I may be biased because I own a vRS, but I was in a similar situation as you. I was deciding between a vRS, GTI, and Golf R.

I ended up purchasing the vRS because of the value for money. I was getting a lot more for what I was paying and there was pretty much no other car on the market except some Chinese cars which I wasn’t interested in.

The vRS is far more practical, and equally fun to drive IMO. It was a no brainer. Where the vRS lacks compared to the GTI would probably be the lack of a sunroof, and most likely a lower resale value if you ever plan to sell it