I've just gone through the test driving phase until I got my Ed.30 last week.
I drove all sorts... including both of these mentioned.
How What Car can rank a Civic Type R above a GTI proves its articles are driven by advertising budget rather than real fact.
The civic type R doesnt come with Aircon of any description (so thats extras)...
It doesnt come with switches that feel like they mean something when you click them
the dash is like its made from that cheap plastic that woolies make cheap toys from...
Oh... and a mate of mine who actually bought one, is trading after a couple of months because it has near enough no grip in the wet. ( like we get sunny days in the UK all the time).
I also tried a Mini Cooper S, which is a licence looser if ever I saw one. Torque steering monster which I found it impossible to keep under 30 (and I hated the speedo and the stupid BMW indicator switches).
What can I say... VW simply rocks with the GTI / GTI Ed.30.