Hot Hatch recommendations.

[CitizenKane]

my 3 picks
type r civic
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sal...uro-r/23317265

opc astra
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sal...w-nct/23047187

gti golf
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sal...f-gti/23990974

I would love an EP3 Type R, but decent ones seem to be very thin on the ground (the one posted above looks lovely though).

I've never driven a Mk5 GTI - on paper the EP3 definitely looks to be better in terms of performance, but I wonder is it the case that in the real world the torque of the GTI provides more usable performance?