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My experience is not on point, but I had a Mk. 7 GTI Autobahn with Unitronic Stage 1 ECU and TCU (DSG 'box). I put 60K on it, tuned since 6K, and I did a couple auto-x events with it. 370Z Sport + Touring before that, and '15 435 M Sport before my 240i (ZF 8AT).
Mk. 7 is tough to beat, for sure. Very good steering, brakes, easy to tune for lots of power, e-diff on the GTI is great, lively, yet comfortable with good quality interior materials. One of the best cars I ever owned. Way more fun that the 435i I just got rid of and never loved (but she was flawlessly reliable, well built, and comfortable, not to mention pretty).
240i certainly carries the GTI spirit of being lively and fun to drive, B58 is a fantastic motor, and can be a quiet and comfortable daily driver (although the suspension is stiffer than the GTI, but feels great).
Golf R AWD is always going to push in hard-driven corners, the Haldex system in the Mk. 7 had a lot of issues and parts replacements over the course of production, and ultimately has been tossed in the new Mk. 8 for a much more advanced system that... well, we'll see how that goers. I never felt the R was worth the premium over the GTI for that reason.
I can't speak to xDrive, but I know it's a fast car. I live in SoCal and I'd never feel a need to have AWD over RWD.
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