Well you did also say you mainly wanted a scooby for the sound.
Personally I'd go for the mods.
As paulbiche said day-to-day an R might feel more dull. Plus your wife's got the other car so you can afford to make a few practical compromises with the GTI. Maybe new bushings or polybushes to tighten up the ride?
Ooh, yeah. do it. Another dude at work has a MkV Gti that's been running an APR tune and he's had zero issues. They can really liven up the engine response with affecting reliability or even fuel consumption ( to a point).
Well you did also say you mainly wanted a scooby for the sound.
Personally I'd go for the mods.
As paulbiche said day-to-day an R might feel more dull. Plus your wife's got the other car so you can afford to make a few practical compromises with the GTI. Maybe new bushings or polybushes to tighten up the ride?