As the previous owner of a new Mk5 with bluefin it was my experience that the front wheel drive Golf was rubbish with right foot squashed hard to the carpet at low speed (crash bang whallop from the front and not a lot of speed). The 4wd S3 just grips and goes.
Within my list of cars is a motorhome, a roadster, a 5 seat convertible, an mpv, a 4x4, a very fast sports car, an offroad motorbike and a ka. The ka has the best steering btw.