All the pointless banter and fact or opinion aside

Did any of you gents opt to get the GTI opposed to the R ....?
I considered the R purely based on performance which is mind blowing ...BUT ..
A: It was a bit steep for what I was prepared or able to pay pushing me over my "comfort zone" and the GTI for me is already big performance upgrade vs my 2 year old Merc 200d AMG diesel tracker

B: and this is PERSONNEL opinion I find the R's look although incredibly similar to the GTI and awesome...slightly less "refined" and by that I simply think it feels like they went for the less is more "darker" look on the interior which although looks good feels a bit more geared to a boy racer segment ...performance , noise , handling etc WOW ....but the GTI seems far family friendly on the inside ..? I just think aesthetically they could have done more on the interior to make the interior match whats under the hood ?