Personally as an E90 owner now, please go for the Golf GTI.

7) Don't listen to all those driving pleasure driving rear wheel drive cars. Unless you plan to turn off your traction control and spin your car around doing donuts and burning your tyres, the Golf GTI is a good handling car. I swapped from a Golf to a E90 and regretted since. The only difference I feel between FWD and RWD is that my racing lines change.

For driving pleasure, a rear wheel driven car anytime.

agreed. 

Well, I'm driving a RWD car now without any traction control or VSC features at all, and I'm happy with my decision. The reason I choose to buy RWD car because I'm just totally bored already with FWD cars where it always understeers on the throttle, that's all. With the RWD car, now it handles more neutral. Of course not necessarily faster and surely not safer, but I just like the driving feel better and won't go back to FWD, at least for now. If I were to change again, I'd only go for AWD.

Actually that is my thoughts as well! Looking around for a 4WD or AWD car to play around as well.

i think alot of ppl just assume RWD>FWD, but a factor thats alot more important is weight, and power to weight ratio. just because a car is RWD doesnt magicly give it better handling then a FWD car thats 500kg lighter. A good example is a 325i vs a Swift Sport...i guarantee you, i will have more fun, and be faster at a gymkhana with the SS

as per what mavik said, im also a e9x owner, and i came from a Mk5 GTi. for the TS age, the GTI is a far better choice. Faster, cheaper to run, more fun, easier to mod

i have owned FWD/RWD/AWD over the last 15 years.... only a AWD can you really feel a diff in daily driving. Im pretty sure most RWD fanbois on this forum have never owned a RWD car...and probably would not be able to tell, if asked to do a blind testdrive