$40K, thats deep into WRX Sport Tech territory and awd>fwd. I'm sure thats its a nice car and all....
The WRX is also much more hard core which not all buyers want. It's certainly a tradeoff.
You are thinking STI, the WRX isn't really that hardcore at all.
The WRX is quite noisy and relatively unrefined compared to the GTI. I've put over 70k on my GTI in 2.5 years, and racking up that kind of mileage I'd rather have something more comfortable/quiet that's still sporty and I think the GTI achieves that better than the WRX.
Agreed (as a WRX owner). You're definitely trading off a fair bit of day-to-day livability with the Subaru vs the VW. And it's not just fancier plastics. The Subaru (at least my 2010) feels like a thin economy car on the highway. I'd imagine the GTI is a much nicer experience from that perspective.
AWD is a major plus though. If buying today in this segment, I'd be looking at Golf R or bust.....