well i can happily say i've driven the mk5 gti, the ed30 and the r32 back to back before i bought my mk4 r32 (at the time the mk5 wasn't available in candy, the moment i could get it i got it so now have a mk5 as well)
my honest opinion, if you want a power get the ed30, cheaper to tune
if you want a bigger soundtrack get the r32, but dont be under the illusion theyre affordable to tune, no way.
for a map, induction and zorst you can maybe budget for £600-£800, in the ed30 you'll be looking at up to 50 more horses taking you to around 300bhp. the same in an r32 will gain you maybe 6-10bhp but a smoother and more responsive throttle
to get the REAL power out of the R32 you need to turbo it or charge it, and i would budget a good £5-6k for that privaledge
the mrs has an eos with the gti engine and thats tuned to 243bhp from 195bhp to the point the wheels don't grip the way i want them too, but the performance is 'fun' yet can get annoying sometimes with the loss of traction
the r32 grips AAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL day long and i wuss out of corners before it does, and it loves the wet!
cars depreciate, thats a fact, i lost £5k the second i signed for mine but thats not what its about for me. the deals on the r32 atm are very very good, and theyre not as bad on fuel as you think.
summary, if you want a tuner car, get a gti preferably the ed30 ftw. get an r32 because you want an r32 (and warn your bank manager you like to mod
)
nuthin like 4 wheel drive and a screaming V6