well as most of the forum members are ED30 owners it isnt hard to see why they tend to put that ahead of the R32.
The R32 in my opinion is the better car and the best of the VW Golf range. As always this is my personal opinion.
Yes i know most would agree that the front isnt the best but it doesnt look that bad in the flesh. R32's look really nice in the flesh!
Straight line speeds dont mean sh1t. If you want straight line speeds than get a VXR or an S3. The R32 interms of the full package, is better than the GTI and the ED30. And if i had money to burn i would choose the R32 all day long. Why you ask? Well, because VW engineers should have made the GTI and the ED30 rear wheel drive which they didnt and thats its flaw!
REAR WHEEL DRIVE!!!!!!
Go and wash your mouth....err....keyboard with soap

RWD would give it lovely tail out fun in the dry, but would make it lethal in the wet/ice/snow.
I (sadly!) have to admit that 4WD is better than 2WD in the wet/ice/snow, but I wouldn't go for the Haldex 4WD, I would have to go with Audi's Torsen 4WD system.
On dry/drying roads then there is absolutely no point to 4WD as it just blunts performance due to added weight.
I personally will take my chances with the 10% of the time when 4WD is better (ergo R32 is better) and take the 90% of the time when it isn't needed and the ED30 is better. When you need 4WD for that 10% of the time an R32 driver doesn't have to worry and just trundles through as it were another corner, the GTI/ED30 driver has to use skill and adjust the car for the terrain and therefore gets a better sense of fun and fulfilment from their driving
