I see what you're saying about the Golf R looking, to the untrained eye, as if it was s trim level BELOW the GTI. However I think the Golf R is marketed to a slightly more mature, slightly older audience than the GTI. The GTI, to me, looks significantly more "boy-racerish" with the lipstick headlights, red brakes, and aggressive front fascia. The Golf R is intended to be less in-your-face, and more of a subtle and conservative look, while still retaining its commanding presence with the upgraded rims, double-U headlights, quad exhaust, and black-painted calipers with R badging. I think the Golf R is significantly nastier (in the most positive sense) than the GTI, and if I had the money, you bet I'd be driving one over a GTI. I think the R is more elegant and respectable, whereas the GTI's styling looks like it's trying a little too hard to act like something it might not necessarily be. All this said, I freaaaking looooooove my GTI inside and out.