentially made it perfect.
The Edition 35 doesn't do this for the Mk6. I agree with the sentiments that the wheels on the white model look vxr-ish. The wheels on the red one for me look too aftermarket.
Interior wise I'm afraid it doesn't get any better for me. Aside from the golf-ball style shifter there is nothing inside that really celebrates the GTI. The Ed30 had half leather/ half tartan seats which combined the history and image of the GTI with a touch of refinement and class. The new seats look like they are out of Halfords tbh.
235bhp seems to be the widely expected power output. I could live with that but I do feel like VW could have stepped it up a notch (seems to be the story of VW power outputs these days).
Not doing it for me... and then there is the price hike.
a) If I was buying another GTI, there is little that does it for me on the Ed35 over a standard GTI.
b)If I was spending the money that the Ed35 is likely to be, the R offers a more powerful, more classy and more stylish package IMO plus there is 4wd when you need it.