Been looking for awhile to replace my Honda Fit..(230K mles) this spring.
A few weeks ago, I narrowed it down to the Civic SI or the Golf GTI..with the Golf being the probable one.
Just now reading this months Car & Driver. It has a flow chart with about 10 questions which lead to the perfect car for your needs.
Yep...mine was the GTI...

(and I didn't look ahead when answering the q's)