You say that, but the AMG is bit hard by depreciation. You'd be throwing away a lot more money than the R. I looked at loads of different cars before I ordered my R, in fact spent 3 months looking into them.
For the price I'm paying for the R I'd get an A250 A class or an A180 C-class coupe. The BMW is just, we'll look at it, it's a good engine but a horrible looking car, plus rear wheel drive means it would be undriveable for a few months of the year. To get a similar spec in the AMG I'd be looking at another grand on the deposit and another couple of hundred pound a month.
I chose the golf because, as far as I am concerned, it is the best looking car in the market, has AWD, decent boot space and holds it's value better than any other currently out there.