[turtlecrxsi]

You know GSRs are all beat... you said it yourself. That's why I've given up on that idea as well.
GTIs look nice and are getting good reviews. But there is a rule I will always follow about new car buying (even though I haven't purchased a new car in forever) and that is never buy the first production run of a new design of a make (or revamped generation) because more than likely all of the bugs haven't been worked out yet.
The Mazda 3 is a really nice car and is growing on me as well. The 5 door model would probably suit your needs as far as practicality, but as far as your tastes of driving etc.... well, you should go test drive one and find out first hand.
GL