It's a tough decision alright. I went from a nice new Impreza WRX (which I kept for 18 months, and is still the best car I've ever owned) to a 1.9tdi A4 S-Line. Obviously for a few months the better interior made up for the lack of oomph. But after a while it got so boring. Even with the torquey diesel engines, the lack of any rev range means that you just don't get to have a lot of fun. As soon as my cousin took me out in his WRX again, I was in envy. Hence the switch to the GTI. It's not as fast, nor as fun, as a WRX. But it's comfy, cheap to insure, and a reasonable compromise on fuel. I doubt I'd go back to diesel-ville. On the other hand, given the insurance and fuel costs of a WRX, and the fact that the new model isn't as good as the previous gen, I doubt I'd go back to Subaru again either. Then again, the GTI really does feel quite slow next to the WRX (and a lot of performance hatches you meet on the road) and is near useless off the line in the rain.
