This is just my 2p worth...
I reckon you should stick with your first 2 options, either the Scirocco or the Civic Type R.
A while back I had my eyes on 2 cars but couldn't decide which one to go for, so I ended up going for something else because I "listened" to other people's opinions.
Needless to say I was gutted (still am) that I didn't go for the car I wanted. I'm not going to mention what the cars were because the point of my post is not to sway you away from what you obviously really liked in the first place.
to answer your original question though.... Civic Type R GT for me. The VTEC is just unreal, its almost like a jolt forward you get when coming onto boost in a turbo'd car. The looks are pretty unique too, whereas the scirocco is beautiful, but it looks like a skinnier sexier version of a Golf GTi. Finally, reliability. I know newer cars these days are pretty reliable, but what you said about there not being much of a "used" market for the Scirocco is spot on. The Type R has been out for a while, but that means that any problems have most likely been ironed out by now and being a Honda means it will most likely NEVER break on you and cost you very little to service/maintain.
Plus, turbo engines cost more to fix than NA engines, and again you've got the honda vtec reliability to think about.
I know where I would put my money, and it wouldn't always go to the best handling. After all, how often are you going to take it to a track day? That's the only place you're going to notice any difference with the rear suspension on the Type R. I try not to listen too much to jezzer and his cronies (top gear) about handling and "top end" because when I buy a car I'm not going to have a private airfield in my back garden am I?
DT_Xtremez_30: