Your Choice

[Exonian]

I think the GTI/D looks better in 3 door.
VW's marketing people used a white 3 door for the launch ads and I'd say with good reason
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufYZKfM37_4
Just watching that makes me pine for my GTI

When I saw the first motorshow pics of the mk7 GTI the lines just looked good in the 3 door, with the car sitting lower and wider than a mk5/6 (both of which looked a bit blobby in 3 door form). The mk7 was given the same rear 3/4 window treatment as the mk1 and it just looked right.
Also the purist in me would say with reduced weight and flex the GTI *should* really be a 3 door in the classical sense.

The R however has deeper sills and I reckon looks better in 5 door format. It gives it a bit of 'length' to visually offset the very chunky bumpers and sills.

I'd agree with the post above saying the three door is good for visibility reasons with the longer side window but myself being a short arse which is the opposite to Bungleaio it means an awkward reach to the seat belt on the B pillar and the doors are too long for getting in and out of in tight spaces.

The mk7 has been around for about 4 years now (where did that time go, eh?) and still looks pretty fresh apart from the base models which look a bit dowdy.
You could argue the excessive number of windows on a 5 door make it look like a squashed Citroen Picasso and you could argue the three door looks a bit unfinished and that you should buy a Scirocco instead but neither will become design classics like a mk1.
So, three years ago I preferred the 3 door styling and three years later I kind of sway more to the 5 door.

[KyleB]

I have to say 3 door looks better but 5 door is infinitely more practical. I do think though that the Mk7 Golf 5 door is still a looker, especially compared to other 5 door cars.

[GTD1414]

Both 3 and 5 doors suit the Golf.  Personal preference is for 5 door, not just from the obvious practical aspect but actually think it looks better, more aesthetically and proportionally balanced.

Same here, but also I can't imagine how difficult the larger doors, on the 3 door, must be with the stupid "one click" door stays. How have they survived so long without being modded, and what was wrong with having 3 clicks?

I had a 3 door mk6 GTD, not by choice, (gap car until my mk7 arrived) for a few months and day to day it was a struggle parking it next to other cars and trying to get out of the huge door without hitting anything. 

[cosmos]

Mines a 5 door and practicality had little to do with my choice, I just think 5 doors look better. The proportions are just right.

I hear people say Golf GTIs should be 3 door as the original one was. That's true, but the original Golf was also a lot smaller! The current model is too big to suit 3 doors and it just doesn't suit it for me.

I like that there is a mixture of 3 and 5 door cars out there, suits all tastes (even if some of them are wrong...).

[MEZZA]

The answer I always give to this question is  - can you imagine possibly the best looking hot hatch of all time, a Peugeot 205 GTi,especially the 1.9 version  with 5 doors ? or the original Escort XR3i ? - or even the Fiesta XR2,Renault Clio Williams etc - I could go on - the answer is no,because firstly you couldn't get 5 door versions because they were supposed to be sporty hot hatches and secondly they just wouldn't have looked right.I don't blame VW and other manufacturers for making 5 door versions of their hot hatches but you will never convince me that they actually look better than the traditional 3 door hot hatch - they should also be petrol powered and have manual gearboxes but that's for another day !!

[Raffe]

3dr Golf looks is much more pleasing aesthetically, the 5 door is purely a compromised solution IMO.

[monkeyhanger]

I'm pretty neutral either way - the Golf looks good in either guise. I could perhaps put up with the lack of practicality with a 3 door if the 5 door was hit with the ugly stick, but on the Golf you don't need to compromise. 3 door cars are a pain in the arse for the sheer size of the doors in car parking spaces that are nowhere near wide enough, even if you don't need access to the back seats very often. I might think twice about a 5 door Audi A3, not a fan of the "sportback" with its estate looks.

[kalimon]

The answer I always give to this question is  - can you imagine possibly the best looking hot hatch of all time, a Peugeot 205 GTi,especially the 1.9 version  with 5 doors ? or the original Escort XR3i ? - or even the Fiesta XR2,Renault Clio Williams etc - I could go on - the answer is no,because firstly you couldn't get 5 door versions because they were supposed to be sporty hot hatches and secondly they just wouldn't have looked right.I don't blame VW and other manufacturers for making 5 door versions of their hot hatches but you will never convince me that they actually look better than the traditional 3 door hot hatch - they should also be petrol powered and have manual gearboxes but that's for another day !!

All the cars you mention are substantially smaller than the current Golf, hence the reason they look better with less doors.

[Running Man]

They both look great    When ford only make a 5 door on the focus it really shows what a PR poo dump that was.

I'm sure a 3 door focus would still look bad, but at least you could choose.  The VW Golf just looks right, as it always has done.  Choice is everything. 

[Raffe]

I might think twice about a 5 door Audi A3, not a fan of the "sportback" with its estate looks.

Where as I am the opposite and really like the look of the 5 door A3 because it reminds me of an A4 avant once you put the roof rails on